Notes and Observations

Penciled on the reverse “Sept 1,” (1880?) this young lad glows with brightness and innocence, quite unsentimentally. The actual head measures only 1-1/4 inches from crown to chin, realized in startling immediacy and astonishingly delicacy. Enlargement reveals unexpected deftness. Rare artistry captures an expectant moment. Note the momentary entwinement of hands; the mouth, minute in scale, surprisingly expressive. Emotional comprehension indicates absorption of the painter in the moment is truly remarkable. Arthur and Alice Patch Homer resided in Galveston, Texas, and visited Prout's Neck in 1875 and every summer thereafter. Their eldest son, Arthur Patch Homer, was born in 1875 and at age five might well be the subject of this immediate life portrait. Gopnik, referenced earlier, alludes to Homer’s stock figures, especially boys as “(the boy, the American nymph)...”