Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Unsophisticated Youth
(18th and 19th Centuries )
Baltimore artist, Alfred Jacob Miller was a prolific sketcher. He filled many journals with drawings and captions from the time he was studying in Paris and Rome (1833) until the 1870's. In 1969 a collection of 100 of these sketches was generously donated to the Walters Art Museum by J. William Middendorf II. The interests of Miller are clearly reflected in these sketches: the theater (a large portion being quick figure drawings of the Ravel Pantomime Troupe), childhood memories, Baltimore scenery, and witty scenes of characters. (See The Walters Art Gallery Bulletin, April, 1969, Vol. 21, No. 7, Pages 3-4).
"Unsophisticated youth [loq r]- Frank while I have been tickled to death with the farce, I notice that these fiddlers never move a muscle, but look as if they are to be hung immediately if not sooner."
Miller, especially in his younger days, was a devotee of the stage. In Baltimore he had the opportunity to enjoy the widely varied fare presented at the city's two principal theaters, the Holliday, one of the nations's most venerable houses dating from 1792, and the Front, built in 1829.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
L. Vernon Miller, by inheritance; Kennedy Galleries, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Mr. and Mrs. J. William Middendorf II, McLean, VA; Walters Art Museum, 1974, by gift.
Exhibitions
| 2004 | Recollections of a Baltimore Artist: Sketches by Alfred Jacob Miller (1810-1874). The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1996 | A Baltimore Watchman: An Exhibition of Drawings by Alfred Jacob Miller. Government House, Annapolis. |
| 1994-1995 | Private Lives: Nineteenth Century American Genre Drawings. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1988 | Alfred Jacob Miller: Maryland and the West. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore; Washington College, Chestertown; Frostburg State University, Frostburg; Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, Rockville. |
| 1981-1982 | Alfred Jacob Miller: An Artist on the Oregon Trail. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore; Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth; Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody. |
Geographies
USA, Maryland, Baltimore (Place of Origin)
Measurements
13 3/8 x 15 1/2 in. (34 x 39.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. William Middendorf II, 1974
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.2519.9