Boy of the Crossfield Family (Possibly Richard Crossfield)

John Durand

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

John Durand completed a series of children’s portraits in New York in 1766. The identification of the young sitter rests on a long tradition in the Crossfield family. The open book in the boy’s hand and the volumes on the shelf behind him are surely meant to affirm the importance of liberal education in colonial times. The massive column rising in the background heightens the elegance of the youthful figure, and the flashing light on the drapery and the table cover draws attention to the opulence of the setting.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art