Brittany Interior

The son of farmers who emigrated to New York in 1839, Boughton returned to settle permanently in England in 1861/2. Influenced by Frederick Walker, he also became a successful book illustrator. In this watercolor the artist adds a note of pathos to a scene of a rural interior in France; the crate which forms the baby's cradle is stamped with the word "FRAGILE." Together with what appears to be medicine bottles on the mantel and the woman's sad expression, we are led to conclude that the child's fate may be precarious. The religious print on the wall above the pair suggest that the family are part of the "deserving poor" who, in the 19th century, were seen as worthy of sympathy and help.