Girl and Boy Reading on a Sofa

Brown was already an accomplished portrait painter when he emigrated from England to the United States in 1853. He established himself as a genre painter in New York, specializing in sentimental or humorous scenes that often involved children.

Although he usually depicted underprivileged individuals, in this instance he shows subjects who clearly live in comfortable, middle-class circumstances.

This work was formerly housed in one of William T. Walters' drawings albums.