Urchins Looking at a Lady Lifting Her Skirt

John McLenan (American, 1827-1865)ca. 1859

The Walters Art Museum
Baltimore, United States

McLenan was originally a meat-packer in Cincinnati. He practiced drawing for his own amusement, but later adopted it as a career, emerging as a prolific illustrator.

Here a young crossing-sweaper, a common sight in Victorian streets, and a companion, eye a rich lady's ankles, exposed as she navigates a dirty pavement.

Details

Title: Urchins Looking at a Lady Lifting Her Skirt
Creator: John McLenan (American, 1827-1865)
Date Created: ca. 1859
External Link: For more information about this and thousands of other works of art in the Walters Art Museum collection, please visit art.thewalters.org
Roles: Artist: John McLenan (American, 1827-1865)
Provenance: William T. Walters, Baltimore; inherited by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Object Type: drawings
Medium: sepia on paper
Inscriptions: [Initials] Lower left: J M L
Exhibitions: Private Lives: Nineteenth Century American Genre Drawings. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1995., Private Lives: Nineteenth Century American Genre Drawings. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1994.
Dimensions: H: 4 1/16 x W: 4 1/4 in. (10.3 x 10.8 cm)
Credit Line: Acquired by William T. Walters
Classification: Painting & Drawing
Accession Number: 37.1962

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