Willard T. Sears (1837-1920) with a Horse Pull Toy

This object was once part of the folk art collection of Elie Nadelman (1882-1946), the avant-garde sculptor. From 1924 to 1934, Nadelman's collection was displayed in his Museum of Folk Arts, located in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. The Historical Society purchased Nadelman's entire collection in 1937.

Although Joseph Whiting Stock’s short life was plagued with illness and adversity—he was paralyzed below the waist after an accident with an oxcart at the age of eleven—he managed to sustain a successful career as a portraitist in New England and New York State during the 1840s and 1850s. In the 1930s and 1940s he became one of the first popular American folk painters.

Stock’s portrait of Willard T. Sears of New Bedford, Massachusetts, derives from a tradition of equestrian portraits symbolizing latent power and mastery. Young Sears holds the reins of his wooden horse pull toy in his left hand. His right hand rests affectionately around the animal’s neck, yet it wields a whip symbolizing control. Stock’s portraits of children often include toys that he made himself. Willard T. Sears became a prominent New England architect, working primarily in Gothic and Renaissance Revival styles, in the Boston area.