His First Appearance in Public

Charles Caleb Ward

National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a group of children in the woods. To the left of center, a boy plays the violin, standing on the edge of a gray path. He faces the right, where a group of children sit, looking at him. Three children sit on a pale log, while two sit on the green grass, which is dotted with small white flowers. The children mostly wear clothes in shades of tan and brown, although one child wears a pink dress and a blue jacket. All of the seated children wear straw hats. They all have pale skin. The trees fill the background with autumnal colors, including brown, orange, yellow ochre, and dark green. On the left, at the end of the path, a white cottage is visible in the distance behind a wooden gate.