The Truants

Eastman Johnson

National Gallery of Art

The painting shows an enormous tree with a hollowed base where two people, potentially young boys, are taking shelter. The boys sit together in the hollow base of the tree, one appearing to read a piece of paper. They both have light skin and wear hats and warm clothing. To the left, a small box sits at the base of the tree, and beyond that is a wooden barrel that appears to be attached to a sled. The ground surrounding the tree is covered with snow, with small brown patches peeking out. It is surrounded by more small brown trees, and in the background near the top right corner are distant blue mountains and small gray and red houses. The sky is pale blue behind the leafless branches.