http://picturingamerica.neh.gov/downloads/pdfs/Resource_Guide_Chapters/PictAmer_Resource_Book_Chapter_12A.pdf

Sargent’s portrait of the young Homer Saint-Gaudens, the son of

the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens and his mother

Augusta, a cousin of Winslow Homer, is an intimate

portrait for a friend, not a commission that paid the bills. Sargent first

encountered Saint-Gaudens in Paris in 1878. When the artists met

again in New York in 1890, Saint-Gaudens expressed interest in

sculpting an image of Violet, and the painting was done in the spirit of

an exchange. Nonetheless, the fact that Sargent preferred a generic

title,

his mother’s name entirely may indicate the artist’s desire to elevate

his depiction of Homer Saint-Gaudens to a universal statement

about the nature of boys.

http://picturingamerica.neh.gov/downloads/pdfs/Resource_Guide_Chapters/PictAmer_Resource_Book_Chapter_12A.pdf

Homer, however, wearing his fancy suit, does not appear to

be the obedient child listening to his mother’s every word.

We know from Homer’s adult recollections of these sittings that

Augusta was vainly attempting to entertain her son with the story

of a naval battle from the War of 1812. Sargent expressed the

boy’s impatience and nervous energy not only through his pose

but also through the structure of the composition. The child

slumps sideways in the ornate studio chair. And while his right

foot turns languidly inward, his left foot is braced against the

rung, ready to spring. The latent energy of his spread, bent

fingers matches the complexity of the swirling pattern of the

red carpet, and this unease is intensified by Homer’s pose,

which is at a slight angle to both the viewer and to his mother.

the boy was a very uninterested 10 year old homer. this boy did not care about anything because he was not interested in anything. he was a very very very dull child. (Lilly wrote this)

THIS CAN BE SEEN IN THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF ART!!!!!!!!!!! GO SEE IT NOW.

This was painted in 1890

"A Portrait of a Boy" was painted by John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), an american artist considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation". during is carrier he painted around 900 oil paintings.

I wonder what book the woman is reading?
Is the woman his mother or maybe his tutor?
Who os the 'boy' in the "Portrait of a Boy"?