The Graham Children

A cat climbs towards the caged bird while one child plays a small bird organ and another begins to dance. The room seems full of movement. At the left, the eldest girl offers cherries to the baby in an elaborate carriage. William Hogarth, a British painter, made this portrait in 1742 for the Graham family. Their father was a prosperous royal apothecary, responsible for medicines at court. The size of the picture and its rich furnishings give the children a setting that reflects that success. The baby, Thomas, had died before the portrait was completed. Carnations beside him and the clock’s figure with an hourglass and scythe give the lively scene a more painful meaning. They allow remembrance to exist within the family group. Look again at the different kinds of activity. The children seem occupied with one another and with their surroundings, while the cat threatens the bird above them. The portrait preserves their individual gestures alongside the knowledge that childhood and family life can change suddenly.