H. Van Wyck (19/20th Century)
American School


THE BOAT BUILDER, circa 1900


30 x 40 inches / 38 x 48 framed
Oil on canvas
Signed lower left: “H Van Wyck”




THE BOAT BUILDER is an intimate Dutch interior scene.  A mother 
sews on a quiet afternoon, her sewing basket open on the table beside her.  While her baby sleeps, her young son, with hammer in hand, follows directions from his book and proudly builds a toy boat.  Light, as in many great Dutch masterworks, plays an important element in this painting, falling on the figures and heightening the poetic moment.

We have not been able to locate any biographical information about this unknown artist or his exhibitions.  However, the painting indicates that he was a painter of some quality who derived his inspiration from the 19th Century Dutch artists.  Genre scenes depicting simple family life were extremely popular subjects of their day.

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