Photography by Dwight Primiano
Boy Smoking
These amusing, if not strange, portraits depict boys doing activities that were common, yet sometimes scandalous. What makes them unique is they are painted on painter’s palettes instead of on traditional material like canvas. Using the palette’s design for his portraits, Joseph Decker transformed the board’s thumb-hole into the boy’s mouth.
ArtistJoseph Decker(1853-1924)
Daten.d.
MediumOil on panel
Dimensions13 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. (34.3 x 24.1 cm)
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2008.7
ClassificationPainting
ProvenanceRichard and Roger Marx, Valley Stream, NY; (Alexander Gallery, New York, NY); purchased by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2008
On ViewYes
This artwork's face covers about 18× the area of a tennis ball.Drawn to the same scale.