The Voyage of Life: Childhood, c. 1855

Not on View

Medium

engraving in black on wove paper

Dimensions

image: 38.42 × 57.79 cm (15 1/8 × 22 3/4 in.)

sheet (trimmed to plate): 50.48 × 67.47 cm (19 7/8 × 26 9/16 in.)

Credit Line

Corcoran Collection

Accession Number

2015.19.338

Artists / Makers

James Smillie (artist) American, born Scotland, 1807 - 1885

Thomas Cole (artist after) American, 1801 - 1848

John H. Daniels (printer) American, 1828 - 1901

Benjamin B. Russell (publisher) American, 1832 - 1901

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Inscription

lower left in plate: T Cole;

text at bottom in plate:
Painted by Thomas Cole / Boston - Published by B. B. Russell. 55 Cornhill. / Engraved by James Smillie / The Voyage of Life _ Childhood. / From the original Painting by Thomas Cole, in the possession of Revd. Gorham D. Abbott, Spingler Institute, New York. / "Who shall preserve thee beautiful child? / Keep thee as thou art now / Bring thee a spirit undefiled / At God's pure throne to bow? / This world is but a bruised reed / And life grows early dim / Who shall be near thee in thy need / To lead thee up to him? / He who Himself was undefiled / With Him we trust thee beautiful child." / Proof / "Entered according to Act of Congress U.S.A. _ by James Smillie in the Clerks Office of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York." / Printed by J. H. Daniels, Boston.

Provenance

Mrs. L. W. Casey; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1930; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art

Associated Names

Casey, L. W.
Corcoran Gallery of Art

Bibliography

1986: Schweizer, Paul D. "'So Exquisite a Transcript': James Smillie's Engravings after Cole's Voyage of Life". Imprint 11, no. 2 (Autumn 1986), pp. 2-13.

2017: Raftery, Andrew. "James Smillie Engraves a Voyage of Life". Art in Print 7, no. 2 (July-August 2017), pp. 12-18.