Inspiration for his art came from everyday events and ordinary people. It was from Luks that Hirsch acquired his brisk painting style and accurate draftsmanship. Shortly after Luks died in 1933, Hirsch, at age 24, painted this life-size portrait, Masseur Tom. This painting brought Hirsch to national attention. In colonial New England, portraits were painted to honor the memory of a patron or to highlight one's social standing.
American paintings exist in public and private collections today.
Included in this group are the portraits of Robert, Margaret and Henry Gibbs who were children of Robert Gibbs, a Boston merchant. Henry Gibbs, seen in this portrait, was the youngest Gibbs child. The anonymous artist who painted the three Gibbs portraits was trained in the Elizabethan or Tudor style practiced in England and colonial America. This style traditionally depicted subjects in a semi-frontal pose with elongated proportions. It also dictated that the subject's head be slightly tilted with the eyes gazing directly at the viewer.