Untitled (Christ Blessing Little Children) after an 1866 Currier & Ives print titled Jesus Blessing Little Children
date: label: date made
content: 1866-1900
name: label: depicted
content: Jesus Christ
label: artist attribution
content: Currier & Ives
notes: label: Description
content: This black and white print depicts Jesus Christ with four little children, three men and three women. All of the figures are wearing stylized flowing robes. Christ is shown placing his right hand on a boy’s head in blessing, while his left arm is gently around a young girl. Two of the mothers are kneeling and looking reverently at the figure of Christ. The apostle Matthew recounts an occasion when families brought their children to Jesus for his blessing, only to be rebuked by his disciples. In response, Christ said: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Chapter 19:13-14).
label: Description
content: The print is titled in pencil script below the image as “Christ Blessing Little Children.” The image is of an 1866 Currier & Ives print entitled Jesus Blessing Little Children. This print could be a proof before letters print or a copy of the Currier & Ives print, but it is unsigned with no indication of the original artist, lithographer, or publisher.
label: Description
content: Nathaniel Currier (1813-1888) was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and after serving an apprenticeship in Boston, he moved to New York City in 1834. In New York, he briefly partnered with Adam Stodart, but their firm dissolved within a year, and Currier went into business on his own until 1857. James M. Ives (1824-1895) was a native New York lithographer who was hired as a bookkeeper by Currier in 1852. In 1857, the two men partnered, forming the famous lithography firm of Currier and Ives, which continued under their sons until 1907.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States
topic: label: Subject
content: Costume
label: Subject
content: Children
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
label: See more items in
content: Religion
label: See more items in
content: Art
label: See more items in
content: Peters Prints
label: See more items in
content: Domestic Furnishings
label: See more items in
content: Morality & Religious Prints
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.60.2963
label: catalog number
content: 60.2963
label: accession number
content: 228146
objectType: label: Object Name
content: lithograph
label: Object Type
content: Lithograph
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: image: 8 in x 12 1/2 in; 20.32 cm x 31.75 cm