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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1944.13.16
People
Ephraim Whitman Gurney, American (Boston, MA 1829 - 1886 Beverly Farms, MA)
Title
Snowman and Children, with poem
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
19th century
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/307991

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Black ink on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
actual: 26.9 x 18.3 cm (10 9/16 x 7 3/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: in image, black ink, in artist's hand: See the white giant! How he stands, / With upraised cudgel in his hands, / And threatens all with blows. / He threatens friends and foe alike,-- / But never fear-- he cannot strike, / Nor even guard his nose. // Snow-man, I think you are unwise, / With kimboed arm, and great coal eyes, / To try to frighten folk: / For if the sun shines warm, to-day, / You'll drop your club, and steal away / Into a dirty brook. // "The man whose house is made of glass, / Should not throw stones at those who pass," / But make each man his friend: / And you, poor, helpless, pelted elf, / Who cannot run, nor guard yourself, / Had better not offend.

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Gift of artist's estate to Harvard College Library, 1899.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Harvard College Library, from the estate of Professor E. W. Gurney, 1899
Accession Year
1944
Object Number
1944.13.16
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu