Mother and Child (1898): Art, History and Details

Mother and Child (1898) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Kate Greenaway (British, 1846–1901).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This tender moment between a mother and her child is characteristic of Kate Greenaway’s idealized images of childhood. Working in the late 1800s, Greenaway depicted clothing vaguely inspired by the fashion of the early 1800s, suggesting that the image was from a moment in an idealized past when things were simpler and happier. Greenaway was one of the most successful female illustrators of her time. Her illustrations were used not only in children’s books but also in a variety of consumer products, including calendars, address books, plates, and textiles, and even influenced children’s fashion.

Object facts

• Title: Mother and Child
• Date: 1898
• Creator attribution: Kate Greenaway (British, 1846–1901)
• Culture: England, 19th century
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: graphite and watercolor on paper
• Dimensions: Sheet: 15.3 x 10.1 cm (6 x 4 in.)
• Collection: DR - British
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 1955.454

Collection credit

Gift of Leona E. Prasse

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.