dreamers

thanks wikimedia commons (PD)

Is this only a sentimental watercolor of a shoeshine boy?  Yes and no.  "Dreamers" (c. 1899) was painted by the British-American genre artist John George Brown (1831-1913), who made a career from these pieces.  According to the Wikipedia article about him he once said: "I do not paint poor boys solely because the public likes such pictures and pays me for them, but because I love the boys myself, for I, too, was once a poor lad like them."  By the time he was saying this, he'd married the daughter of a factory owner and was supported by his father-in-law.  Still, you can't fault him for trying to bring their aesthetically cleaned-up plight before the eyes of a larger public.  I fastened upon this piece today not because it's an amazing work (it isn't) but because I responded strongly to the inclusion of the dog; both creatures look hopeful, wistful, dreaming of something better.  Whatever that might be in the case of a dog, it doesn't matter.  It only matters to know that the dog can yearn, too.