Savoyard+Boy+in+London,+The

Date: 1865
 * [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1978/1978.121_1a.jpg?itok=LevA-VFK width="240" height="294" link="@https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/savoyard-boy-london-8630"]] || Title: **The Savoyard Boy in London**

Artist: **James Edward Freeman** Born: Grand Passage, Nova Scotia, Canada 1808 Died: Rome, Italy 1884

Medium: oil on canvas Dimensions: 54 1/2 x 43 3/4 in. (138.4 x 111.2 cm) Smithsonian American Art Museum Museum purchase

Accession: 1978.121 || James Freeman's image of an exhausted, threadbare boy dozing on a London curb typifies the "fancy pictures" of sweet, colorful street children popular on both sides of the Atlantic. But the painting also reflects one of the great reform issues of the nineteenth century. The young beggars were often called "Savoyard boys" because many had emigrated from the Savoy region of Italy. These children lived very hard lives and tried to make a little money by playing music for change. In London, these children were the targets of gang leaders and "resurrection men," the body snatchers who supplied anatomy schools with cadavers.
 * Exhibition Label: **

Torn posters and fliers that mention freed slaves and traveling minstrels emphasize the disreputable condition of these children. Visible keywords include: War, in America, Battle, defeat [Army of the] Potomac, Emancipation of slaves. More privileged citizens—like those seen in the background of this painting—were morbidly fascinated and outraged by the victimization of the Savoyard beggars. A famous case involving the murder of a boy and the sale of his corpse to a noted physician sparked a frenzy of news stories that led to reform measures in England's parliament.

The boy's instrument is a hurdy gurdy which is something like a mechanical violin. The strings are attached to a wheel and the boy would play the instrument by turning the wheel with a crank. Many street performers, including the organ grinder, used trained monkeys as a part of their act.

James Freeman painted this scene in 1865, the same year that the Civil War ended. England did not side with either the North or the South during the War. The South, which had stronger ties to Europe, expected help from both England and France. England, however, had abolished slavery in 1833 and felt strongly that the United States should do the same. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation helped the North because it was an important part of keeping England out of the war. Freeman may have been comparing slavery in America to the hard life of the beggar children in his painting.


 * Suggested Questions: **
 * What is going on in this picture?
 * What might life be like for these children? How can you tell?
 * How are these children different from the crowd in the distance?
 * Where is the action taking place? What can you describe about the setting?
 * What is the mood of this picture? How does it make you feel?
 * Why might the artist have chosen to paint this scene?

Freeman Paints Street Musicians Freeman Gatherings from an Artists Portfolio Freeman Essay Savoyard Boy Acquisition Savoyard Boy Artwork Information James Freeman Biographical Information
 * Resources: **

Artist Biography SAAM Collections Page
 * Links: **