Samuel S. Carr (English/American, 1837–1908)
Young Girl at Seashore, 1881
Oil on canvas
15⅛ × 12¼ in.
Signed and dated lower right: “S. S. Carr. ’81.”
Provenance: Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York.
In this serene coastal scene, Samuel S. Carr captures a tender moment of childhood reverie along the shoreline. A young girl, barefoot and contemplative, pauses beside her basket and sunhat as sailboats drift across the tranquil horizon. Carr’s soft, diffused light and subtle handling of color evoke both the freshness of sea air and the innocence of youth. The painting’s compositional clarity and reflective mood exemplify Carr’s distinctive approach to genre painting, blending the quiet lyricism of American realism with the compositional grace of English academic art.
Born in England, Carr emigrated to the United States in 1859 and studied at the National Academy of Design in New York. His works often depict children in pastoral or seaside settings, emphasizing simplicity, stillness, and moral sentiment. Young Girl at Seashore reflects Carr’s mature style—carefully structured yet emotionally intimate—celebrating the harmony between human innocence and the natural world.
