On the Beach at Long Branch--The Children's Hour

1874

In this engraving Homer provided a glimpse of holiday life in terms of levels of society within the domestic sphere. A young matron seems about to depart for the company of her social set, leaving her children in the charge of a nanny and a maid. Through careful observation of modes of dress, Homer not only made distinctions between leisure- and working class women, but also delineated the hierarchical differences between two members of household staff.