IX
PICTURES OF CHILDREN
A wise mother is glad to have her child enjoy the companionship of other children. It makes for normal development that he should mingle with others of his own age in the home, in the school, and at his play. And it is simply an extension of the same principle that his first books and pictures are about children. Every little boy or girl he meets or hears about is interesting to him, and he welcomes a picture child as a new friend. Among very little ones, pictures of boys or girls are equally enjoyed, but the time soon comes when boys naturally take to their own kind and girls to theirs. We can hardly surfeit them with this class of subjects, and indeed no grown-up with a heart for children ever tires of good art of this sort. The popularity of such subjects is seen in the immense output of advertising material adorned with child pictures. Many of these reproduce photographs of real babies, and are by no means to be despised. Much of the artistic modern photography compares favorably with high art. Nevertheless, our repertory should not be wholly supplied from this source. It is desirable for the child’s all-around education that his art world be peopled with children of many periods and nationalities. In the embarrassment of riches which are available for this purpose
