American Art Collaborative

As a child, the artist became familiar with the Baltimore docks located near the Miller family residence on Market Square. He likely would have seen many "wharf rats" like the one in this sketch. Alfred Jacob Miller was a prolific sketcher. He filled many journals with drawings and captions from the time he was studying in Paris and Rome (1833) until the 1870's. The varied interests of Miller are clearly reflected in these sketches: rural sites, studies after Old Master paintings, illustrations of literature, memories of Baltimore, and comical scenes and characters. This sketch comes from the family album of L. Vernon Miller, which contains works that have passed down through the Miller family directly from the artist.