# Toy Bank

**Pearl Torell** (American)  
c. 1939  
watercolor, graphite, and pen and ink on paperboard  
overall: 30.4 x 22 cm (11 15/16 x 8 11/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 9 3/4" high; base: 5 3/4" square

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1943.8.8536. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.20733.html).

## About this work

Pearl Torell painted this in about 1939. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

The sculpture depicts a young boy dressed in a bright red coat, blue shirt, and blue pants, with black shoes. He is wearing a black hat with a red rim and has curly hair. The boy is balanced on one foot atop a red ball, with one leg lifted behind him and one hand held high above his head. The sculpture is made of painted, cast metal with intricate designs and textures. The boy stands on an ornately decorated dark pedestal.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.
- **Graphite.** Pencil. Graphite has been used for drawing since the 1500s; in 1795 Nicolas-Jacques Conté mixed it with clay, so its hardness could be graded.
- **Pen and ink.** Drawn with a quill or reed pen, often with wash added by brush to model light and shadow.

### [Pearl Torell](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/pearl-torell)

American

## Facts

- Type: Drawing
- Real size: about 12 × 8½ in (30 × 22 cm). Closest to life size: the 8 × 10 in print.
- Century: 20th century
- Movement: [American folk and design](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/american-folk-design)
- Colour: white
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1415.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1415/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/toy-bank-nga-20733).