The Story of Golden Locks by Guy in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2022

Title: Story of Golden Locks

Artist: Seymour Joseph Guy (American (born England), London 1824–1910 New York)

Date: ca. 1870

Culture: American

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 34 x 28 in. (86.4 x 71.1 cm)

Credit Line: Gift of Daniel Wolf and Mathew Wolf, in memory of their sister, the Honorable Diane R. Wolf, 2013

Accession Number: 2013.604


While little known today, the English-born Guy was celebrated in his lifetime for his charming and technically accomplished genre paintings of childhood. In this work, the artist depicts his own children reading a version of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." The young girl’s menacing bear-like shadow and the boys’ wide eyes suggest that they have reached the story’s frightening climax. In addition to the didactic message of the fairy tale—warning children not to wander from home—Guy presents his adolescent daughter on the verge of change, turning away from childhood games and assuming a more adult, maternal role.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/20129