Although undated, this watercolor was almost certainly executed at Houghton Farm during the summer of 1878. Homer’s watercolors of this period marked a new development in his style. In comparison with earlier works, they were characterized by freer handling, lighter colors, and a more sensitive use of the white of the roughly-textured paper he favored at this time.¹

These two farm children served frequently as models for Homer during the summer of 1878. In other drawings they can be seen conversing over the split-rail fence,² climbing over the fence,³ or merely relaxing in a shaded glen.⁴

The drawing has also been known as Boy and Girl at Gate.

—Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann, Standish D. Lawder, and Charles W. Talbot, Jr., Drawings from the Clark Art Institute, 2 vols. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1964), 1:139, no. 337.