Margery Eva Lang Hamilton - Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates
Margery Eva Lang Hamilton (1907/8-1997), American
Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates, 1934
OIL ON CANVAS , mounted on board, 62 ½ x 119 ¼ inches
Funded by a grant from the Public Works of Art Project of the Civil Works Administration
Mary Mapes Dodge's classic 1865 children's tale of Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates tells the story of a young Dutch boy who struggles with moral responsibility and caring for his family after his father is injured. Lang used students at the St. Johnsbury Academy as her models for this culminating scene, as the girls, including Hans' sister Gretel, begin a three-mile race. The race's winner would receive a coveted pair of silver skates "with silver bells and buckles."
For more information on the commission of the mural, visit the Song of Hiawatha.