Isaak Walton Junior, 1900, oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches. Signed. PRICE ON REQUEST | VIEW LARGER IMAGE PROVENANCE The importance of the turn-of-the-century American genre painters lies in attention to the subjects. In a time where Americans adopted the Victorian ideal that childhood was a special time of rural innocence, and that children were no longer viewed as small versions of adults, Americana painters, such as Karl Witkowski, sought the importance of capturing those fleeting moments. To tell more of the story. Karl Witkowski's impressionable portrayals of carefree youth has made him one of the most celebrated genre painters of his time. Most of his paintings of children are imaginary convictions--simple children enjoying a simple moment. However, Walton stretched his imagination further with his fantastical depiction of a child who lived almost three centuries before him -- well-known 17th century author, Issak Walton, in his youth. Walton is best known for The Compleat Angler (1653), a classic guide to the joys of fishing, combining practical information about angling with folklore . The story of three friends traveling through the countryside, is enlivened by occasional songs, ballads, quotations from other writers, and glimpses of an idyllic and now lost rural life. Throughout the centuries, The Compleat Angler became one of the most reprinted books in the history of British letters. Witkowski's "Isaak Walton Junior" is a delightful and unaccustomed departure from fictional children and genre work, to an invented depiction of an British literary master. He captures the sheer bliss of Walton as a child, enveloped in perfect contentment. A soft breeze rustles the reeds and blades of grass and and the delicious colors of a sunny day charm the scene. Witkowski delightfully paints with crisp detail and care put in every brushstroke; a true testament to the times.