Baby in Blue

Prior's Baby in Blue, painted around 1845, is a characteristic example of his economical portrait style, produced for middle-class families wanting affordable painted records of their children. The folk portrait tradition in America served as a democratic alternative to the elite portrait painting of academically trained artists. Prior advertised that he could produce flat likenesses "without shade or shadow" at a fraction of the cost of fully modeled portraits.

The oil-on-paper-on-wood technique reflects Prior's economical approach, with the child's form rendered in broad, flat areas of color without academic modeling. The blue costume provides a bold chromatic note against the simplified background.