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Thumbnail of drawing of gin lane
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Gin Lane (1751)

This is one of the best-known prints by the famous artist, William Hogarth. He designed it to support the British government's attempt to regulate the price and popularity of drinking gin (known as Geneva) in the Gin Act of 1751. The print is accompanied by the following verse:

Thumbnail of drawing of girl and angel
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The Red Shoes

Folktales have been used for generations to teach moral tales to children. They have shifted over time depending upon the generation and location of the tale but remain part of the childhood experience for many young people.

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Ivory Doll

This finely carved ivory doll with moveable arms and legs was found in the grave of a girl approximately five years of age in Tarragona, Spain, a port city south of Barcelona. It dates to the 3rd or 4th century CE.

Thumbnail of Madonna and child painting
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Madonna and Child, 1295–1300

This panel painting represents an innovation in the history of western European painting and a moment in religious iconography: depiction of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus in Byzantine icons was traditionally symbolic.

Thumbnail of a drawing of man cutting a boy with scissors
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Der Struwwelpeter (Slovenly Peter)

Published in 1858, Der Struwwelpeter (Shaggy Peter) is a German children's book first published anonymously under a different title in 1845 by Heinrich Hoffman.

Thumbnail of children's games painting
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Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s "Children's Games"

Flemish painter, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, painted "Children's Games" in 1560. While many of his other paintings also portray peasant folk culture, this summer townscape that is devoid of adults is rich in detail about Medieval children—especially at play.

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Max und Moritz

Written and illustrated by German painter and poet, Wilhelm Busch, Max und Moritz (1865) is a children's story written in doggerel verse and illustrated in a comic-like style about two unscrupulous boys who taunt adults with their sadistic pranks.

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Portrait of Darleen, 2007

The photograph is from an exhibition entitled "Thirteen" by German professional photographer Janina Wick. It shows a young girl leaning slightly against a tree, against the background of a graffiti-covered wall, in an urban environment.

Thumbnail of a young female ice skater
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Portrait of Isabelle, 2007

The photograph is from an exhibition entitled "Thirteen" by German professional photographer Janina Wick. It shows a young female ice skater leaning against the wall in a sports center.

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Ancient Greek Adolescent Girls at Play

This small (5.5 inches high) terracotta sculpture was made in Greek southern Italy in the late fourth century BCE. It depicts two adolescent girls playing the game of "knucklebones" (astragaloi in Greek).