John William Godward (British, 1861-1922)

Dr. Vern Swanson has commented on the painting: "Playtime is an interesting oil on which we see three patrician Romans on a balcony. A man in a tunic, looking very much like Godward's brothers, may be the artist himself. He looks longingly at a young maiden playing with a kitten with a peacock feather. While Godward would do other pictures incorporating more than one figure they would become increasingly rare. There might have been a Platonic affair between the artist and his model, which may have culminated in 1893 with Godward's oil Yes or No?" (Private Collection). (Dr. V.G. Swanson, John William Godward, op.cit., p. 181.)