Curatorial Narrative The Wounded Drummer Boy by Felix Octavius Carr Darley presents itself as an exercise in modern realism, one that eschews the more sentimental and romanticized depictions of war found in other works of its time. Instead, Darley’s focus is on the minute details of the drummer boy’s attire, his hands wrapped around the still-warm drumsticks, and the faint crease on his forehead where a sweatdrop has formed. This attention to texture and detail imbues the painting with an almost tactile quality, one that draws the viewer in and invites close scrutiny.As the work is scaled up to 66×44 inches, its monochromatic palette begins to exert a significant influence over the surrounding space. The deep grays and blacks that comprise the majority of the image seem to recede into the background, creating a sense of spatial rhythm that is both calming and contemplative. The slight gradations in tone within these dark hues appear