Munning’s Earliest Boating Theme According to Christie’s, Idle Moments; or The Boathouse (1906) “is the earliest boating theme, foreshadowing [Sir Alfred James Munnings’] series of ladies in canoes painted in the 1930’s and 40’s.” The description continues: This scene is the boathouse at Mendham … The lady in the back reclines and contentedly settles in…
Category: British art
Ambrose McEvoy: Portrait of Lady Gwendoline Churchill (1917)
When this work was exhibited at the New English Art Club just after Ambrose McEvoy’s shocking and sudden death of pneumonia at the age of only forty-nine, the Times critic praised the painting – which had been given pride of place in the exhibition – for serving ‘very well to recall the characteristic powers of…
The Real Ophelia
The scene depicted is from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act IV, Scene vii, in which Ophelia, driven out of her mind when her father is murdered by her lover Hamlet, falls into a stream and drowns: There, on the pendent boughs her coronet weedsClambering to hang, an envious sliver broke;When down her weedy trophies and herselfFell in…
Sir Frank Brangwyn: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
“After the First World War, Brangwyn was commissioned to produce Stations of the Cross for Arras cathedral through the recommendation of his friend Theophile Steinlen (1859-1923). Reproductions of the Stations were to be distributed to other war damaged churches. Unfortunately the series was never completed. It was generally reported that this was due to the…
Ambrose McEvoy: Lady Patricia Moore (c.1920)
“Despite being one of the most successful society portrait painters of his day, Ambrose McEvoy has until recently been overlooked. Born in 1877, McEvoy painted a plethora of important sitters throughout his career including Sir Winston Churchill and Lady Diana Cooper. McEvoy demonstrated exceptional artistic abilities from a young age. Encouraged by his father, Captain…
Sir Alfred James Munnings: Crostwick Common, Woman With a Donkey and Geese (1904)
Crostwick Common: Woman with a Donkey and Geese was executed in 1904, when Munnings stayed at an inn called the Crostwick White Horse, near Norwich, and painted at Crostwick Common. In his memoir An Artist’s Life, published nearly fifty years after the picture was completed, Munnings recalled those charmed days: ‘Then came the open Common….
Sir Alfred Munnings: Langham Mill Pool
The Best of British Impressionism A strong supporter of en plein-air painting, Sir Alfred Munnings, “like the French Impressionist painters, … captures the salient qualities of form while conjuring the dramatic atmosphere of light, air, and colour.” Painted at a site only a few miles from his home, “Langham Mill Pool is an extraordinary example…
Sir Oswald Birley: The Nurse (1921)
Hidden from view in the ownership of her descendants, Philip Mould will talk about the arrival from America of an exquisite, hitherto unknown portrait of an arresting 1920’s nurse by society painter Sir Oswald Birley. Painted in return for medical services, this masterpiece by Birley combines his brilliance as a portraitist with the sublime lessons…
Alfred James Munnings: Summer afternoon…Wensum, Costessey (1909)
“Plein-air tour de force” Summer afternoon on the Wensum, Costessey is a plein-air tour de force imbued with colour, light and atmosphere… Christie’s ‘His pure landscapes would of themselves have made a reputation. Contemplating them in the Diploma Gallery, along with the best of the gypsy studies and Exmoor ponies, one was forced to the…
Dante Gabriel Rossetti: My Lady Greensleeves
Click for Enlarged Detail Slideshow best viewed At Sunnyside Image Source: My Lady Greensleeves by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, [Public domain], Source: Wikimedia Thanks for Visiting 🙂 ~Sunnyside
James Jebusa Shannon: Jungle Tales (Contes de la Jungle) 1895
Who Is James Jebusa Shannon? James Jebusa Shannon was born in the United States and moved to England in 1878 where he trained at South Kensington. According to ArtUK, “Shannon enjoyed early success and, under the influence of Sargent, developed a bravura portrait style which made him one of the most sought after society portraitists…
Thomas Francis Dicksee: Jessica (1867)
Farewell, and if my fortune be not crossed, I have a father, you a daughter, lost. — Jessica, The Merchant of Venice Who Is Jessica? This painting shows Jessica, a character in Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice, the daughter of a Jewish moneylender Shylock, who defies her father’s wishes and falls in love with…
Christopher Thompson: Seated Figure
Thanks for Visiting 🙂 ~Sunnyside
Alfred James Munnings: Gorse on Ringland Hills
Landscape painting was Sir Alfred Munnings’s first love, and the artist would return to depicting the landscape of his native East Anglia throughout his career, emulating his great predecessor John Constable. In 1910-11 Munnings explored the Ringland Hills near Norwich with the gypsy boy Shrimp, a caravan and a string of ponies. ‘The gorse was…
A Tragic Life: Florence Carter-Wood
A Hint of Mystery: Florence Carter-Wood Portrait of Florence Munnings, at sunset (1912) is a key work in Munnings’ Cornish period and a rare painting by Munnings of his first wife, Florence Carter-Wood. Florence was an artist herself, exhibiting both at the Royal Academy and at Walker Art Gallery. According to Christie’s, She is probably…
Annie Louisa Swynnerton: The Sense of Sight via The Eclectic Light Company
Reblogged from The Eclectic Light Company‘s series on The Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood. This painting is one of my favorites from Annie Louisa Swynnerton. For me, Swynnerton’s masterpiece, and one of the finest paintings of this difficult subject, is The Sense of Sight from 1895. This is now in the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, which had…
The Tree of Life: 17th century
“This association with the Tree of Life in Revelations is reinforced by the curling grape vine wrapped around the trunk of the tree, which is symbolic of the Passion of Christ and the promise of eternal life.” TheMet This unique image of a miraculous tree bearing multiple species of fruits and vegetables…
Sister From The Order Of The Pre-Raphaelites
Lately, I have been delving into the lives of some of the talented women surrounding the Pre-Raphaelite movement, both artists and models, so I am delighted to re-blog this poem by Gwendrina. Published at The Peaceful Pub, “Sister From The Order Of The Pre-Raphaelites” is a poem about “a fictitious member of the group based…
John Everett Millais: ‘Mariana’ (1851)
Who is John Everett Millais? John Millais (1829–1896) was a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of English artists who united in 1848 hoping to renew British painting. They idealized the sincerity of purpose and clarity of form of the early Italian Renaissance artists—before Raphael—finding art that they sought to emulate. The Pre-Raphaelite…
Thomas Lamb: Blossom Tree after the Rain
Blossom Tree after the Rain – Thomas Lamb British, 1928-2016 Oil on linen Source: huariqueje
Charles Conder: The Shore at Dornoch (c.1880)
The Shore at Dornoch (c.1880). Charles Conder (British, 1868-1909). Oil on canvas. Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums. The lady sitting on the beach reading is Amaryllis Robichaud who was a friend of both Conder and Toulouse Lautrec. She owned this painting. This captures the beauty and elegance for which she was famed and with its…
Eleanor Farjeon and Olive Leared: Mythology in Word and Picture
‘Pan! Pan! O Pan! Bring back thy reign again upon the earth!’
At Sunnyside - Where Truth and Beauty Meet 