Art Gallery Trip

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Next, June Is Dead (1915), which was her Diploma submission to the Royal Watercolour Society after her election to Fellowship thereof. The period between her election and the submission of her Diploma picture included World War I, which naturally interrupted a lot of proceedings in the art world in England throughout its duration. Usually, artists were expected to submit a Diploma picture to either the Royal Academy or the Royal Watercolour Society after a reasonable period of time, but World War I introduced an unavoidable hiatus in this instance.

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Next, an interesting work, The Guardian Angel (The Genius Of Flight), which, in the bottom three small panels, features Leonardo da Vinci and Icarus flanking a depiction of what would be in her day a modern aviator. A fascination with flight appears in several of her works, along with a fascination for Leonardo da Vinci.

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Now, the first of two parts of the book image of The Forerunner (1920), about which I've said much in the opening post in this thread. Again, problems with the tight spine binding compromise this and the next image (sigh) ...

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And here's part 2 of the same picture ...

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Next, an unfinished watercolour, Almshouses At Abindgon, from 1920. This was actually a preparatory sketch for a larger project, and illustrates the artist's habit of seeking real world locations that could be pressed into artistic service, instead of inventing imaginary places and fabricating an image to fit. Fortescue-Brickdale frequently gave away preparatory sketches as gifts, and this one ended up in the hands of a noted collector of such images, one George Clough.

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Next, we have Portrait of Charles Fortescue-Brickdale (1924). If this image of her brother has a stern, almost bureaucratic, air to it, this should not be surprising, when one realises that he was the first holder of the office of Chief Land Registrar in the UK, and was knighted in 1911 for implementing a series of major reforms to the internal operation of the Land Registry. All but the first five years of his adult career were spent in that organisation.

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Finally, we have The Prior's Niece (1932), from which this is a detail shot. Originally conceived as a depiction of a scene from the poem Fra Lippo Lippi, the central character is actually a minor player in the poem, the beautiful niece of a member of the religious order to which Fra Lippo Lippi belongs, and whom he is sketching in order to illustrate the principles of artistic fidelity, whilst trying not to allow the woman's beauty to distract him from the spiritual matters that he and his fellow monks regard as more worthy subjects. Once again, most here will be rolling their eyes and thinking "bloody religion" ...

Incidentally, Fortescue-Brickdale suffered her first serious illness in 1928, ultimately leading to a cerebral haemorrhage in 1938, which crippled her ability to paint for the last 7 years of her life. This work was one of the last to emerge from her brush before that major calamity.

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And now, I need a break.

Enjoy the catalogue!

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Right, it's time for some more pics from the Lady Lever Art Gallery. First up ... A Christmas Carol by Rossetti.

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Next, An Al Fresco Toilet by Sir Samuel Luke Fildes. Some of these pics are hampered by the fact that my camera had trouble locking on to some of the paintings, because the autofocus mechanism was confused by the reflections off the glass (sigh). However, given the picture details, you'll all be able to find a better image online.

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Next up, Apple Blossoms by Millais.

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Next, Cymon & Iphingeneia by Millais. Another instance of reflections confusing the autofocus (sigh).

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Next, Lady Emma Hamilton As A Bacchante by Marie-Louise Elisabeth Vigée LeBrun. Now that's a name you won't come across often! Nelson's mistress looking suitably minxy against a backdrop featuring a smouldering Vesuvius ...

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Next, Little Speedwell's Darling Blue by Millais, one of a series of paintings that were specially commissioned by Lord Leverhulme to use as soap advertisements.

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Next, Sir Isumbras At The Ford by Millais ...