Monk’s House, where this painting hangs, was bought in 1919 by the writer Virginia Woolf and her husband, the political activist, journalist and editor Leonard Woolf. Its tranquil location in the village of Rodmell, three miles south-east of Lewes, afforded them a relaxing space away from the bustle of London.
This portrait of Sarah Lethieullier portrayed as the mythological figure Diana is one of a pair commissioned by her husband Sir Matthew Fetherstonhaugh. Its complimentary painting is a portrait of himself dressed as a hunter.
This charming and unassuming watercolour painting could easily be dismissed as a rather twee genre picture popular with the Victorian middle-classes. Yet it hides an intriguing tale of friendship, international travel and deposed dictators.
Wilhelmina (or Willie) Barns-Graham was born in St Andrews, Fife, on 8 June 1912. As a young child she showed signs of creative ability and wanted to be an artist from a very early age.
This charming little painting was painted by an artist about whom we know very little. Yet James Crayer was clearly an accomplished artist with an eye for good composition and the talent to capture the creases and folds of fabrics in a thoroughly convincing manner. We know Crayer was active during the nineteenth century and this painting is reminiscent of a style popular in the 1890s.
Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales was the only child of George, Prince of Wales (later to become King George IV) and Caroline of Brunswick. If she had outlived both her grandfather, King George III, and her father, she would have become Queen of the United Kingdom, but tragically she died following childbirth on 6 November 1817 aged just 21.
Many art collectors in the eighteenth century preferred to purchase paintings which were in pairs or sets so that they could be hung sympathetically to the layout of furniture in their houses.
This portrait shows Mrs. Mary Maud Foot with her three children relaxing in their garden at Church House in Pulborough, West Sussex, around 1902. Mary is seated next to her daughter Enid whilst her two older sons Leslie and Eric are placed further in the background. Not featured is their father, Dr Ernest Foot, who established a practice in the village some years earlier.
The inspiration for this painting came from a series of four poems written by the Scottish author James Thomson. Each poem took a different season as its theme and were published one season at a time between 1726 and 1730. The poems proved to be extremely influential and many artists were inspired to produce works based on them, including Thomas Gainsborough and J. M. W. Turner.
Visitors to Hastings Museum and Art Gallery might easily overlook this small oil painting as its canvas barely measures half the size of this page. Despite its modest proportions, it offers the keen-eyed visitor a charming and quintessential view of the English countryside that has changed little in the century and a half since it was painted.
Michael Escolme 