Farm at Waltendlath

 

"Farm at Waltendlath" is a painting by a little known English artist named Dora Carrington (1893-1932). Carrington learned art from an early age and was encouraged by both her parents and her teachers.  It wasn't until the 1970's that her work started to be appreciated.  In 1978, the then director of the Tate Museum said Carrignton was "the most neglected serious painter of her time".  

Reading about her, I feel like she was one of those people who should have been born in another time.  If you are interested, you can read more about her here.

The painting above shows a farm in Keswick in the Lake District of England.  Carrington spent a summer holiday near there.  I found the painting at the Tate Britain in an exhibit featuring little known English artists.  The serenity of the scene appealed to me.

Ophelia!

 

Ophelia is a painting by John Everett Millais (1829-1896).  It is meant to be Ophelia from Shakespeare's play "Hamlet".  Millais was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.  He went to great lengths to get every detail right in all of his paintings.  For this painting he spent days painting by the side of a stream to capture every detail of the growth around the water.  Then he spent hours painting his model who was submerged in the tub of water in order for him to get every detail of her floating image.  She was in the cold water so long that she became very ill from the cold.  Her story is just as interesting as the painter himself.  She was an artist in her own right but because of era, never received the recognition due to her.  There is a wonderful video, 6-minute video produced by the Tate Britain that tells the story of this painting and gives honor to his model Elizabeth Sidel.  It is a fascinating story. You can see it here.  

The Crowd

 

This week's featured artist is Edward Middleditch (1923-1987).  This painting is called "Crowd, Earls Court" and it is part of the collection at the Tate Britain  in London.  

Middleditch was born in Chelmsford, Essex and after serving in the army during WWII, he attended classes at the Royal College of Art.  His early works tended to use a lot of water and reflective scenes but later in is career, his work took on a more abstract nature with repeating patterns present.  

This painting caught my eye because it seemed to mimic rush hour traffic at many tube stations in London.  

Bronze Ballet

 

This is a painting that fascinated me when I visited the Tate Britain Museum in London.  It has such an abstract surrealistic look to it.  Naturally, I took a photo so I could investigate it and learn more.  The artist is Edward Wadsworth (1889-1949) and the painting is called "Bronze Ballet".  Wadsworth was part of a modernist art movement called "Vorticism" which had been formed in 1914 by Wyndham Lewis.  

Wadsworth's mother died of sepsis nine days after he was born.  His father was devastated and had a hard time relating to his son.  He had an aunt who cared for him and left him with a yearly income allowing hime to pursue a career in art.  Wadsworth's most famous painting is called "Dazzle Ships in Drydock at Liverpool." It can be found in the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.  

While researching this artist, I found another of his paintings called "Triangles" painted in 1948.  I love this painting.  I wish I knew where I could see it in person.   It might be in a private collection because I wasn't able to find a museum location in my searches. 

The Cholmondeley Ladies

 Even though the artist for this painting is unknown, I wanted to research it because it is so unusual.  I saw this painting at the Tate Britain in London and it caught my attention right away. The description explains that the two ladies are sisters who were born on the same day, married on the same day and gave birth on the same day.  In fact, there is a barely visible inscription on the lower left of the painting that reads:  "Two Ladies of the Cholmondeley Family who were born on the same day, married on the same day, and brought to bed on the same day."

Although the two ladies appear identical, there are numerous differences in the details of their clothing and facial characteristics.  In fact, their eyes are different colors indicating that they were not identical twins.  The painting is known as "The Cholmondeley Ladies" and Cholmondeley is pronounced "Chum - lee".  It is believed to have been painted sometime between 1600 and 1610 and it remained in the Cholmondeley family until it was donated anonymously to the Tate in 1955.