Image: Manchester Art Gallery.

• Title(s): Swans (Manchester Art Gallery).
• Description: “Group on five swans in a river surrounded by water which is engulfed in sunlight. The shadow of the swans is silhouetted against the water. To the bottom right-hand side of the painting there is a rounded shape in light brown with a metal attachment – representing either a section of a jetty or part of a boat. The study for the painting was therefore done close to the waters edge or in a boat. The background of the painting is very dark contrasting with the sun-lit section in the middle” (Manchester Art Gallery).
• Media: Oil on canvas (Manchester Art Gallery).
• Dimensions: “framed: 8 cm (depth); 43.2 cm (height); 53.2 cm (width) / unframed: 30.5 cm (height); 40.5 cm (width)” (Manchester Art Gallery).
• Signature/date/other text: “artist’s inscription : : blc : artist’s name : S Isabel Dacre” (Manchester Art Gallery).
• History:
  • 1927 – “purchased [by Manchester Art Gallery] from the artist, 1927” (artuk.org).
  • 1927-1928 – Exhibited “Dacre, Dodd, Wood” (Manchester Art Gallery).
• Location: Manchester Art Gallery.

A work titled “Watching the Swans” was exhibited Manchester, 1927, described as ‘children gazing at swans on a lake’. It received criticism in one review, “unnecessarily large and the picture lacks unity”, although stated to be “a good study of children” elsewhere [1]. Swans was acquired by Manchester Art Gallery in 1927 add may be a cut down portion of this work.

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Page last updated 11 Feb 2026.