SYMBOLIC, MYTH-THEMED AND RELIGIOUS WORKS.

Note that many works fall into multiple categories. Some ‘figurative’ works would be ‘named portraits’, but the identity of the sitter is lost, others are as much landscape studies, but are classed ‘figurative’ because that is the focus point of the piece. Some nominally figurative or scenic works have symbolist elements in them.

A DREAM OF ITALY (MOUNTAIN and CLOUDS VERSIONS).

  • Note: It is assumed here that the ‘clouds’ version is the same work as the ‘mountains’ version, the background having been repainted after the work was de-accessioned by Brooklyn Institute.
  • Title(s): A Dream of Italy (multiple sources, including Brooklyn Institute accession document), occasionally Dream of Italy; untitled in 2017/2018 auctions.
  • Description: ‘Mountains’ version – a female figure, upper body naked, lower body behind a cloth held with her left hand, ivy leaves around her head, right arm raised and holding further clump of ivy, left leg stepping forwards, rocky/mountainous background; ‘Clouds’ version – ivy replaced with other vegetation, refinements made to the modelling of the figure, the rocky/mountainous background replaced with sky and clouds.
  • Media: Oil on canvas.
  • Dimensions: Canvas 41½ x 85¼ in. / 105 x 217 cm, frame 51¼ x 94¼ in [measurements given in 2017/2018 auctions].
  • Date/signature/other text: None mentioned in ‘clouds’ version auction and now visible in any if the images.
  • History:
    • [1881 – According to Gobbi et al (2004) Of Queens’ Gardens, “in 1881 the English painter Annie Robinson (later Swynnerton) exhibited a painting called A Dream of Italy at the independent and avant-garde Grosvenor Gallery in London”. However, this date is thirteen years before any other reference to the painting and not in 1881 Grosvenor Gallery Summer Exhibition catalogue. Other works of Annie’s show that she had the necessary skill, but without other confirmation the date given in this publication is assumed to be an error or referring to a different work.]
    • 1894 Sep – Exhibited Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Autumn Exhibition (Liverpool Mercury, 1 Sep 1894).
    • 1899 Apr – Exhibited New Gallery – Spring Exhibition (St James Gazette, 24 Apr 1899; The Art Journal, 1899; The Spectator, 29 Apr 1899, Illustrated London News, 6 May 1900).
    • 1900 Jul – Exhibited Women’s Exhibition, Earl’s Court, London, “1458 … £840 0s 0d” (over £80,000 at 2023 value). (Echo, 9 Jul 1900; The Scotsman, 9 Jul 1900; Bury and Norwich Post, 21 Aug 1900.)
    • 1910 Mar – Exhibited at Women’s International Art Club 11th annual exhibition, The Grafton Gallery. (London Evening Standard, 2 Mar 1910; The Queen, 5 Mar 1910.)
    • 1918 – Photograph in Vogue 51(3), p63.
    • c. 1920 – On loan (from Mr A. Augustus Healey) to and then accessioned by Brooklyn Institute / “the New York Museum paid “£1,500 for her “Dream of Italy”” (Portsmouth Evening News, 25 Oct 1933), however a Brooklyn Institute publication of 1920 call it one of the “gifts” to the “Museums of The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences”, presented by A. Augustus Healey.
    • 1922 Dec 9 – Image in The Sphere (newspaper).
    • 1922 Dec 12 – Victoria Daily Times states “Her work is … in the New York Museum, the director paying 1,000 guineas for “A Dream of Italy.”” (Contradicts 1920 information stating it was a gift.)
    • 1923 Mar – Illustrated in Pearson’s Magazine.
    • 1923 Oct – Exhibited “Twenty Third Show of the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors” Fine Arts Galleries, 215 West Fifty-seventh street, on loan from the “Brooklyn Art Museum” (Pittsburgh Daily Post, 14 Oct 1923; The Art News, 20 Oct 1923).
    • 1947 – ‘Deaccessioned’ by the Brooklyn Institute, i.e, removed from collection (source: private communication).
    • 2017 Jul 27 – [‘Clouds’ version] Auctioned iGallery, Salem, Massachusetts, USA, lot 16, “41 1/2 x 85 1/4 in.; 51 1/4 x 94 1/4 in. with frame”, passed.
    • 2018 May 24 – [‘Clouds’ version] Auctioned iGallery, Salem, Massachusetts, USA, lot 80, “41 1/2 x 85 1/4 in.; 51 1/4 x 94 1/4 in. with frame”, passed.
  • Location: unknown.

A DRYAD.

A HEAD OF A BACCHANTE.

AN ARMOURED ANGEL WITH A BOY.

  • Title(s): An armoured angel with a boy (this web site); Allegorical subject (Sotheby’s, 1979); Allegorical scene – A winged Soldier comforting a boy (Christie’s, 1999).
  • Description: A winged woman with body armour and red skirt, lying on the ground by her a nude young male figure, face turned away, background of distant mountains.
  • Media: ?
  • Dimensions: “unframed / 60½ by 43¼ in; 153.5 by 110.5 cm” (Sotheby’s, 1979).
  • Signature/date/other text: “Allegorical subject/by/Annie L. Swynnerton ARA/found in her studio in Rome/and sent to London in 1936” on the reverse.
  • History:
    • 1936 – “found in her studio in Rome/and sent to London” (Christie’s, 1999).
    • 1979 Jul 3 – Auctioned Sotheby’s, London, lot 224.
    • 1999 May 19 – Auctioned Christie’s, South Kensington, The El Helou Collection.
  • Location: ?

AN IMAGE OF DESIRE.

  • Title(s): AN IMAGE OF DESIRE / DESIRE mentioned in The Evening News, Feb 13 1933, and other papers; 1931 photograph (title formerly used on this web site).
  • Description: Winged female figure, head turned upwards – an incomplete work only known from a photograph taken c. 1931.
  • Media: ?
  • Dimensions: Very approximately 1.6 x 1.5 m.
  • Signature: ?
  • History:
    • c. 1931 – Only known from single newspaper photograph.
    • 1932 Mar 26 – In an Express interview of 1933, Annie says it is an allegorical work based on the works of Shelley. She had the painting returned from Rome so she could finish it, intending it for submission to the Royal Academy that summer, but was too unwell, submitting three earlier paintings instead. She said, “In the winged figure, I have tried to express the desire of the moth for the star – the ‘something’  we all strive for in this life, but never attain” (Alaistair Swinnerton).
    • 1956 Mar – The image is used in exhibition catalogue ‘PAINTINGS BY MANCINI, McEVOY, A. L. SWYNNERTON. The Alpine Club Gallery [London] / March, 1956.
  • Location: ?

CUPID AND PSYCHE.

  • Title(s): Cupid and Psyche (multiple sources).
  • Description: Two figures, both nude, a young woman facing the viewer being kissed on the cheek by a young man; the young man has blue-coloured wings and holds a bow in his right hand. “Cupid with deep blue wings, background of rosy mist and mountain” (New Gallery catalogue, 1891).
  • Media: oil on canvas (artuk.org).
  • Dimensions: 147 x 91 cm (artuk.org).
  • Date/signature/other text: “Annie L Swynnerton, 1891” (front of canvas, lower right).
  • History:
  • Location: Gallery Oldham (artuk.org).

ILLUSIONS.

  • Title(s): Illusions (title on plaque on frame / Manchester Art Gallery).
  • Description: “Symbolic painting featuring a winged figure of a young girl with blonde hair, dressed in a suit of armour and chain mail. Her left hand is raised towards her chest as she gathers a red cloak over her arm. Her right hand reaches out towards the viewer. Behind her is a background of dense trees with dappled sunlight falling on the girl from the left. One of the girl’s wings is visible curving over her left shoulder” (Manchester Art Gallery; note: artuk.org has “A bird sits on the girl’s right shoulder”, but there is no ‘bird’, angel-like wings belonging to the subject are a motif used by Annie in several paintings).
  • Media: oil on canvas (Manchester Art Gallery).
  • Dimensions: canvas “68 cm (height); 51 cm (width)”, frame “9.5 cm (depth); 89.5 cm (height); 74 cm (width)” (Manchester Art Gallery).
  • Signature/date/other text: none on exposed canvas; plaque attached at base: “ILLUSIONS / B.1845 ANNIE L SWYNNERTON, ARA. D. 1933 / BEQUEATHED BY MRS. LOUISA MARY GARRETT TO / THE CORPORATION OF MANCHESTER 1936”.
  • History:
    • Date? – undated.
    • 2018 Apr – Exhibited Manchester Art Gallery, “The Edwardians” (Manchester Art Gallery).
    • 2018 Nov – Exhibited Manchester Art Gallery, “Whose Power On Display?” (Manchester Art Gallery).
    • 2018 Feb 23 -2019 Jan 6 – Exhibited Manchester Art Gallery, “Painting Light and Hope” (Manchester Art Gallery).
  • Location: Manchester Art Gallery.

JOAN OF ARC / FAITH.

  • Title(s): Joan of Arc (Sotheby’s, 2006 & 2007); Faith (Illustrated London News, 23 Apr 1904; Whitchapel Art Gallery, 1907). Both titles assumed to refer to the same work by the description of ‘Faith’ in The Illustrated London News, 23 Apr 1904.
  • Description: A woman with red hair loose over her shoulders, her face raised and eyes closed. She wears body armour with chain mail and has a red cloth draped over her left arm and visible behind her right side. She holds a sword with both hands, blade vertically downwards so that the hilt has the appearance of a cross. Background an indistinctly painted green landscape with prominent rainbow framing the head and shoulders of the woman.
  • Media: oil on canvas (Sotheby’s, 2007).
  • Dimensions: “89 by 79 cm.; 35 by 31 in.” (Sotheby’s, 2007.)
  • Signature/date/other text: none visible in images or mentioned in catalogues.
  • History:
    • 1904 Apr – Exhibited New Gallery, “Faith”. (Illustrated London News, Apr 23 1904.)
    • 1907 Feb-Mar- Exhibited Whitchapel Art Gallery – Spring Exhibition, no. 109, “Faith” (exhibition catalogue).
    • 1922 – This or another version present in Annie’s studio and visible in photo in The Times, 25 Nov 1922 – if it is the same work then Annie altered some details of the work after the photo was taken.
    • 1981 – Mentioned in an article in Cheshire Observer, 29 May 1981, presumably while on view pending following auction.
    • 1981 – Auctioned Sotheby’s, 23 Jun, lot 104, sold: £750 [c. £2,900 at 2025 value]. (Sotheby’s, 2006).
    • 1984 – Auctioned Christie’s, Rome, 4 Dec, lot 51. (Sotheby’s, 2006).
    • 2006 – Auctioned Sotheby’s, London, 14 Dec, lot 130, “oil/canvas / 89 by 79 cm; 35 by 31 in / Illustrated on page 71 of the catalog”, provenance: private collection, passed.
    • 2007 – Auctioned Sotheby’s, London, 3 Oct, lot 71, “oil/canvas / 89 by 79 cm; 35 by 31 in / Illustrated on page 45 of the catalog”, provenance: private collection, passed.
  • Location: ? (“Private collection” according to Sotheby’s 2006 & 2007).

MATER TRIUMPHALIS.

  • Title(s): Mater Triumphalis (multiple sources, including plaque on base of painting); Mater Triomphalis (on c. 1920 black-and-white postcards issued by the Museé du Luxembourg, but ‘Triumphalis’ in othe Musée publications).
  • Description: A female nude facing the viewer, arms raised up around her head, head tilted back and face turned slightly to the subject’s right, passive expression. On the right of the subjects feet a gilded dish containing small objects (shells?). Standing on what is presumed to be wet sand with two loose whelk shells in the foreground. Background a blue wash. Behind and above the subject’s right shoulder a wing shown (and possibly another indicated behind left shoulder and raised arm by shadowy paintwork); “Nude figure in upright posture, with arms thrown overhead. Yellowish flesh tits forced by ultramarine background” (New Gallery catalogue, 1892).
  • Media: oil on canvas (“huile sur toile”, Museé du Orsay).
  • Dimensions: canvas 167.0 x 68.0 cm, frame 199 x 100 cm (Museé du Orsay).
  • Signature/date/other text: signed and dated “Annie L Swynnerton / 1892” (image); plaque: “SWYNNERTON (Mrs. A.L.J / Mater Triumphalis”
  • History:
  • Location: Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

MONTAGNA MIA.

  • Title(s): Montagna Mia (Manchester Art Gallery).
  • Description: “A mystical scene depicting a naked woman reclining across what appears to be a mountain range, her hands reaching back clasped behind her head and her eyes closed. Her lower torso disappears into a mist to the left, a pale moon shining overhead. The painting is predominantly in blue, grey and lilac tones” (artuk.org).
  • Media: oil on canvas (Manchester Art Gallery).
  • Dimensions: “framed: 11 cm (depth); 137 cm (height); 209 cm (width). / Canvas: 112.3 cm (height); 183 cm (width)” (Manchester Art Gallery).
  • Signature/date/other text: no signature or date on canvas,
  • History:
  • Location: Manchester Art Gallery.

NEW-RISEN HOPE (MELBOURNE).

  • Title(s): New-risen Hope (Melbourne) (this web site); variously spelled with or without hyphen or all words capitalized.
  • Description: A young child, unclothed, arms raised, partly obscured by a flowing green cloth, background of subdued blues and greys. There is a discontinuous rainbow the right of child, and it a small, yellow butterfly settled on it’s chest.
  • Media: “oil on canvas on wood panel” (NGV).
  • Dimensions: “74.2 × 59.7 cm” (NGV).
  • Signature/date/other text: “inscribed in green paint l.r.: Annie L Swynnerton / 1904″ (NGV).
  • History:
    • 1904 – signed and dated.
    • 1906 – “The artist; Felton Bequest, 1906, recommended by Sir George Clausen” (NGV).
  • Location: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.

NEW-RISEN HOPE (TATE).

  • Title(s): New-risen Hope (Tate) (this web site); variously spelled with or without hyphen or all words capitalized; The New-risen Hope (The Art News, 1 March 1924).
  • Description: Upper body of a young child, unclothed, arms held out at it’s sides and only finished to the wrists, background of subdued blues, greys and pale tones. There is very faintly the shape of a wing behind the left shoulder, either over-painted or deliberately depicted obscure.
  • Media: oil on canvas (Tate).
  • Dimensions: “support: 570 x 519 x 150 mm frame: 775 x 730 x 120 mm” (Tate).
  • Signature/date/other text: “Annie L Swynnerton / 1904” (visible on canvas).
  • History:
    • 1903 – Exhibited New Gallery The Magazine of Art (June 1903) (note: a year earlier than inscribed date).
    • 1904 – Signed and dated.
    • 1924 – “Presented by the Trustees of the Chantrey Bequest” (Tate).
    • 2018-2019 – Exhibited Manchester Art Gallery, 23 Feb 2018 to 6 Jan 2019.
    • 2022 – Exhibited Tate Britain, Nov, “Spotlights – Annie Swynnerton” exhibition.
  • Location: (Tate).

NUDE IN LANDSCAPE.

  • Title(s): Nude in landscape (written on back of frame).
  • Description: a reclining female nude figure, face turned away, background of subdued greens, blues and pale pigments. There is a patch of yellow pigment on the chest, possibly a butterfly or butterflies. Has the appearance of an unfinished or trial piece.
  • Media: oil on canvas (obvious from detailed photographs).
  • Dimensions: “canvas 22.5 x 61.5 cm, frame 36.0 x 74.5 cm” (private communication).
  • Signature/date/other text: none on canvas; on back of frame “ANNA LOUISE SWYNNERTON (1844-1933) NUDE IN LANDSCAPE”.
  • History:
    • c. 1904? – by possible association with New Risen Hope (Melbourne) because of presumed butterfly motif on chest.
    • 1990s? – “Purchased from the Collection of the late George Hulme, Playwright, Author and Art Collector who lived at 9 Ormonde Gate, London SW3” (details on eBay listing). (The vendor, an acquaintance of the late Mr Hulme, thought the work may have been obtained c. 1980s, possibly at a Christie’s auction [private communication].)
    • 2018 Apr 24 – Auctioned eBay, “Good condition, has been professionally relined … an original Oil on Canvas Painting by Anna Louise Swynnerton, ARA (1844-1933). This painting is thought to be a preparatory study for a larger work. / English, circa 1870. / Unsigned, with an inscription on the stretcher verso and a paper label with details of her listings in The Dictionary of British Artists 1880 -1940 and the Dictionary of Victorian Painters 2nd. Edition. / Presented in a good quality hand finished frame”, sold: £438.
  • Location: private collection.

OCEANID.

  • Title(s): Oceanid ([1]; artuk.org).
  • Description: A woman submerged to her waist in the sea, mountains in the distance. She has long, dark hair.
  • Media: oil on canvas ([1]; artuk.org).
  • Dimensions: “45 in. x 41 in.” ([1]); “H 170 x W 180 cm” (artuk.org).
  • Signature/date/other text: “Annie L Swynnerton / 1904” (visible on canvas).
  • History:
    • 1904 – signed and dated (visible on canvas).
    • 1908 – “Presented by Mrs. C. J. Herringham, 1908” ([1]); “Purchased” [by Bradford Art Gallery] (artuk.org).
    • 1922 – Exhibited Canadian National Exhibition, Toronto.
    • 2018-2019 – Exhibited Manchester Art Gallery, 23 Feb 2018 to 6 Jan 2019.
  • Location: Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford. (artuk.org).

OREADS.

  • Title(s): Oreads (Royal Academy, 1907; plaque on frame; this web site); The Oreades (1923 exhibition catalogue); The Oreads (Annie Swynnerton in letter to Flora Lion, 1907).
  • Description: A group of five female figures in different postures, all nude, in a circular frame. They appear standing on a watery surface with a leaping fish on one side and rainbow sliver in a part-cloudy sky on one side.
  • Media: oil on canvas (Tate).
  • Dimensions: “support: 1778 x 1778 mm” (Tate); “H 177.8 x W 177.8 cm” (artuk.org).
  • Signature/date/other text: “Annie L Swynnerton / 1891”; plaque on base of frame: “3619. OREADS.MRS. A. L. SWYNNERTON/ . ( ) . PRESENTED BY / MR. J. S. SARGENT, R.A., 1922”.
  • History:
    • 1891 – Signed and dated.
    • 1907 – Exhibited Royal Academy (exhibition catalogue).
    • 1910 – Exhibited Manchester Academy Autumn Exhibition (reference?).
    • 1922 – “Presented [to the Tate] by John Singer Sargent” (Tate).
    • 1923 – Exhibited Manchester Art Gallery 1923, “Painted at Rome” (exhibition catalogue).
    • 2018-2019 – Exhibited Manchester Art Gallery, 23 Feb 2018 to 6 Jan 2019.
    • 2022 – Exhibited Tate Britain, Nov 2022, “Spotlights: Annie Swynnerton”.
  • Location: Tate.

ST MARTIN’S SUMMER.

  • Title(s): St. Martin’s Summer (National Gallery of Canada).
  • Description: Upper torso of a winged female figure, eyes closed, her face tilted up and to her right and with a feint smile. Background a diffuse wash, mountains behind the subject’s right shoulder and the arc of a rainbow behind her left wing.
  • Media: oil on canvas (National Gallery of Canada).
  • Dimensions: “106.3 x 110 cm” (National Gallery of Canada).
  • Signature/date/other text:
  • History:
    • 1898 Apr – Exhibited New Gallery (The Tablet, 30 Apr 1898).
    • 1899 Feb – Exhibited Society of Women Artists, Suffolk Street, London (The Queen, 18 Feb 1899).
    • 1900 – Exhibited Women’s Exhibition, Earl’s Court, 1900 (exhibition catalogue).
    • 1909 – Exhibited New Gallery, Summer Exhibition (The Art Journal, 1909).
    • 1910 – Manchester Academy Autumn Exhibition (reference?).
    • 1922? – “the Liverpool Gallery” (Pearson’s Magazine, March 2023).
    • 1922 – Purchased 1922 by the National Gallery of Canada (National Gallery of Canada).
    • 1928 – Published image in Saturday Night (Canadian Newspaper), 26 May.
  • Location: National Gallery of Canada, Ottowa.

ST THOMAS’S CHURCH TRIPTYCH / CHERUBS ABOVE THE SEA.

  • Title(s): St. Thomas’s Church triptych (this web site); Cherubs above the Sea (Mallam’s, 2007).
  • Description: Three panels with winged cherubic heads with sea below and surrounded by clouds. Four heads on the central panel, two each on the side panels.
  • Media: “oils on panel” (Mallam’s, 2007).
  • Dimensions: “oils on panel, “21” x 16 1/2″ (x1) and 21″ x 13″ (x2)” (Mallam’s, 2007).
  • Signature/date/other text: none mentioned or visible in online images (Mallam’s, 2007).
  • History:
    • 1978 – Removed from St Thomas Church, Ardwick Green, Manchester (Mallam’s, 2007). [St. Thomas Church was decommissioned 1978 and has since been redeveloped for other uses.]
    • 2007 – Auctioned Mallam’s, Oxford, 8 Jun, lot 289, 53.3 x 106.7 cm, “Cherubs above the Sea, a triptych, oils on panel / 21″ x 16 1/2″ (x1) and 21″ x 13″ (x2). Provenance: removed from St. Thomas Church Ardwick Green, Manchester, when the church closed in 1978”, sold: £2,800.
  • Location: ?

STUDY FOR THE SOUL’S JOURNEY / THE SOUL’S AWAKENING.

THE ADORATION OF THE INFANT CHRIST (AFTER PERUGINO).

  • Title(s): Adoration of the Infant Christ (after Perugio) (Manchester Art Gallery).
  • Description: “A copy of an old master painting, at one quarter the original size, showing a group of five figures around a halo-bearing infant, all with hands expressing praise. The male and female figures to the left and right of the infant also have halos. In the centre ground on the right are a horned ?cow recumbent and a white ?mule behind it.”Scene depicting the Adoration of the Infant Christ, within arched canvas, taken from painting by Perugino. The baby Jesus lies on the ground in the centre of the picture with Mary to the right and Joseph to the left, both kneeling before the child with their arms folded and crossed in prayer. In the background to the centre and left the three shepherds kneel in similar attitude. Heavy wooden stable frame above, cow and donkey in a pen in the background to right. Hills extend in the distance to the left” (Manchester Art Gallery).
  • Media: oil on canvas.
  • Dimensions: framed: 75.2 x 106 cm, camvas 59.7 x 90.6 cm (Manchester Art Gallery). [Perugino’s original is 246 x 356 cm, four times Annie’s dimensions].
  • Signature/date/other text: none.
  • History:
    • Date? – No estimated date of creation.
    • 1934 – Bequeathed by Annie L. Swynnerton to Manchester Art Gallery (Manchester Art Gallery).
  • Location: Manchester Art Gallery.

THE SENSE OF SIGHT (1895).

  • Title(s): The Sense of Sight (artuk.org; multiple other sources).
  • Description: the upper body of a winged female figure, clothed, hands held out in front of her, gaze directed upwards, in the background sheep grazing, backed by a body of water with mountains in the far distance, the disc of the sun partly showing above the horizon on the right.
  • Media: oil on canvas (artuk.org).
  • Dimensions: “H 87.3 x W 101 cm” (artuk.org).
  • Signature/date/other text: signed “Annie L Swynnerton / 1895” on front of canvas, bottom right.
  • History:
    • 1895 – Signed and dated, 1895.
    • 1895 Jan – Exhibited Manchester Academy (Manchester Evening News, 19 Jan 1895, p3).
    • 1895 – Exhibited Society of Women Artists, London (reference?).
    • 1895 Sep – Exhibited Liverpool Autumn Exhibition [The Isle of Man Times and General Advertiser, 3 Sep 1895].
    • 1896 – Sold “since the closing of the Autumn Exhibition … £250 [£29,000 at Nov 2025 value]” (Liverpool Mercury, 2 Jan 1896); Gifted to the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool by Charles J. Procter (artuk.org).
    • 1911 – Exhibited Royal Scottish Academy (reference?).
    • 1915 – Exhibited Glasgow Institute (reference?).
    • 1923 – Exhibited Manchester Art Gallery – Paintings by Mrs Swynnerton.
    • 1988 Feb to Apr 15 – Exhibited Manchester Art Gallery – Women’s Works – Paintings, Drawings and Prints by Women Artists in the Permanent Collection at the Walker Art Gallery (The Guardian, 25 Feb 1988).
    • 2018 Feb -2019 Jan – Exhibited Manchester Art Gallery – Painting Light and Hope, 23 Feb 2018 to 6 Jan 2019.
    • 2025 Jun-Sep – Exhibited at The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA, 14 Jun to 14 Sep, in the exhibition A Room of Her Own: Women Artist-Activists in Britain, 1875-1945.
  • Location: Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.

THE SENSE OF SIGHT (1898).

  • Title(s): The Angel of the Annunciation (Christie’s, 1989); The Sense of Sight, 1898 (Christie’s, 1992).
  • Description: the upper body of a winged female figure, clothed, hands held out in front of her, gaze directed upwards, in the background sheep grazing, backed by a body of water with mountains in the far distance, the disc of the sun partly showing above the horizon on the right. [A close copy of a work painted in 1995].
  • Media: oil on canvas (Christie’s, 1992).
  • Dimensions: “89 x 103 cm” (Christie’s, 1989); “88.9 x 102.8 cm” (Christie’s, 1992).
  • Signature/date/other text: “Signed dated lower right / Inscr. S/label/verso” (Christie’s, 1992).
  • History:
    • 1898 – Signed and dated, 1898.
    • 1989 – Auctioned Christie’s, London, 2 Nov, lot 57, “The Summerfield Collection … The angel of the Annunciation, 1898, 1898 Oil/canvas 35.1×40.6 in (89×103 cm) signed & dated (Lower Right)”, sold: hammer £6,500.
    • 1992 – Auctioned Christie’s, London, 12 Jun 1992, lot 105, “Illustrated on page 90 of the catalog / Details / Signed dated lower right / Notes: Inscr. S/label/verso”, sold.
  • Location: private collection.

Page last updated 11 Oct 2025.