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Mrs. George Waugh
William Holman Hunt1868
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
The sitter, Mary Walker Waugh (1805–1886), was the artist's mother-in-law. The portrait was made shortly after the death of Hunt's wife, Fanny. In August of 1866 Hunt and his pregnant wife embarked for the Near East. Their son was born in Florence, but Fanny became ill and died. Mrs. Waugh blamed Hunt for the death of her daughter. Hunt and his son returned to London and moved into the Waugh household where he made this portrait. The sitter's stern look and the heavy background convey a tense and anger-filled atmosphere. The frame, designed by the artist, is original.
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Details
- Title: Mrs. George Waugh
- Creator: William Holman Hunt (British, 1827-1910)
- Date Created: 1868
- Physical Dimensions: Framed: 115.5 x 95.5 x 6 cm (45 1/2 x 37 5/8 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 86.2 x 66.1 cm (33 15/16 x 26 in.)
- Provenance: Mrs. Michael Joseph, the artist's daughter, [1876-1951], London, United Kingdom, by inheritance to her daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Burt, Mrs. Elizabeth Burt, London, United Kingdom consigned to Christie's for sale, (Christie's, London, United Kingdom, March 17, 1961, lot 70, sold to Evelyn Waugh), Auberon Evelyn Waugh [1903-1966], London. United Kingdom, (Christie's, London, United Kingdom, March 18,1983, lot 73, sold to Julian Hartnoll), (Julian Hartnoll Gallery, London, United Kingdom, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Painting
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1984.41
- Medium: oil on fabric
- Inscriptions: Signed and dated lower left: 18whh68 [initials in monogram]; and signed again lower left: whh [monogram]
- Fun Fact: Hunt was a prominent member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of young British painters who banded together in 1848 in reaction against what they perceived to be the unimaginative and artificial historical painting of the Royal Academy.
- Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Culture: England, 19th century
- Credit Line: Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
- Collection: Mod Euro - Painting 1800-1960
- Accession Number: 1984.41
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