Seated Figure, The Maid: Florence Head

This portrait was painted when Victor Pasmore was in his early 20s and had just moved to London to join the Civil Service. The painting bears the influence of Impressionism which he had been interested in since a schoolboy.

Pasmore painted Florence Head, the family maid, on numerous occasions, although her guarded pose suggests that she may not have enjoyed being an artist’s model.
Victor Pasmore is better known for the abstract work which he began after 1947. He was an influential teacher first in Newcastle and then London, promoting the abstract principles of design.