The Chapel, Hackney

Sara Hennell (1812-1899) was an author and artist. She
became close friends with George Eliot in the 1840s and moved to Coventry from Hackney
in London in 1851. This watercolour shows the Chapel in Hackney around the time
she relocated to Coventry to live next door to her sister Cara Bray. This was
the same year George Eliot moved to London and the two drifted apart over the
following years. The juxtaposition of the chapel and the agricultural scene in
the foreground highlights the urban and rural aspects of Hackney at this time.