Information
This painting, also known as 'Amy,' appears to have been an oil study for the landscape in 'The Long Engagement' (1902P13). The subject matter is very similar although in this composition the man is absent. Here, the young woman, Amy, appears to be waiting for her lover. As she adjusts her hair in preparation for meeting him, her eye rests on her name carved in the bark of the tree. Hanging from the tree are branches of ivy, symbolising the passing of time, and suggesting that the couple have been meeting secretly over a long period.Hughes used the shawl worn by Amy in his later painting 'April Love' (1855-56, oil on canvas, Tate, London).
- Purchased, 1925.
- © Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery
Makers
Association |
Artist |
Organisation |
Artist |
Arthur Hughes |
- |
Inscriptions
Type |
Position(s) |
Method |
Date(s) |
Notes |
Amy / A Hughes |
Inscription |
- |
Painted |
- |
Oil paint. |
|
Exhibitions
Catalogue No. |
Venue |
Date(s) |
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood |
28 |
City Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham |
1947-06-07 - 1947-07-27 |
|
The Pre-Raphaelites |
32 |
Whitechapel Art Gallery, London |
1948-04-08 - 1948-05-12 |
|
Loan Exhibition of Pictures from the City Art Gallery Birmingham |
94 |
Thomas Agnews & Sons, London |
1957-03-27 - 1957-05-04 |
|
Theodore Fontane and the Visual Arts |
43 |
Alte National Galerie, Berlin |
1998 - 1998 |
|
Literature
Author(s) |
Date(s) |
Publisher |
Pages |
Pre-Raphaelite Painters |
John Gere, Robin Ironside |
1948 |
Phaidon, London |
p. 43 |
|
Victorian Painting |
Graham Reynolds |
1966 |
Studio Vista |
repr. p. 81 |
|
Arthur Hughes: The Lady with the Lilacs |
Karen Finlay |
1988 |
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto |
p. 5 |
|
William Maw Egley's 'The Talking Oak' |
Susan P Casteras |
1990 |
Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Art |
p. 35; repr. p. 33 |
|
Visions of Love and Life: Pre-Raphaelite Art from the Birmingham Collection, England |
Stephen Wildman |
1995 |
Art Services International, Alexandria, Virginia |
p. 177; repr. p. 175 |
|
Theodore Fontane and the Visual Arts |
|
1998 |
Alte National Galerie, Berlin |
p. 91; repr. p. 91 |
Provenance
Benjamin Godfrey Windus; Windus sale, Christie's 19 July 1862, lot. no. 38; bought (in ?) for 35 gns. by Rhodes, and 15 February 1868 (273); bought for 10 gns. by Thomas Agnew & Sons; bought from them on 17 February 1868 by William Graham. |
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