Portrait of Elizabeth Adela Forbes, by Stanhope A. Forbes

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Elizabeth Adela Forbes (1859–1912)

Stanhope Alexander Forbes (1857–1947)

Undated

Oil on canvas

H 33.5 x W 27 cm

Collection: Newlyn Art Gallery

Accession number NELNG: 1991.14

On loan to Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance

Image downloaded and commentary added (see below) by Jacqueline Banerjee. Click on the image to enlarge it and mouse over the text for links.

Kindly made available on the the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike licence (CC BY-NC-SA), via Art UK.

In the late part of 1885, among new arrivals in Newlyn was one whose advent had a special bearing on the life of the place. Elizabeth Armstrong took her way into the West of England with her mother for a few months’ painting in the already talked-of village. She was received with that simple, genial hospitality which always distinguished the colony.... It was, naturally, not long before Elizabeth Armstrong met the young painter of the "Fish Sale," and a pleasant camerarderie was succeeded in June of the following year by a recognized engagement.... The engagement of Stanhope Forbes and Elizabeth Armstrong was a long one. It fitted in happily with the even tenor of their lives, as they continued, with butfew interruptions, to dwell and work in the same village until their marriage. [Birch 33-36]

This is such a naturalistic portrait. The young woman is shown with her lips parted, her soft brown hair artlessly arranged, and her simple high-collared jacket showing just a glimpse of the white collar of the blouse beneath. In its soft and merging tones, the painting is entirely without sentimentality, yet conveys warmth and intimacy. It speaks volumes about the couple's relationship as well as being a very pleasing artwork.

Related Material

Bibliography

Birch, Mrs Lionel. Stanhope A. Forbes, ARA, and Elizabeth Stanhope Forbes, ARWS. London: Cassell, 1906. Internet Archive. Contributed by the Kahl/Austin Foundation. Web. 27 February 2021.

Last modified 11 August 2006