“Intruders” by E. J. Gregory, A.R.A.

Intruders

E. J. Gregory, A.R.A.

Exhibited at the 1884 Royal Academy

Oil on canvas [?]

Source: Wedmore, Magazine of Art

“The keen perception of beautiful muscular action and of a fortunate "bony structure " (which is the very foundation of beauty of line) revealed beneath the fold or strain of modern dress — that keen and alert perception combined with a faultless draughts-manship, allows the artist we are considering to treat an every-day folk in every-day ways, with a dignity and interest that are at the command of very few of the painters of contemporary life. See, for instance, the latest important canvas, the Academy picture, his "Intruders." [continued below]

Detail

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the University of Toronto and the Internet Archive and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. — George P. Landow]

There is a tussle of swans — the "vested interests " of one or other of them to the bounty of the ladies of the boat being threatened by outsiders who would like to share in the expected spoil. And so the water is a-move, the very air seems a-flutter, with the splashing birds and the beating of their great white wings. The scene is by an island of the Thames, opposite Winter's Hill, in the morning huurs, in the freshness and the blue of the June weather. In the foreground the fashionable modern dress and the tawdry decorations of the house-boat come to be reconciled with all that is more admittedly paintable. The feat is accomplished. Some of us will see in the picture just a spirited and entertaining record of an incident of the river. Some of us will see, on the other hand, a good deal more and a good deal that is different. For there is visible — supposing that the Fates have granted us eyes — the masterly record of a swift impression, and the deliberate pleasure of the capable hand in following the intricate beauty of the figure at rest. The young girl seen from behind, with turned head, with extended arm — no drawing, even of Watteau's, goes beyond that, in dainty expressiveness. It must have been done with delight. [355-56]

Bibliography

Wedmore, Frederick. “E. J. Gregory, A.R.A.” Magazine of Art. 7 (1883-84): 350-59. Internet Archive version of a copy in the University of Toronto Library. Web. 31 December 2014.

Created 31 December 2014