The Garland. 1886. Oil on canvas. 43 x 43 in. (109.9 x 109.9 cm.). © 1969 Christie's Images Limited, shown here by kind permission (right click disabled; not to be reproduced),
The Garland was exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1886, no. 50. It is another of those domestic genre scenes of pretty girls in eighteenth century costume that had become Leslie's specialty, a reality recognized by a critic for The Illustrated London News even as early as 1868:
He usually passes this summer-time on the banks of the Thames, painting out of doors as much as possible. This fact affords some clue to the localities and sources whence Mr. Leslie derives the materials for those backgrounds of quaint, primly-trimmed old fashioned English gardens, which form such appropriate accessories to many of those subjects of female character and sentiment by which, perhaps, the artist is best known. These 'conversation pieces,' always gracefully conceived, and evincing a rare faculty for representing unsophisticated feminine beauty, afford charming glimpses into the domestic life of the last century, and constitute a specialty which the painter has made entirely his own. [214]
In this particular case two young women are engaged in making flowers wreaths of red roses while a younger girl seated on a table looks on. The girls are located in a tent enclosure while the background features a garden perennial flower border surrounded by a green hedge.
F. G. Stephens in The Athenaeum had mixed feelings when he reviewed the picture when it was shown at the Grosvenor:
Several weeks ago we briefly described Mr. G. D. Leslie's picture of three damsels in a tent. The young ladies are of that type, a little hackneyed let us admit, which Mr. Leslie has long and successfully affected. One of them, who wears a gown of pure white with a black sash, sits on our right and binds roses in a long garland, of which her younger sister, standing near her and clad in green (which is subtly differentiated as well as harmonized with the brilliant verdure behind her figure) holds the end. The youngest, a grave-looking child dressed in white with a blue sash, sits on a table and talks to her seniors. Popularly speaking, the design of this picture – apart from the wholesome Englishness and charming sincerity of the girls – is not of much account, and the composition needs no comment. Technically speaking, however, it is a triumph of choice coloration and tonality. Exquisitively brilliant and pure, the greens, warm greys (of the tent), and whites are perfectly delightful. In these respects it excels in vigour without contrasts of tints or tones. On the other hand, Mr. Leslie has done himself less than justice in the slovenly execution of the hands, the weak modelling of the eldest damsel's dress, and the questionable outlining of her profile. [591]
Bibliography
"The New Associates of the Royal Academy. George Dunlop Leslie A.R.A." The Illustrated London News LII (19 February 1868): 214.
"The Royal Academy." The Times (3 May 1886: 7.
Stephens, Frederic George. "The Grosvenor Gallery." The Athenaeum No. 3053 (1 May 1886): 591-92.
Created 10 August 2023