Twixt Hope and Fear, by Frederic Lord Leighton

Twixt Hope and Fear

Frederic Lord Leighton, P. R. A. (1830-1896)

1895

Oil on canvas

110.5 cm x 84 cm

Installation shot from the exhibition, "Flaming June: The Making of an Icon" (4 November 2016 - 2 April 2017), at the Leighton House museum

Photo: Kevin Moran

Courtesy: Leighton House Museum

Contemporaneous with Leighton's more famous Flaming June, this work shows a mature woman (Marie Lloyd, who had been sitting for Leighton for about a couple of years now) with a sheepskin draped over her chair, looking alertly at the observer with a curious expression. [Commentary continues below. Click on the image to enlarge it, and mouse over the text for links.]

Sotheby's website suggests that the figure may "represent Fame or the Muse of Painting, poised between the hope of success and the fear of failure — an expression of the artistic endeavour that spurred Leighton through his career." However, it seems more challenging than that kind of uncertainty implies.

The painting's reception was mixed. According to a report in the Magazine of Art, Twixt Hope and Fear was given pride of place at the private view of the Royal Academy exhibition in 1895 (474), along with John Everett Millais's dramatic "Speak! Speak!" (depicting a young man waking from sleep to the presence of his beloved, whether spirit or flesh remains unclear). But Leighton's painting was sold after his death for £330 ("The Leighton Sale"), while Millais's was bought for the nation through the Chantrey bequest for £2000 ("Sir John Everett Millais"). — Jacqueline Banerjee

Bibliography

"Details and Cataloguing: Frederic, Lord Leighton, P.R.A. 1830-1896. TWIXT HOPE AND FEAR" Sotheby's. Web. 12 December 2016.

Flaming June: The Making of an Icon — 4 November 2016 - 2 April 2017. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea — Museums — Leighton House Museum. Web. 12 December 2016.

"The Leighton Sale." Times. 13 July 1896: 15. Times Digital Archive. Web. 12 December 2016.

Magazine of Art. Vol. 18 (1895). Google Books (very limited view). Web. 12 December 2016.

"Sir John Everett Millais, Bt: 'Speak! Speak!'" Tate. Web. 12 December 2016.

Last modified 10 October 2021