Contemplation, by G. A. Storey R.A. (1834-1919). Oil on canvas. 12 9/16 x 16 1/2 inches (31.9 x 41.9 cm). Collection of Museums Sheffield, accession no. VIS.844. © Museums Sheffield. Image via Art UK for non-commercial study purposes. [Click on this image, and the one below, to enlarge them.]
This early work by Storey does not appear to have been exhibited in any of the usual London venues. It was painted when Storey was still under the influence of Pre-Raphaelitism.
Many of his fellow members of the St. John's Wood Clique had also gone through a similar "Pre-Raphaelite" phase in their careers before adopting their mature styles. A comparable example would be his friend G. D. Leslie's Faith of 1858, shown on the right.
Storey's own work depicts a young girl with downcast eyes in an obviously "contemplative" mood picking flowers in a meadow close to a stream. The white flowers she has chosen for her bouquet are likely symbolic of her innocence. She is dressed in a medieval-style grey gown with purple cuffs and a purple-black surcoat. Trees and a range of rolling purple hills are seen in the background. The vegetation in the foreground, however, is not treated with the same Pre-Raphaelite precision and intensity of detail seen in his most characteristic Pre-Raphaelite work, The Bride's Burial, of the same year.
Created 23 September 2023