Gentle Critics (The Portfolio)

1872

Emily Farmer

Associated Names
Emily Farmer

Artist, British, 1826 - 1905

The image shows two individuals, with their upper bodies visible. The person on the left is a child standing and leaning over the lap of the seated individual on the right. The child has curly brown hair with a red ribbon and wears a brown dress with blue accents. The seated individual has long light brown hair, framed by a blue ribbon around the neck, and wears a long-sleeved pale dress with a pink skirt. They hold an open book together, with the adult supporting it on her lap while the child's hand rests on a page. The background includes a partially finished painting or blank canvas on an easel and draped fabric over a stool, creating an indoor setting. The lighting is soft, illuminating the figures and their interaction with the book.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    watercolor over traces of graphite with gum arabic and white gouache on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    William B. O'Neal Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 50.8 × 36.83 cm (20 × 14 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2020.123.1


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Private collection, England; (sale, Tennant's, Leyburn, 21 March 2020, no. 89); (Karen Taylor, London); purchased 2020 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

-1

  • Institute of Painters in Water-colours' Winter Exhibition of Sketches and Studies, The Gallery, Pall Mall, London, December 1872, no. 50 (as "The Portfolio")

2023

  • Drawing in Britain, 1700 - 1900: New Additions to the Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2023.

Inscriptions

lower right in watercolor: Emily Farmer 1872


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