Frances Hodgkins: Watercolours from Europe 1901 - 1940

Jonathan Grant Galleries

280 Parnell Road PO Box 37 673 Parnell Auckland New Zealand Tel: (64-9) 308 9125 Fax: (64-9) 303 1071 E-Mail: jg@jgg.co.nz Website: www.jonathangrantgalleries.com

Jonathan Grant Galleries

Frances Hodgkins is regarded as New Zealand’s most famous expatriate painter. Born in Dunedin, she became a successful artist in England from the 1930s, many years before her avant-garde style found favour in New Zealand. However it was only after the outbreak of World War II that she won critical recognition and popularity.

Her father, William Matthew Hodgkins, and sister, Isobel Field, were both skilled watercolourists. In 1893, she studied with Girolamo Nerli, who encouraged her in portraiture and figure painting, when led to her attending the Dunedin School of Art 1895-6.

Having left New Zealand in 1901, she finally settled in England in 1913, spending most of her time in London and Cornwall, with frequent visits to Continental Europe. Her early works included portraits, genre pictures and some landscape painting. Her style evolved from Impressionist to post-Impressionist, and from the late 1920s she began to integrate still life and architecture with landscape. She developed a technique of fluid calligraphic painting (often compared to that of Henri Matisse and Raoul Dufy), and her later works were increasingly abstracted.

The first sign that she had achieved her cherished objective was the unexpected success of an exhibition held in 1940 at Hertford House in London, and from that time onwards her paintings were much sought after. In the spring of that year, Hodgkins represented Britain at the Venice Biennale.

Her artistic career was further honoured in 1942 when she received a Civil List Pension, and in 1944 when the Tate Gallery purchased her 1915 painting Loveday and Ann: Two Women with a Basket of Flowers.

Hodgkins exhibited at the Lefevre Galleries in London from 1930, and in November 1946 they held the retrospective exhibition of her work that would mark the peak of her career. The exhibition received a warm and positive response from the London press, and the Gallery Director wrote to Frances: ‘The whole gallery is filled with your works, and we have overflowed into the corridor with some black and white drawings, that no other artist in the twentieth century, at least in this country, has been able to produce. He called it `the most impressive exhibition by a British painter I have seen in many years.’

Her work is held in all New Zealand public galleries and in numerous British galleries, including the Tate Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Frances Mary Hodgkins New Zealand (1869-1947) “I feel that if I had known what was before me I should never have had the courage to begin”.

Frances Hodgkins is regarded as New Zealand’s most famous expatriate painter. Born in Dunedin, she became a successful artist in England from the 1930s, many years before her avant-garde style found favour in New Zealand. However it was only after the outbreak of World War II that she won critical recognition and popularity.

Her father, William Matthew Hodgkins, and sister, Isobel Field, were both skilled watercolourists. In 1893, she studied with Girolamo Nerli, who encouraged her in portraiture and figure painting, when led to her attending the Dunedin School of Art 1895-6.

Having left New Zealand in 1901, she finally settled in England in 1913, spending most of her time in London and Cornwall, with frequent visits to Continental Europe. Her early works included portraits, genre pictures and some landscape painting. Her style evolved from Impressionist to post-Impressionist, and from the late 1920s she began to integrate still life and architecture with landscape. She developed a technique of fluid calligraphic painting (often compared to that of Henri Matisse and Raoul Dufy), and her later works were increasingly abstracted.

The first sign that she had achieved her cherished objective was the unexpected success of an exhibition held in 1940 at Hertford House in London, and from that time onwards her paintings were much sought after. In the spring of that year, Hodgkins represented Britain at the Venice Biennale.

Her artistic career was further honoured in 1942 when she received a Civil List Pension, and in 1944 when the Tate Gallery purchased her 1915 painting Loveday and Ann: Two Women with a Basket of Flowers.

Hodgkins exhibited at the Lefevre Galleries in London from 1930, and in November 1946 they held the retrospective exhibition of her work that would mark the peak of her career. The exhibition received a warm and positive response from the London press, and the Gallery Director wrote to Frances: ‘The whole gallery is filled with your works, and we have overflowed into the corridor with some black and white drawings, that no other artist in the twentieth century, at least in this country, has been able to produce. He called it `the most impressive exhibition by a British painter I have seen in many years.’

Her work is held in all New Zealand public galleries and in numerous British galleries, including the Tate Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Frances Mary Hodgkins New Zealand (1869-1947) “I feel that if I had known what was before me I should never have had the courage to begin”.

Old Woman, Caudebec

Watercolour & gouache, 50 x 32 cm Monogram lower right & dated ’01 Reference: Collins & Buchanan, Frances Hodgkins on Display, Bulletin of New Zealand Art History No. 5, 2000, p. 32.

Otago Art Society Exhibition, Dunedin, 1901, #228

Frances Hodgkins first sailed from New Zealand for Europe in 1901. Arriving in London in April of that year, Hodgkins joined Norman Garstin (1847 – 1926) on his summer sketching trips in France, spending 1901 in Caudebec and 1902 in Dinan.

It was during her time in Caudebec with Garstin that Hodgkins completed the present painting, which clearly shows the beginnings of Hodgkins’interest in the French movement of Impressionism with its focus on naturalism and the observation of the effects of light on form. It is well documented that on her arrival in London in 1901, Hodgkins was disappointed with the majority of art that she saw being exhibited, with the exception of John Singer Sargent (1856 – 1925) and the Newlyn School of painters. Hodgkins was very appreciative of Sargent’s work, whose technique she exclaimed meant that, ‘You stand back and behold meaningless blobs shape themselves into the most perfect modelling and form.’

The present painting features an elderly woman knitting and shows clear traces of Hodgkins’ focus on the Impressionist approach to painting. The light streaming through the windows is seen to dissolve portions of the framing, while the costume of the woman, her hands and her knitting is translated through a flurry of brushstrokes that provide solidity and form, but not intricate detail. It is these techniques that strengthen and develop in her later paintings to characterise her unique approach to modernism.

Old Woman, Caudebec

Watercolour & gouache, 50 x 32 cm Monogram lower right & dated ’01 Reference: Collins & Buchanan, Frances Hodgkins on Display, Bulletin of New Zealand Art History No. 5, 2000, p. 32.

Otago Art Society Exhibition, Dunedin, 1901, #228

Frances Hodgkins first sailed from New Zealand for Europe in 1901. Arriving in London in April of that year, Hodgkins joined Norman Garstin (1847 – 1926) on his summer sketching trips in France, spending 1901 in Caudebec and 1902 in Dinan.

It was during her time in Caudebec with Garstin that Hodgkins completed the present painting, which clearly shows the beginnings of Hodgkins’interest in the French movement of Impressionism with its focus on naturalism and the observation of the effects of light on form. It is well documented that on her arrival in London in 1901, Hodgkins was disappointed with the majority of art that she saw being exhibited, with the exception of John Singer Sargent (1856 – 1925) and the Newlyn School of painters. Hodgkins was very appreciative of Sargent’s work, whose technique she exclaimed meant that, ‘You stand back and behold meaningless blobs shape themselves into the most perfect modelling and form.’

The present painting features an elderly woman knitting and shows clear traces of Hodgkins’ focus on the Impressionist approach to painting. The light streaming through the windows is seen to dissolve portions of the framing, while the costume of the woman, her hands and her knitting is translated through a flurry of brushstrokes that provide solidity and form, but not intricate detail. It is these techniques that strengthen and develop in her later paintings to characterise her unique approach to modernism.

House in the Countryside Watercolour, 63 x 45 cm Signed lower left

It is most likely that this painting, depicting a country house and landscape, was completed in the early-mid 1930s. Hodgkins’ distinctive combination of pinks and greens in this painting is highly characteristic of her unique and ‘different palette’ that she used during this period.1 It is probable that the scene depicted is one of a series of paintings that Hodgkins completed of Geoffrey Gorer’s cottage in Bradford-on-Tone, Somerset. Hodgkins returned regularly to Gorer’s cottage after she met him in the late 1920s.

The painting clearly shows the development of her style in the twenties - ‘The naturalistic content of her work is still present, but the picture surface is more important than an illusion of atmosphere and space.’2 The landscape has been completely flattened and divided into clear segments of contrasting colour. The large tufts of grass, curving trees and small gates combine to produce a semi-abstract pattern, and heighten the sense of spatial ambiguity. The success of the painting lies in Hodgkins’ mastery of subtle tones and gestural line, which unifies the composition and provides an inviting, harmonious aspect.

In a letter to Duncan MacDonald in 1934, Hodgkins wrote of her method of painting while staying at the Gorer cottage, as a combination of the natural and the imagined, stating, ‘I go out into the fields every day, among the red cattle, strike an attitude and paint a composite picture – a sort of wish fulfilment of a picture.’3

Elizabeth Eastmond, Frances Hodgkins: Paintings and Drawings, Auckland University Press, 2001, p.55.

Anthony S.G. Green, Ascent; Frances Hodgkins, The Caxton Press, 1969, p.39.

3 Linda Gill (ed.), Letters of Frances Hodgkins, p.462.

1 2

House in the Countryside Watercolour, 63 x 45 cm Signed lower left

It is most likely that this painting, depicting a country house and landscape, was completed in the early-mid 1930s. Hodgkins’ distinctive combination of pinks and greens in this painting is highly characteristic of her unique and ‘different palette’ that she used during this period.1 It is probable that the scene depicted is one of a series of paintings that Hodgkins completed of Geoffrey Gorer’s cottage in Bradford-on-Tone, Somerset. Hodgkins returned regularly to Gorer’s cottage after she met him in the late 1920s.

The painting clearly shows the development of her style in the twenties - ‘The naturalistic content of her work is still present, but the picture surface is more important than an illusion of atmosphere and space.’2 The landscape has been completely flattened and divided into clear segments of contrasting colour. The large tufts of grass, curving trees and small gates combine to produce a semi-abstract pattern, and heighten the sense of spatial ambiguity. The success of the painting lies in Hodgkins’ mastery of subtle tones and gestural line, which unifies the composition and provides an inviting, harmonious aspect.

In a letter to Duncan MacDonald in 1934, Hodgkins wrote of her method of painting while staying at the Gorer cottage, as a combination of the natural and the imagined, stating, ‘I go out into the fields every day, among the red cattle, strike an attitude and paint a composite picture – a sort of wish fulfilment of a picture.’3

Elizabeth Eastmond, Frances Hodgkins: Paintings and Drawings, Auckland University Press, 2001, p.55.

Anthony S.G. Green, Ascent; Frances Hodgkins, The Caxton Press, 1969, p.39.

3 Linda Gill (ed.), Letters of Frances Hodgkins, p.462.

1 2

The Mill Stream

Watercolour, 57 x 46 cm, c.1944 Provenance: Wertheim Galleries, London.

Lefevre Galleries, London Purchased by N.L. Hamilton Smith Esq., 1946, from Lefevre Gallery.

Thence by descent.

The present painting, The Mill Stream, was purchased by Mr. Hamilton Smith on the advice of a mutual friend, John Piper (1903 – 1992). Piper sent him to the Lefevre Galleries, where he purchased The Mill Stream as a present for his wife and as a celebration to mark his safe homecoming following his years of war service.

Painted towards the close of World War II while Hodgkins was living in Corfe Castle, this watercolour is a good example of Hodgkins’artistic style throughout the 1940s, which were dominated by her unique sense of colour and her continued interest in the French aesthetic, which came to be joined by aspects of British Neo-Romanticism.1 In this manner, the present painting is transcribed through a palette governed by ochres, apricots and patches of green. Form has been pared back to its bare essentials as Hodgkins indicates trees, buildings, walls, gates and streams through a handful of lines. In this respect, her work holds similarities to the late paintings of Paul Cézanne (1839 – 1906).

The focus on a common feature of the English landscape - a Mill with the village visible behind it and the foreground populated by two streams, bridges and a selection of trees – is connected to a series of works that Hodgkins completed in the early to mid-1940s. These paintings are linked through their compositional similarities whereby buildings are often contrasted with hills and trees. The use of these rather ordinary elements allows Hodgkins to experiment with form, colour and gestural line, with the result that these paintings ‘have become simplified, almost child-like signs of themselves as in a kind of symbol language.’2 As is characteristic of Hodgkins’ late works, The Mill Stream is completed with a gentle painterly lyricism that removes any possibility of cubist rigidity. It is this relationship that makes Hodgkins’ work of the 1940s so accessible, successful and enchanting.

Elizabeth Eastmond, Frances Hodgkins Paintings and Drawings, 2nd edn., (Auckland, 2001), p.72. ibid., p.68.

1 2

The Mill Stream

Watercolour, 57 x 46 cm, c.1944 Provenance: Wertheim Galleries, London.

Lefevre Galleries, London Purchased by N.L. Hamilton Smith Esq., 1946, from Lefevre Gallery.

Thence by descent.

The present painting, The Mill Stream, was purchased by Mr. Hamilton Smith on the advice of a mutual friend, John Piper (1903 – 1992). Piper sent him to the Lefevre Galleries, where he purchased The Mill Stream as a present for his wife and as a celebration to mark his safe homecoming following his years of war service.

Painted towards the close of World War II while Hodgkins was living in Corfe Castle, this watercolour is a good example of Hodgkins’artistic style throughout the 1940s, which were dominated by her unique sense of colour and her continued interest in the French aesthetic, which came to be joined by aspects of British Neo-Romanticism.1 In this manner, the present painting is transcribed through a palette governed by ochres, apricots and patches of green. Form has been pared back to its bare essentials as Hodgkins indicates trees, buildings, walls, gates and streams through a handful of lines. In this respect, her work holds similarities to the late paintings of Paul Cézanne (1839 – 1906).

The focus on a common feature of the English landscape - a Mill with the village visible behind it and the foreground populated by two streams, bridges and a selection of trees – is connected to a series of works that Hodgkins completed in the early to mid-1940s. These paintings are linked through their compositional similarities whereby buildings are often contrasted with hills and trees. The use of these rather ordinary elements allows Hodgkins to experiment with form, colour and gestural line, with the result that these paintings ‘have become simplified, almost child-like signs of themselves as in a kind of symbol language.’2 As is characteristic of Hodgkins’ late works, The Mill Stream is completed with a gentle painterly lyricism that removes any possibility of cubist rigidity. It is this relationship that makes Hodgkins’ work of the 1940s so accessible, successful and enchanting.

Elizabeth Eastmond, Frances Hodgkins Paintings and Drawings, 2nd edn., (Auckland, 2001), p.72. ibid., p.68.

1 2

Arrangement of Jugs

Lithograph, 45 x 60 cm, signed Published by Contemporary Lithographs Ltd., London, 1938 Illustrated: E. H. McCormack, Portrait of Frances Hodgkins, Auckland, 1981, p.123.

I. Buchanan, E. Eastman et al. (eds.), Frances Hodgkins: Paintings and Drawings, (Auckland, 2001), Plate 32, p.151.

Arrangement of Jugs is Frances Hodgkins’ only surviving lithograph. It was completed in April 1938 as a commission from Contemporary Lithographs Ltd, established in 1936 by John Piper and Robert Wellington. The company sought to provide the general public with affordable, original works of art by contemporary artists. John Piper assisted those artists who were unfamiliar with the technical process of printing such as Hodgkins and Ivon Hitchens. Arrangement of Jugs was one of fifteen lithographs in the second series of Contemporary Lithographs, which included artists such as Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Edward Wadsworth, Edward Ardizzone and Piper himself.

Hodgkins’ lithograph Arrangement of Jugs was first exhibited at the Leicester Galleries, London in September 1938, alongside the prints commissioned from other artists. The entire series was subsequently exhibited at the Tate Gallery in 1939 before the British Museum bought the series.

The composition of Hodgkins’ lithograph appears to have been based on two watercolours that feature an array of shapes both rectangular and ovoid set against an indeterminate ground. This composition offers a modern approach to the traditional genre of still life as Hodgkins simplifies and reduces the objects to a flat outline so that they appear to hover in space rather than sit solidly on a flat surface, such as a table. This effect is further heightened by the swathes of colour that spill over and around the objects, or that are freely applied in thick strokes to the backdrop, creating a completely abstract ground.

Employing the traditional printmaking medium of lithography and the conventional genre of still life, Hodgkins achieves innovation and modernism through her use of juxtaposition and collage. The jugs are integrated with subtle elements of architecture, seen in reflections of the saffron jugs and the structured shapes of the green vase and jug to the left of the composition.

Hodgkins’ lithograph was a great success, as Piper wrote to Hodgkins on May 7th 1938 that it was ‘the best in the series… it makes most of the others look tame and school-girlish.’

Arrangement of Jugs

Lithograph, 45 x 60 cm, signed Published by Contemporary Lithographs Ltd., London, 1938 Illustrated: E. H. McCormack, Portrait of Frances Hodgkins, Auckland, 1981, p.123.

I. Buchanan, E. Eastman et al. (eds.), Frances Hodgkins: Paintings and Drawings, (Auckland, 2001), Plate 32, p.151.

Arrangement of Jugs is Frances Hodgkins’ only surviving lithograph. It was completed in April 1938 as a commission from Contemporary Lithographs Ltd, established in 1936 by John Piper and Robert Wellington. The company sought to provide the general public with affordable, original works of art by contemporary artists. John Piper assisted those artists who were unfamiliar with the technical process of printing such as Hodgkins and Ivon Hitchens. Arrangement of Jugs was one of fifteen lithographs in the second series of Contemporary Lithographs, which included artists such as Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Edward Wadsworth, Edward Ardizzone and Piper himself.

Hodgkins’ lithograph Arrangement of Jugs was first exhibited at the Leicester Galleries, London in September 1938, alongside the prints commissioned from other artists. The entire series was subsequently exhibited at the Tate Gallery in 1939 before the British Museum bought the series.

The composition of Hodgkins’ lithograph appears to have been based on two watercolours that feature an array of shapes both rectangular and ovoid set against an indeterminate ground. This composition offers a modern approach to the traditional genre of still life as Hodgkins simplifies and reduces the objects to a flat outline so that they appear to hover in space rather than sit solidly on a flat surface, such as a table. This effect is further heightened by the swathes of colour that spill over and around the objects, or that are freely applied in thick strokes to the backdrop, creating a completely abstract ground.

Employing the traditional printmaking medium of lithography and the conventional genre of still life, Hodgkins achieves innovation and modernism through her use of juxtaposition and collage. The jugs are integrated with subtle elements of architecture, seen in reflections of the saffron jugs and the structured shapes of the green vase and jug to the left of the composition.

Hodgkins’ lithograph was a great success, as Piper wrote to Hodgkins on May 7th 1938 that it was ‘the best in the series… it makes most of the others look tame and school-girlish.’

Boys Fishing

Watercolour, 26 x 36 cm, c. 1907/8 Signed with initials lower right Inscribed verso: “Miss Thorpe” Provenance: Private collection, France

The present painting is most likely to have been completed by Frances Hodgkins during her stay in Holland between 1907-1908. At the turn of the twentieth century, Holland, like Concarneau in Brittany, remained a popular location among artists who praised its rusticated purity that was seen to be an oasis amid the oppressive nature of British and French industrialisation. The opportunity to paint figures in traditional dress was a further attraction and one that is seen in this painting. The scene features one of the young boys fishing off a bridge while his two friends watch closely. All three young boys are attired in caps and clogs, which references Hodgkins’ interest in the work of Stanhope Forbes (1857 – 1947) who often painted village scenes complete with similar picturesque detailing.

Hodgkins’ interest in Impressionism is demonstrated in this painting through the use of a subdued, sombre light that washes over the scene, blending and merging forms to produce an indeterminate foreground. The focus on the atmospheric quality of the scene works to unite this painting with the other works that Hodgkins’ completed in Holland, namely The Bridge (c.1907, Private Collection) and Dordrecht (c.1908, Dunedin Public Art Gallery).

These three outdoor scenes feature small figure groups attired in traditional Dutch costume and are executed with a loose, fluid line and colder colours.

The inscription on the back of this painting “Miss Thorpe,” is thought to refer to Hodgkins’ pupil in Dordrecht, Teresa Thorpe, the ‘congenial and specially selected companion’ with whom Hodgkins travelled to Paris in November 1908.1

J. Drayton, Frances Hodgkins A Private Viewing, Auckland, 2005, p.121.

1

Boys Fishing

Watercolour, 26 x 36 cm, c. 1907/8 Signed with initials lower right Inscribed verso: “Miss Thorpe” Provenance: Private collection, France

The present painting is most likely to have been completed by Frances Hodgkins during her stay in Holland between 1907-1908. At the turn of the twentieth century, Holland, like Concarneau in Brittany, remained a popular location among artists who praised its rusticated purity that was seen to be an oasis amid the oppressive nature of British and French industrialisation. The opportunity to paint figures in traditional dress was a further attraction and one that is seen in this painting. The scene features one of the young boys fishing off a bridge while his two friends watch closely. All three young boys are attired in caps and clogs, which references Hodgkins’ interest in the work of Stanhope Forbes (1857 – 1947) who often painted village scenes complete with similar picturesque detailing.

Hodgkins’ interest in Impressionism is demonstrated in this painting through the use of a subdued, sombre light that washes over the scene, blending and merging forms to produce an indeterminate foreground. The focus on the atmospheric quality of the scene works to unite this painting with the other works that Hodgkins’ completed in Holland, namely The Bridge (c.1907, Private Collection) and Dordrecht (c.1908, Dunedin Public Art Gallery).

These three outdoor scenes feature small figure groups attired in traditional Dutch costume and are executed with a loose, fluid line and colder colours.

The inscription on the back of this painting “Miss Thorpe,” is thought to refer to Hodgkins’ pupil in Dordrecht, Teresa Thorpe, the ‘congenial and specially selected companion’ with whom Hodgkins travelled to Paris in November 1908.1

J. Drayton, Frances Hodgkins A Private Viewing, Auckland, 2005, p.121.

1

The Family After Dinner Watercolour, 55 x 71 cm Signed F Hodgkins lower right Provenance: Private collection, France

In this watercolour, Hodgkins depicts a subject that she regularly painted at the turn of the twentieth century, a group of figures in a domestic setting. The technique used in this watercolour is typical of these early works, being constructed through a series of loose, fluid washes of colour. It is very similar in terms of style to works such as The Window Seat (Art Gallery of New South Wales), painted in 1907. It is most likely that The Family After Dinner was painted in the early 1910s.

The present watercolour depicts four figures in an interior complete with a pale green sofa, heavy drapes and a glowing lamp in the background. The soft focus and golden light of the painting indicates early evening, and the calm poses of the figures coupled with the muted palette add a romantic element. Hodgkins consciously contrasts the strong vertical brushstrokes in the curtains and sofa with the rounded curve of the back of the sofa.

In this painting, Hodgkins clearly communicates the ambience of the scene rather than specific details, such as the identity of the figures. Indeed, the figure by the lamp is very subtly intimated and is almost in complete shadow. The gentleman in the foreground bears a remarkable resemblance to Hodgkins’ friend and patron Moffat Lindner, President of the St Ives Art Club, whose Porthmeor Studios Hodgkins occupied during her 1914-1920 stay in St Ives. Hodgkins painted a portrait of Lindner with his wife and daughter in c.1916 in his Porthmeor Studio, so it is possible this scene captures the family together again at his Chy-an-Porth home. The gentleman faces away from us, absorbed in his reading, while a woman beside him extends her arms out holding a wool skein. Beside her sits another woman, her head bent in reading, while a younger woman opposite them is engrossed in her knitting, or rolling the wool from the skein into a ball.

The focus on the effects of sombre lighting clearly shows Hodgkins’ interest in the French Impressionists at this time and their concern with the effects of light. The present painting also shows Hodgkins’ interest in French Intimiste interiors by artists such as Edouard Vuillard (1868 – 1940), whose works she would have seen in Paris.

Thus, the very pale greens and dashes of cream are set off against the warm browns and reds to create an intimate scene of allure and charm. A further element of poignancy is evident in the familial scene and is ‘enhanced by her exclusion from them.’1

1

Iain Buchanan, Frances Hodgkins, Paintings and Drawings (Auckland, 2001), p.34.

The Family After Dinner Watercolour, 55 x 71 cm Signed F Hodgkins lower right Provenance: Private collection, France

In this watercolour, Hodgkins depicts a subject that she regularly painted at the turn of the twentieth century, a group of figures in a domestic setting. The technique used in this watercolour is typical of these early works, being constructed through a series of loose, fluid washes of colour. It is very similar in terms of style to works such as The Window Seat (Art Gallery of New South Wales), painted in 1907. It is most likely that The Family After Dinner was painted in the early 1910s.

The present watercolour depicts four figures in an interior complete with a pale green sofa, heavy drapes and a glowing lamp in the background. The soft focus and golden light of the painting indicates early evening, and the calm poses of the figures coupled with the muted palette add a romantic element. Hodgkins consciously contrasts the strong vertical brushstrokes in the curtains and sofa with the rounded curve of the back of the sofa.

In this painting, Hodgkins clearly communicates the ambience of the scene rather than specific details, such as the identity of the figures. Indeed, the figure by the lamp is very subtly intimated and is almost in complete shadow. The gentleman in the foreground bears a remarkable resemblance to Hodgkins’ friend and patron Moffat Lindner, President of the St Ives Art Club, whose Porthmeor Studios Hodgkins occupied during her 1914-1920 stay in St Ives. Hodgkins painted a portrait of Lindner with his wife and daughter in c.1916 in his Porthmeor Studio, so it is possible this scene captures the family together again at his Chy-an-Porth home. The gentleman faces away from us, absorbed in his reading, while a woman beside him extends her arms out holding a wool skein. Beside her sits another woman, her head bent in reading, while a younger woman opposite them is engrossed in her knitting, or rolling the wool from the skein into a ball.

The focus on the effects of sombre lighting clearly shows Hodgkins’ interest in the French Impressionists at this time and their concern with the effects of light. The present painting also shows Hodgkins’ interest in French Intimiste interiors by artists such as Edouard Vuillard (1868 – 1940), whose works she would have seen in Paris.

Thus, the very pale greens and dashes of cream are set off against the warm browns and reds to create an intimate scene of allure and charm. A further element of poignancy is evident in the familial scene and is ‘enhanced by her exclusion from them.’1

1

Iain Buchanan, Frances Hodgkins, Paintings and Drawings (Auckland, 2001), p.34.

Jonathan Grant Galleries

280 Parnell Road PO Box 37 673 Parnell Auckland New Zealand Tel: (64-9) 308 9125 Fax: (64-9) 303 1071 E-Mail: jg@jgg.co.nz Website: www.jonathangrantgalleries.com

Jonathan Grant Galleries