Dimensions: support: 635 x 533 mm frame: 972 x 847 x 56 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: This is George Frederic Watts’s portrait of Dorothy Tennant, who later became Lady Stanley. Look at the details. Editor: It feels like a dream, doesn’t it? Soft edges, that gorgeous, muted palette. The squirrel is a scene stealer! Curator: Watts captures her with such grace, her gaze so direct. And yes, the squirrel adds a touch of whimsy. There is a dialogue with nature. Editor: I wonder about the sitter’s thoughts. Is it a reflection of her, a commentary on Victorian ideals of beauty? Curator: Perhaps. Watts often used portraiture to explore deeper themes, love, loss. It’s not just a likeness. Editor: Right, it is all about the story, the fleeting emotion and deeper insight into this person. Curator: Exactly. Watts invites us to contemplate beauty, innocence, and perhaps, the ephemerality of life itself. Editor: A brief glimpse into a soul, captured in paint and fur. Lovely.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/watts-dorothy-tennant-later-lady-stanley-n04223
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The mild climate of the Isle of Wight attracted the delicate Watts, who moved there to a new house in Freshwater in 1873. His neighbours the Tennants had two daughters, and he became friendly with Dorothy (c1851-1926), who was an artist and pupil at the Slade School. Watts had portrayed many of his famous contemporaries, usually with a sober realism. In this more casual portrait he follows a renaissance design, with a pet squirrel looking like an emblem.Dorothy Tennant subsequently married the explorer Stanley in 1890. Both were Welsh. Her second husband presented the portrait to the Tate Gallery. Gallery label, August 2004
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