Small Twig of oak leaves

Emily Gertrude Thomson about 1850 - after 1932

Summary

Study of a small twig of oak leaves with two acorns seen to the right. There are no background details. Thomson studied at Manchester School of Art and had a lifelong connection with the city.

Display Label

Small Twig of Oak Leaves about 1883 292 ppm CO2 Emily Gertrude Thomson about 1850-1932 Watercolour on paper As a child, one of my formative experiences was a project about an oak tree. Five of us chose to form a group and to study the tree. We were only eight or nine. The realistic bluish bloom on these acorn-cups brings it back to me. This watercolour used to hang in the Horsfall Museum in Ancoats, a museum that opened in 1886 to bring joy to a poor district of Manchester. The museum specialised in working with children, and led the way in progressive educational practice. For me, this oak sprig contrasts my privileged childhood with those treeless Ancoats childhoods. There is climate injustice inherent in it: it is a poor child’s substitute for a real tree. Hannah Williamson Transferred from the Horsfall Museum Collection 1918.494