Mrs A Scott-Elliot and Children

Annie Louisa Swynnerton A.R.A. 1844 - 1933

Summary

Full-length portrait within circular frame, of a woman, Mrs Scott-Elliot (née Evans), sitting in a garden beneath a fruiting apple tree with her hands clasped about her knees. Two young girls, Aline Magaret Scott-Elliot and Isabel Louisa Scott-Elliot, both dressed in white, sit either side of her, holding onto her arms, a small black pet dog sitting to the left behind the small girl. Dappled sunlight falls across the figures through heavy foliage behind.

Display Label

Mrs A Scott-Elliot and Children 1912 Annie Louisa Swynnerton 1844-1933 Oil on canvas Beneath the fruiting apple tree, Marjorie Elliott’s children float around her like angels. The mother’s eyes are closed against the bright sun, which makes her seem self-effacing, a blank background to the personalities of her offspring. Annie Swynnerton’s textured technique gives focus to the central group, and can make it hard to spot the sculpture to the back right, and the dog to the front left. Swynnerton was especially renowned for painting women and children, and her signature style was to treat them as creatures looming from their mysterious habitats. Purchased 1923.38