Study: Head of a Girl

George Frederick Watts 1817 - 1904

Summary

A half-length frontal study of a young girl with long red hair, a wide brimmed bonnet and pinafore dress, standing against a landscape setting with her hands raised, palm upward, showing a small object held in one hand.

Display Label

Study: Head of a Girl 1876 George Frederick Watts 1817 - 1904 Oil on canvas Despite painting historical and allegorical works, with grandiose titles like Hope, and Love and Death, Watts is appreciated more today for his fine portraits. This unidentified girl is dressed for the seaside. She holds a bird’s egg, possibly a plover’s, presumably found on the shore behind her. Her hands is open to display the delicate egg and to avoid crushing it. London-born Watts initially trained as a sculptor but then taught himself to paint. He was a prolific artist and there are many of his works in the Watts Museum, his former home in Guildford. John Edward Yates bequest 1934.405