Kiss Me, Baby
Frederic James Shields 1833 - 1911
Summary
This domestic scene takes place in a stone-flagged kitchen, with a small fair-haired child wearing a white dress with a red sash seated on a tall chair in front of a fire-place to the left. At the foot of the chair to the right kneels a young woman, with a white (muslin) scarf draped over one shoulder. She is leaning forward in order to embrace the child. There is an open doorway in the right background, with a flight of stairs to one side.
Display Label
Kiss me, Baby Frederic James Shields 1833 - 1911 Oil on canvas This sketch of a young mother alone with her baby represents maternal affection in a sentimental way. The wicker cot draws our eye to the open door: perhaps she is passing time until her husband’s return. It is typical of the artist’s style, designed to be popular. Hartlepool-born Shields worked as a lithographer at 14. On his father’s death, he was the family’s breadwinner. Poverty and tragedy were never far away: his mother and three siblings all died of tuberculosis. Shields worked in Manchester, then went to London. He kept in contact with the city and Ford Madox Brown, the artist by whose style he was most influenced. Leicester Collier bequest 1917.302
Object Name
Kiss Me, Baby
Creators Name
Date Created
1840-1850
Dimensions
Canvas: 17.3cm x 43.5cm
accession number
1917.302
Collection Group
Place of creation
England
Support
Canvas
Medium
oil paint
On Display
[BG] Manchester Art Gallery - Balcony Gallery
View all
Credit
Leicester Collier Bequest
Legal
© Manchester Art Gallery
 1984.35, Lachlan McLachlan.1200x1200.jpg)
