Sunday Morning

Stott, Edward 1859 - 1918

Summary

Interior, domestic scene depicting a family surrounding a dining table on a Sunday morning. The mother and father stand to the back of the table, while their three children are seated. A young girl and boy are pictured eating, while an older girl sits with a vegetable in her lap, possibly peeling, whilst the family's cat looks up to her. The paint handling shows impressionist influences in its textural qualities. The light coming through the window casts some light on the children, whilst the parents lurk in shadow.

Display Label

Sunday Morning 1901 Edward Stott 1859-1918 Oil on canvas As the boy drinks from his saucer, demonstrating stereotypical working-class manners, the elder sister slices bread on her lap. Mother and father are secondary in this picturesque cottage interior: it is as child-centred as a happy youthful memory. The ‘family’ is fictional, composed of the most attractive, pliable or needy locals that Stott could persuade to sit for him. The model for the girl with the bowl was Alice Kennard, a country child whose father obliged her to model when she wanted to be out playing on the unspoilt Sussex Downs. Her actual golden time of childhood was brief as she went to London when still young, probably to work as a servant. Purchased 1913.6