Alfred Edward Chalon RA, Portrait Of A Lady

Alfred Edward Chalon RA, Portrait Of A LadyThis charming mid 19th century watercolour by British artist Alfred Edward Chalon RA (1780 1860) depicts a beautiful young lady wearing a black dress with white lace collar. Shes probably in mourning. In the 1840s, the fashionable flourishes of the previous decade were replaced with constraint and modesty. Early Victorian women were expected to present a demure image, one of mild placidity. Complexions were pale and virtues were rigid. In addition,

occasionally glancing above the voile towards a resplendent garden in bloom

a woman dressed in a lilac top with yellow headscarf hunches over a pond to wash clothes

saith the Preacher

Medium: Oil on canvasOverall size: 24” x 17” / 61cm x 44cmYear of creation: c

Perhaps his wife’s family hailed from the area

lacking even the basic necessities of tobacco and matches

Can you imagine keeping the fire burning as you await the return of a loved one

Parisian Jacket

Medium: Oil on canvasOverall size: 29” x 21” / 74cm x 54cmYear of creation: c

He’s describing a working landscape

opted for nature rather than the grandiosity of other endeavours - presumably compelled by a love for the natural world

He was a member (and President) of the Old Water-Colour Society and won a gold medal at the Paris Salon