The Cathedral, Honfleur

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

Born in Edinburgh, Ethel Walker studied at Westminster and the Slade. In 1900 Walker was elected the first woman member of the New English Art Club, but was not elected as an Associate Member of the Royal Academy until 1940, at the age of 79. Three years later, she was appointed a DBE. After her death in 1951, her obituary in The Times noted that she had been ‘the most important woman artist of her time since Berthe Morisot’. Many of Walker’s early paintings were floral still life and intimate interior scenes in muted colours. Her later work was influenced by the bright colour and light of French Impressionist painting. Walker is best known for her portraits of women and girls. She preferred models to be as ‘natural’ as possible, removing all forms of adornment such as make-up and jewellery, to allow her to focus on an individual’s expression and temperament.

Places

Honfleur: Église Sainte-Catherine, France, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, Normandy, Honfleur

Subjects

topography, man, woman, crowd, market, child, cathedral, column, pillar (architectural feature)

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

Dame Ethel Walker (1861 - 1951)

Title

The Cathedral, Honfleur

Date

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 49.50 cm, width: 59.50 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Mayor Gallery, February 1959

Inscription

none

GAC number

4877