Choosing the Wedding Gown thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 122

Choosing the Wedding Gown

Oil Painting
1845 (made), 1846 (exhibited)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
Oil paintings such as this with subjects taken from popular literature steadily replaced commissions for history paintings in the early 19th century. The public and most collectors of modern works started to prefer lighter and sometimes more sentimental themes.

Subjects Depicted
The subject is taken from the opening sentences of Oliver Goldsmith's novel 'The Vicar of Wakefield': 'I had scarce taken orders a year before I began to think seriously of matrimony, and chose my wife, as she did her wedding gown, not for a fine glossy surface, but for such qualities as would wear well.' Mulready had already provided a frontispiece for an 1843 edition of the novel - the composition on which this painting is based. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1846 and was an immense success.

People
John Sheepshanks (1787-1863), the industrialist and collector, owned many paintings with subjects taken from well-known authors, such as Shakespeare, Chaucer and Molière. He particularly admired the work of the artist Mulready, so much so, that he bought 31 of his paintings, often at very high prices.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleChoosing the Wedding Gown (generic title)
Materials and techniques
oil on panel
Brief description
Oil painting by William Mulready entitled 'Choosing the Wedding Gown' (Goldsmith, 'The Vicar of Wakefield', Chapter 1). Great Britain, 1845.
Physical description
Oil on panel depicting a group portrait scene from Goldsmith's 'The Vicar of Wakefield'. The bride-to-be is carefully inspecting the fabric from a roll on a counter, whilst the merchant on the other side attempts to persuade her of its quality.
Dimensions
  • Height: 52.9cm
  • Width: 44.7cm
  • Frame height: 72cm
  • Frame width: 64cm
  • Frame depth: 7cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 18/10/1999 by LH
Styles
Gallery label
British Galleries: John Sheepshanks, the industrialist and collector, supported the artist Mulready and is said to have paid the large sum of £1050 for this painting which shows a scene from a popular novel of the time. This is the kind of subject that would have been understood by a wider audience than more traditional historic subjects.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Given by John Sheepshanks, 1857
Object history
Given by John Sheepshanks, 1857. By William Mulready RA (born in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, 1786, died in London, 1863)

Exhibited at the Royal Academy 1846
Subjects depicted
Summary
Object Type
Oil paintings such as this with subjects taken from popular literature steadily replaced commissions for history paintings in the early 19th century. The public and most collectors of modern works started to prefer lighter and sometimes more sentimental themes.

Subjects Depicted
The subject is taken from the opening sentences of Oliver Goldsmith's novel 'The Vicar of Wakefield': 'I had scarce taken orders a year before I began to think seriously of matrimony, and chose my wife, as she did her wedding gown, not for a fine glossy surface, but for such qualities as would wear well.' Mulready had already provided a frontispiece for an 1843 edition of the novel - the composition on which this painting is based. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1846 and was an immense success.

People
John Sheepshanks (1787-1863), the industrialist and collector, owned many paintings with subjects taken from well-known authors, such as Shakespeare, Chaucer and Molière. He particularly admired the work of the artist Mulready, so much so, that he bought 31 of his paintings, often at very high prices.
Bibliographic reference
Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, Ronald Parkinson, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1990, pp. 205-206
Collection
Accession number
FA.145[O]

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdMarch 25, 2003
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest