The Young Mother thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Paintings, Room 82, The Edwin and Susan Davies Galleries

The Young Mother

Oil Painting
1845 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Cope often painted domestic scenes. Although nursing mothers were seldom portrayed in 19th-century art, the critics admired this work. One described it as ‘a simple subject, which is treated with infinite sweetness’. The artist sold several paintings to John Sheepshanks, who was a friend of his father.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Young Mother (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Oil on a gesso ground on panel
Brief description
Oil painting entitled 'The Young Mother' by Charles West Cope. Great Britain, 1845.
Physical description
Oil on a gesso ground on panel entitled 'The Young Mother', depicting a woman seated on a dark red, leather chair. She is pictured full-length, in profile, breast-feeding a baby dressed in long white robes.
Dimensions
  • Estimate height: 30.5cm
  • Estimate width: 25.4cm
Dimensions taken from Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, Ronald Parkinson, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1990
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
'C W Cope 1845' (Signed and dated by the artist, lower right)
Credit line
Given by John Sheepshanks, 1857
Object history
Given by John Sheepshanks, 1857
Subjects depicted
Summary
Cope often painted domestic scenes. Although nursing mothers were seldom portrayed in 19th-century art, the critics admired this work. One described it as ‘a simple subject, which is treated with infinite sweetness’. The artist sold several paintings to John Sheepshanks, who was a friend of his father.
Bibliographic reference
Parkinson, R., Victoria and Albert Museum, Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, London: HMSO, 1990, p. 46
Collection
Accession number
FA.53[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 Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis.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 createdJune 19, 2003
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest