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Mary Walker Waugh

1868
(British, 1827–1910)
England, 19th century
oil on fabric
Framed: 115.5 x 95.5 x 6 cm (45 1/2 x 37 5/8 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 86.2 x 66.1 cm (33 15/16 x 26 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1984.41
Location: 220 19th Century European
Public Domain
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Did You Know?

British novelist Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966) once owned this portrait, which depicts his great aunt.

Description

William Holman Hunt painted this portrait of Mary Walker Waugh (1805–1886)—his mother-in-law—during a time of personal tragedy. Waugh’s daughter Fanny Waugh Hunt (1832–1866), the wife of the artist, had recently died following childbirth. References to loss of life infiltrate the composition: the sitter wears black mourning attire, and behind her is a screen decorated with red poppies, a traditional symbol of unconsciousness and lifelessness because of its pharmaceutical use as a source for opiates. In Victorian society, the red poppy also signified consolation.
Mary Walker Waugh

Mary Walker Waugh

1868

William Holman Hunt

(British, 1827–1910)
England, 19th century

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