Ignace-Henri-Théodore Fantin-Latour, 'Mr and Mrs Edwin Edwards', 1875
About the work
Overview
Edwin Edwards was a lawyer by training, but he also practised as an artist and etcher, and exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. He first met Fantin-Latour while in Paris in 1861. In a letter of 1874 Fantin-Latour described a projected double portrait which would depict Edwards sitting working at his etching table with his wife at his side 'like a guardian angel'. By February 1875 the couple were in Paris for the sittings.
In the final painting, the artist produced a modified version of his first idea. Edwards sits at an angle, seemingly unaware of the spectator, while his wife faces the viewer with an uncompromising stare. The portrait was exhibited at the Salon of 1875, where it received a second-class medal.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Mr and Mrs Edwin Edwards
- Artist dates
- 1836 - 1904
- Date made
- 1875
- Medium and support
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 130.8 × 98.1 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed; Dated
- Acquisition credit
- On loan from Tate: Presented by Mrs E. Edwards 1904
- Inventory number
- L702
- Location
- Not on display
- Image copyright
- On loan from Tate: Presented by Mrs E. Edwards 1904, © 2000 Tate
- Collection
- Main Collection
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
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