Lot Essay
Sophie Anderson is best known for her early masterpiece, No Walk Today (private collection). The present picture is later in date, much freer in style, and bears fascinating associations. It belonged to the creator of Alice in Wonderland, C.L. Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll. 'I bought a little picture by Mrs Anderson of a child's head in profile.' In his journal on 6 July 1865, Dodgson recorded 'The original (child) was in the house and was called into the room, a beautiful child about 12, Elizabeth Turnbull by name - I intend taking a photograph of her in the same attitude as the picture.'
Elizabeth Turnbull was employed by Sophie Anderson as a domestic help and sitter, and it is no surprise that she appealed to Dodgson, who was so fond of little girls' company. Her likeness and his record of the purchase are poignant documents with a bearing not only on this salient characteristic but on his skill as a photographer.
Still in its original Bourlet's frame, the picture was not the only work by Sophie Anderson that Dodgson acquired. He also bought a portrait of a girl called Minnie Morton at about the same time, and both pictures can be seen sitting on the mantlepiece in photographs of his room at Christ Church, Oxford, where he was a lecturer in mathematics from 1855 to 1881. There they must often have been seen by Alice Liddell, the second daughter of Dean Liddell, who inspired Alice in Wonderland, published in 1865, the same year that Dodgson bought the Anderson picture, and its sequel Through the Looking Glass, which appeared in 1871. The picture remained at Christ Church until Dodgson's death in 1898. It was then taken to his sister's house, 'The Chestnuts' in Guildford, and it has remained in his family ever since.
Elizabeth Turnbull was employed by Sophie Anderson as a domestic help and sitter, and it is no surprise that she appealed to Dodgson, who was so fond of little girls' company. Her likeness and his record of the purchase are poignant documents with a bearing not only on this salient characteristic but on his skill as a photographer.
Still in its original Bourlet's frame, the picture was not the only work by Sophie Anderson that Dodgson acquired. He also bought a portrait of a girl called Minnie Morton at about the same time, and both pictures can be seen sitting on the mantlepiece in photographs of his room at Christ Church, Oxford, where he was a lecturer in mathematics from 1855 to 1881. There they must often have been seen by Alice Liddell, the second daughter of Dean Liddell, who inspired Alice in Wonderland, published in 1865, the same year that Dodgson bought the Anderson picture, and its sequel Through the Looking Glass, which appeared in 1871. The picture remained at Christ Church until Dodgson's death in 1898. It was then taken to his sister's house, 'The Chestnuts' in Guildford, and it has remained in his family ever since.