Lot Essay
The present sheet is a study for De Morgan's painting In Memoriam (The De Morgan Foundation), painted as a reflection on grief, loss and remembrance. Although painted somewhat earlier, the painting was included in De Morgan's exhibition of 1916, held at her studio in Edith Road, London, for the benefit of the British and Italian Red Cross. It reflects De Morgan's desire to depict not the heroic aspects of war, but the very deep personal emotions of those suffering.
The facility with which De Morgan has captured the complex drapery in the present sheet clearly demonstrates not only her training at the Slade School of Art, where she was amongst the first female students to be admitted, but also her enduring fascination with Italian Renaissance art.
Another study of the drapery for In Memoriam was sold in these Rooms as part of the Stunners collection on 16 June 2015 (lot 24).
The facility with which De Morgan has captured the complex drapery in the present sheet clearly demonstrates not only her training at the Slade School of Art, where she was amongst the first female students to be admitted, but also her enduring fascination with Italian Renaissance art.
Another study of the drapery for In Memoriam was sold in these Rooms as part of the Stunners collection on 16 June 2015 (lot 24).