Mary Walker Waugh

1868

William Holman Hunt

(British, 1827–1910)

Culture

England, 19th century

Medium

oil on fabric

Measurements

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.)

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1984.41

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Location

220 19th Century European

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.