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Description: | Three generations of the family gather to celebrate the first birthday of its youngest member. Like The Young Photographers, it is rich in signs and symbols which tell us about the social status of the family. The father is a tailor and has just broken off from his work to greet his guests. The bare walls and the mismatched china suggest that the family are not well off but there is evidence of their desire for self improvement, a violin on the wall, pictures and a sampler. At the time when this work was painted there were seven tailors working in Cranbrook and this painting may have been set in one of their cottages. St. Dunstan's Church is visible through the open doorway.
This charming painting probably depicts a real Cranbrook family. The first birthday of the baby is celebrated in a tailor's house, and St Dunstan's church is visible through the doorway. At the time when this picture was painted there were seven tailors in Cranbrook. It is likely that the interior was inspired by the cottage of one of these tailors. Like most paintings by Cranbrook Colony artists, it reminds the viewer of the simple virtues and simple pleasures of ordinary people.
Frederick Daniel Hardy was the son of a musician, who unlike his brother George, had no formal artist training. He began to paint when he was twenty and chose interiors of houses as his subject. Gradually, he introduced figures into these scenes. He was an important member of the Cranbrook Colony, a group of artists living in the small village of Cranbrook, Kent. Often his subjects were inspired by an incident that he had witnessed. Wolverhampton Art Gallery owns twenty-five paintings by F.D. Hardy.
Oil painting showing a family gathering in a simple domestic interior to celebrate the baby's first birthday. The table is set with food, tea and a birthday cake. Grandparents are arriving at the door. | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/uk/ | Publisher: | Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Service | Rights holder: | Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Service | Subjects: | Families Boys Childhood Fine arts Food Women Oil painting Homes Domestic animals Domestic life 19th Century Girls Cranbrook Colony of Artists Nineteenth century Houses Drink Men Oil Paintings Babies Children Victorian period Kitchens Interiors People and roles Cats Paintings Narrative painting Family Birthdays People Art collections | Temporal: | 1867
Victorian (1837-1901) | Source: | Black Country History | Creator: | HARDY; Frederick Daniel (1827 - 1911) | Identifier: | http://www.blackcountryhistory.org/colle... | Go to resource |
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