Clavering Children (1777)
George Romney (1734-1802)
oil on canvas, 62 x 49 1/2 inches
Adele S. Browning Memorial Collection
Romney's Clavering Children portrays Thomas John and Catherine Mary, children of George Clavering of Greencroft, in Durham.
The Huntington has thirteen works by Romney, and this is one of the finest from a phase in that artist's career otherwise unrepresented. In this lyrical composition of pastel tones, the youngsters and their dogs move gently through an undefined landscape.
When he painted it, Romney had just returned from a period of study in Rome and the graceful poses of the figures reflect his familiarity with classical sculpture. The attitudes of the children also effectively capture their adolescent state as well as their gender roles as master of animals and nurturer.
This painting was one of forty-two pictures--Dutch, French, Italian as well as English--bequeathed to the Huntington by Mildred Browning Green and Judge Lucius Peyton Green in 1978 in memory of Mrs. Green'smother, Adele Browning.
|