'Still Life of a Basket on a Chair', Lady Edna Clarke Hall

Artwork details

Artist

Lady Edna Clarke Hall (1879‑1979)

Title

Still Life of a Basket on a Chair

Date 1900

MediumOil paint on canvas

Dimensionssupport: 558 x 406 mm

Collection

Tate

Acquisition Presented by the executors of the late Mrs M.H. Fearnley-Sander 1990

Reference

T05773

Not on display

Display caption

Edna Waugh was one of the star pupils of the Slade School of Art, which she attended from 1895-99. She then married t barrister William Clarke Hall. The training at the Slade in the 1890s stressed the importance of vigorous drawing. Still lifes were popular, probably inspired by Dutch seventeenth-century examples. This is probably the artist's only oil painting. It was made under the direction of Gwen John (1876-1939) who showed her how to use oil paints. It is close in style, subject and technique to Gwen John's work. Edna Clarke Hall was known primarily for her drawings, particularly her illustrations to 'Wuthering Heights', although she also wrote poetry.

September 2004