'Hearts are Trumps', Sir John Everett Millais, Bt

Artwork details

Artist

Sir John Everett Millais, Bt (1829‑1896)

Title

Hearts are Trumps

Date 1872

MediumOil paint on canvas

Dimensionssupport: 1657 x 2197 mm

Collection

Tate

Acquisition Presented by the Trustees of the Chantrey Bequest 1945

Reference

N05770

On display at Tate Britain

Theme: BP Walk through British Art

Room: 1840

Display caption

In its style, which recalls the works of the eighteenth-century painter Sir Joshua Reynolds, and in its flattering depiction of the fashionable sitters, this picture expresses a gentle and nostalgic vision of family life. Elizabeth, Diana and Mary, daughters of Walter Armstrong of Scotland and London, were in their twenties when Millais painted them. Mary holds most of the trumps and looks towards the viewer. Delicately, the card game hints at sisterly competition in husband-finding.

August 2004