Richard Dadd

The Child’s Problem

1857

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

View by appointment
Artist
Richard Dadd 1817–1886
Medium
Watercolour and graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 171 × 254 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Presented by Dr R.C. Neville 1954
Reference
N06251

Display caption

The title of this work refers to a position on the chess board which was considered simple enough to have been set by a child. The theme of the opposition of black and white is picked up in the pictures on the wall which relate to the anti-slavery movement, a cause supported by Dadd’s family. On the table are delicate still-life objects, such as the walnut shell boat to the left, which may or may not have significance.

Gallery label, May 2007

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