Sir John Everett Millais, Bt

Hearts are Trumps

1872

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In Tate Britain

Walk Through British Art: 1840

Free entry
Artist
Sir John Everett Millais, Bt 1829–1896
Medium
Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions
Support: 1657 x 2197 mm
frame: 2010 x 2550 x 140 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Presented by the Trustees of the Chantrey Bequest 1945
Reference
N05770

Display caption

Millais was commissioned to paint this portrait by writer and art collector Walter Armstrong. It features Armstrong’s daughters Elizabeth, Diana and Mary. Armstrong hoped the painting would help to raise the social profile of his family. The card game, and the title of the work, hint at competition over who would marry first. This was seen as important at the time for women of their social class. This work presents the social structures and expectations of the period as a game that these women have learnt to play skilfully.

Gallery label, August 2018

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Victorian/Genre

Features

Sir John Everett Millais, Bt, ‘Hearts are Trumps’ 1872

John Everett Millais's Hearts are Trumps 1872

Prior to display at Tate Britain, John Millais’s Hearts are Trumps 1872 underwent major painting and frame conservation

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