Sir William Blake Richmond

The Slave

c.1886

Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported)

License this image

Not on display

Artist: Sir William Blake Richmond 1842–1921
Medium: Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions: Unconfirmed: 914 x 527 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Presented by the artist's descendants 1995
Reference: T06966

Display caption

The meaning and source of this painting of an enslaved woman and her child are obscure. It may relate to French Orientalist paintings of captive women, a subject perhaps inspired by William Richmond’s visit to the Middle East in 1885. Slavery also became a popular subject in the 1880s for British painters as increasing numbers of them chose to study art in France. The outbreak of a number of moral panics in the 1880s, focusing on the victimisation of women and children by abusive men, also gave this type of painting contemporary significance.

Gallery label, July 2007

Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? We would like to hear from you.

Explore

interiors(4,369)
- domestic(1,731)
  - interior - non-specific(822)
objects(23,039)
- agriculture, gardening & fishing(1,032)
  - straw(8)
people(35,242)
- actions: postures and motions(9,051)
  - standing(3,140)
- children(3,458)
  - baby(536)
  - child(1,348)
- adults(22,954)
  - woman(9,097)
- nudes(2,533)
  - figure(197)
- actions: expressive(2,617)
  - embracing(427)
- ethnicity(4,500)
  - Middle Eastern(144)
society(34,889)
- social comment(6,446)
  - slavery(54)
- family(4,123)
  - mother and child(400)

You might like

Frank Holl, ‘Hush!’ 1877

Frank Holl Hush!

1877

N01535

George Frederic Watts, ‘Death Crowning Innocence’ 1886–7

George Frederic Watts Death Crowning Innocence

1886–7

N01635

Frank Holl, ‘Hushed’ 1877

Frank Holl Hushed

1877

N01536

Solomon J. Solomon, ‘A Family Group: The Artist’s Wife and Children: ‘Papa Painting!’’ 1905

Solomon J. Solomon A Family Group: The Artist’s Wife and Children: ‘Papa Painting!’

1905

N04916

James Clarke Hook, ‘Home with the Tide’ 1880

James Clarke Hook Home with the Tide

1880

N01512

John Singer Sargent, ‘Ena and Betty, Daughters of Asher and Mrs Wertheimer’ 1901

John Singer Sargent Ena and Betty, Daughters of Asher and Mrs Wertheimer

1901

N03708

Frederick Goodall, ‘The Ploughman and the Shepherdess: Time of the Evening Prayer’ 1897

Frederick Goodall The Ploughman and the Shepherdess: Time of the Evening Prayer

1897

N01562

Sir William Quiller Orchardson, ‘The First Cloud’ 1887

Sir William Quiller Orchardson The First Cloud

1887

On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art N01520

Henry Tanworth Wells, ‘Victoria Regina’ 1880

Henry Tanworth Wells Victoria Regina

1880

N01919

George Frederic Watts, ‘Time, Death and Judgement’ 1900

George Frederic Watts Time, Death and Judgement

1900

N01693

Philip Wilson Steer, ‘Mrs Cyprian Williams and her Two Little Girls’ 1891

Philip Wilson Steer Mrs Cyprian Williams and her Two Little Girls

1891

N04422

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Bt, ‘King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid’ 1884

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Bt King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid

1884

On display at Tate Britain part of Edward Burne-Jones N01771

Sir John Everett Millais, Bt, ‘Mercy: St Bartholomew’s Day, 1572’ 1886

Sir John Everett Millais, Bt Mercy: St Bartholomew’s Day, 1572

1886

N01510

Philip Wilson Steer, ‘Sleep’ exhibited 1898

Philip Wilson Steer Sleep

exhibited 1898

N04264

Frederic, Lord Leighton, ‘And the Sea Gave Up the Dead Which Were in It’ exhibited 1892

Frederic, Lord Leighton And the Sea Gave Up the Dead Which Were in It

exhibited 1892

On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art N01511