Infant Orphan Election At The London Tavern - Polling

By George Elgar Hicks R.B.A.

Original Oil on Canvas
Signed & Dated 'GE Hicks 1865' (lower left)
Signed & Inscribed with details of the painting's first exhibition & early provenance on a label verso.

Commissioned by a Mr. Morley but not received by him. Bought from the artist by F. Bowker of Winchester in 1866.

Exhibited Royal Academy 1865.

This stunning example of Hick's work depicts the interior of the London Tavern in Bishopsgate, crowded with parents & children on the occasion of the election by ballot to the Wanstead Orphan Asylum. Children from middle class or professional families who had fallen on hard times applied to the asylum. The cost of board & eduction was met by subscriptions & those who made these payments were entitled to to vote for children who they felt were the most deserving.

Hicks was probably attracted to this subject as a pretext for social observation as, at the time, the whole process was a matter of disapproval & discussion. Indeed, the system was almost entirely swept away by the early 1870's.

The scene is captured with the artist's customary painstaking attention to detail but this is not to the detriment of the skilful way in which he captures the various characters & their emotions. A true masterpiece.

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Size: 36" x 48"

Price: SOLD

• View Collection
• Artist Information