A Confession

Phil May British
Dedicatee Lilian Emerson May British

Not on view

A laughing cavalier here whispers his confession into the ear of an elderly priest, causing the latter's hair to rise in shocked surprise. May was a popular cartoonist who worked at the end of the nineteenth century, using a spare linear style that moved the genre away from detailed narrative images typical in the Victorian era towards a simplicity more typical in the later decades. Our imagination is called upon to fill what the cavalier might be saying. May must have valued this image because he dedicated to his beloved wife Lil.

A Confession, Phil May (British, New Wortley, Leeds 1864–1903 London), Graphite on artist's board

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