Sunday at Chelsea Hospital, from "The Graphic," vol. 3
Herkomer contributed many scenes from contemporary life to the early issues of the weekly newspaper "The Graphic." Here he depicts a service in the chapel of the Royal Chelsea Hospital, a residential home for retired British soldiers in London. The artist later wrote of the subject that, "The idea was to make every man tell some different story, to be told by his face, or by the selection of attitude." This illustration focuses on two foreground figures, one of whom checks for the pulse of a companion who has quietly died during the service. It was soon republished in "Harper's Weekly" on March 18, 1871. The poignant subject was made into a large painting in 1875 (now Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight), that won Herkomer immediate fame. Exhibited first at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1875, it was then awarded a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle, Paris in 1878.
Artwork Details
- Title: Sunday at Chelsea Hospital, from "The Graphic," vol. 3
- Artist: After Sir Hubert von Herkomer (British, Waal, Bavaria 1849–1914 Budleigh Salterton, Devon)
- Date: February 18, 1871
- Medium: Wood engraving
- Dimensions: image: 11 7/16 x 8 3/4 in. (29 x 22.2 cm)
sheet: 15 7/8 x 11 5/16 in. (40.4 x 28.8 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928
- Object Number: 28.111.10(9)
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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after 1879
Sir Hubert von Herkomer
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1892
Sir Hubert von Herkomer
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Sir Hubert von Herkomer
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Sir Hubert von Herkomer
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