The Dame's Absence, from "Illustrated London News"
In their teacher's absence, a group of children attending a country dame school grow restless and seem ready to get into mischief. One takes off her smock, another eats an apple, others look at a jug and mug at right. Rankley had trained at the schools of the Royal Academy and sent literary, poetic and dramatic subjects there for exhibition from 1841. By the 1850s he was moving towards genre and contemporary narrative with titles such as "The Sunday School" (1850), "The Village School" (1856). The present image belongs to the latter group, and the related painting was shown at the Royal Academy in 1857, then engraved by Harvey Orrin Smith for the "Illustrated London News." Founded in 1842 as the world’s first weekly news magazine, this periodical regularly published examples of contemporary art and exhibition reviews.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Dame's Absence, from "Illustrated London News"
- Engraver: Harvey Orrin Smith (British, active 1847–70)
- Artist: After Alfred Rankley (British, 1819–1872 London)
- Date: July 4, 1857
- Medium: Wood engraving
- Dimensions: Image: 9 in. × 12 3/4 in. (22.8 × 32.4 cm)
Sheet: 9 1/2 in. × 13 in. (24.2 × 33 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of Donato Esposito, 2015
- Object Number: 2015.653.36
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Multiple artists/makers
June 14, 1851
Harvey Orrin Smith
Alfred Rankley
July 7, 1855
Harvey Orrin Smith
William Hemsley
December 19, 1857
Multiple artists/makers
June 11, 1807
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Charles Turner
June 10, 1808
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