Painting of the Day: Spring Flowers, 1851

Spring Flowers
George Smith, 1851
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In Britain, in the 1850’s, people’s tastes in art leaned toward sentimental scenes of families and children. This was largely influenced by the fact that the Empire was being ruled by a young woman who had recently married and started a large family. Collectors such as John Sheepshanks and the Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend (whom we’ve mentioned in relation to his impressive gem collection) led this movement which quickly excited upper-crust Victorian society.

Here, we see such a scene painted by George Smith (1829-1901) who studied at the Royal Academy schools and later exhibited many works there and at the British Institution. He was celebrated for his genre paintings, especially those of children in idyllic scenes such as this.

This painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1851. At its debut, The Art Journal in reviewed the piece quite favorably. “Children decking with flowers their little sister, whom they have drawn forth in her little cart; the picture has much truthful excellence,” the reviewer noted.

During a time when childhood was often cut short by illness and poor conditions, such scenes were especially revered. Artists were careful to not represent the darker realities of Victorian childhood, instead focusing on scenes of perfection and beauty.