The art of marriage

RUTH MILLINGTON celebrates a new Worcester exhibition which shines a light on an artistic power couple who achieved more than the sum of the parts in an age when women were often overshadowed by their husbands

- RUTH MILLINGTON

ART history has been built on the myth of individual geniuses who have, according to the canon, worked tirelessly and alone in their studios.

But anyone visiting Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum will be greeted by two partners in marriage and art Elizabeth and Stanhope Forbes, who worked side-by-side, and often en plein air, to pioneer British Impressionism.

Gazing at the viewer from the exhibition’s first wall is ‘Zaandvoort Fisher Girl’ (1884) by Elizabeth, proof that she was already a successful artist before meeting Stanhope. As sunlight streams through a high window, it illuminates the girl’s face, creating a halo effect around her hair, while also drawing attention to the platter of iridescent fish she holds against her hip.

The Canadian-born painter spent her early career in Europe, seeking to capture the effects of light on everyday scenes.

Hanging on the opposite gallery wall, as if in direct conversation with this painting, is ‘The Farmer's Wife’ by Stanhope. Similarly, he has framed the beauty of a woman at work, as light catches her apron, hands, and silver dish. He, too, was sought to evoke the atmosphere and immediacy of daily life after painting in Brittany during the 1880s.

Having both spent time independently in France, Elizabeth and Stanhope journeyed to Cornwall in search of light. Here, they not only found it, but one another; and in 1889 they got married.