The Wood Nymph by Sidney Harold Meteyard (1868-1947). Left: whole painting; right: closer view of the nymph's face. Oil on canvas. 40 ¼ x 19 inches (102.2 x 48.3 cm). Private collection. Image courtesy of Sotheby's, New York. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
In Greek mythology nymphs were believed to be almost but not quite immortal, living to tremendous ages. The dryads were tree nymphs, their existence linked to the trees which they inhabited. Despite their great lifespan, "Works of art represented them in the form of charming maidens, lightly clothed or naked, with flowers and garlands" (Seyffert 420). In Meteyard's picture the dryad does indeed take the form of a beautiful young woman, clad in green sitting in a tree, and clinging to branches with her hands. James Whistler might well have termed the picture an "Arrangement in Green" with the various hues of green depicted in her dress, tree branches, and grass. She wears a crown of white flowers that appear to be spring anemones, possibly wood anemones [windflowers], in her hair that she has picked from the meadow at her feet. In the background is a river and a rocky outcrop on the far bank.
Victorian painters did not often portray nymphs. However, Edward Burne-Jones exhibited an oil painting entitled The Wood Nymph at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1884, no. 104, that is now in the South African National Gallery in Cape Town. A watercolour and gouache cartoon of The Wood Nymph, intended for a gesso panel relief but never executed, was shown at the exhibition The Earthly Paradise held at the Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada in 1993, cat. no. A:21b. It subsequently sold at Christie's, London, on 11 December 2018, lot 6. John William Waterhouse exhibited A Hamadryd at the Royal Academy in 1893, no. 98, that is now in the Plymouth Art Gallery. Perhaps the work closest to Meteyard's concept is Evelyn De Morgan's The Dryad that she exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1885, no. 43, now in the collection of the De Morgan Foundation.
Bibliography
19th Century European Art. New York: Sotheby's (February 1, 2019): lot 564. https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2019/european-art-n10009/lot.564.html
Seyferrt, Oskar. A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, Mythology, Religion and Art..., edited by Henry Nettleship and J.E. Sandys. London: Swan Schonnenhein, 1895. Google Books. Free to read.
Victorian Pictures. London: Sotheby’s (8 June 1993): lot 45.
Created 2 April 2026