Childhood's Treasures by Marianne Stokes, née Preindlsberger (1855-1927). 1886. Oil on canvas. H 68.6 x W 127 cm. Collection: Nottingham City Museums & Galleries. Accession no. NCM 1896-67, purchased from W. A. Michael, 1896. Downloaded from Art UK, where it is available for reproduction on a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (CC BY-NC).
This was the sort of subject women were expected to paint, and praised for painting, and very charming it is too: the little girl holding one of the puppies looks so motherly already, and the other two children in the stable are also delighted with the two new-born puppies amid the straw. Light from a door or some other opening shines on their hair, and their cheeks are rosy. They are, says Magdalen Evans, "discernibly rustic-looking" (32), very much in keeping with the ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement of the time. It is a picture of healthy, innocent joy in the natural world. — Jacqueline Banerjee
Bibliography
Childhood's Treasured. Art UK. Web. 6 June 2023.
Evans, Magdalen. Utmost Fidelity: The Painting Lives of Marianne and Adrian Stokes. Clifton, Bristol: Sansom, 2009.
Created 6 June 2023