Object Details
From:NHerts
Name/TitleIvy
About this objectIvy, an oil on board portrait of a girl by the artist Brynhild Parker. Ivy is sitting with on what could be a Morris & Co rush-seated turned chair, in a domestic setting. She has her hands together on her lap, and a pillow or cushion behind her back. A white chimneypiece is visible to the right, and a green curtain on the left. It is possible that this is Brynhild Parker’s London flat, which had white chimneypieces, though there is relatively little detail of the interior. The focus is on the child and her gaze. The girl looks straight ahead, in a rather pensive manner. She wears a brown buttoned jumper and paler brown skirt, with dark brown stockings, and is possibly in her early teens
Brynhild was the niece of Barry Parker who was one the architects of Letchworth Garden City along with Raymond Unwin.
On the back of the panel is an unfinished still life. Parker is known to have domestic painted still lives; the Wilson at Cheltenham has a finished one, and our museum also holds a Brynhild Parker still life on the back of another unfinished painting. It is likely that she was influenced by William Ratcliffe, Ratcliffe was the lodger of the Parker family for many years. Ratcliffe painted many such domestic interiors, showing the table in his studio or bed-sitting room, a fire in the hearth, the table set for one with a brown teapot.
The work was exhibited at Alex Reid & Lefevre Ltd, London, 'The 3rd Exhibition of Paintings by The East London Group', December 1931. Listed as number 13 in the catalogue.
It also appears in David Buckman’s revised edition of 'From Bow to Biennale: Artists of The East London Group'.
MakerParker, Brynhild
Maker RoleArtist
Date Madec.1931
Period20th Century (1901-2000)
Medium and MaterialsOil on board
Named CollectionNorth Hertfordshire Museum
Object TypePainting
Object number2022.110
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved