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signed with the artist's anthemion (upper left)

oil on canvas

PROVENANCE

Henry Moore, the artist's brother
Sale, Sotheby's, London, June 8, 1993, lot 32, illustrated (sold by a descendant of the above)
(acquired by the present owner at the above sale)
EXHIBITED

London, Royal Academy, 1875, no. 357
York, Yorkshire Fine Art and Industrial Exhibition, 1879, no. 83
London, Julian Hartnoll's Gallery and York, City Art Gallery, The Moore Family Pictures, 1980, no. 68
LITERATURE AND REFERENCES

John Ruskin, Academy Notes, London, 1875
Illustrated London News, London, 1875
Alfred Lys Baldry, Albert Moore, his Life and Works, George Bell & Sons, London, 1893, pp. 20, 44, 45, 47, 94, 103
Richard Green, The Moore Family Pictures, exh. cat., 1980, pp. 24-6, 27, 59, and cover, illustrated
Robyn Asleson, Albert Moore, London, 2000, pp 134-37, illustrated p. 135

CATALOGUE NOTE

By the mid 1870s, Moore returned to the visual exploration of the resting woman that he had introduced in the 1860s. Diverging from his contemporaries, Moore's series of "sofa pictures" uses the reposing female form less as an object of desire and more as an aesthetic design device with minimal narrative meaning. In the intimate, highly decorated world of Pansies (the one-world title itself a succinct, evocative expression) the anonymous beauty, the sofa she sits upon, and the room they are housed in, reveal a complex, nearly abstract combination of colors, shapes, and forms. The soft curves of the body, supply modeled in peach, blues, and grays, pleasingly contrast with the high-whites and sharp corners of the sofa, the round reed basket, and repeating rectangles of carpet and wall-hangings. The detailed textures of upholstery and gown, mixing Chinese silks, Continental embroideries, and English crewelwork, reveal Moore's growing obsession with textiles' aesthetic possibilities. Study after study was made to ensure that each fold of the fabric was perfect, matched by a harmonious balance of colors from the palest orange to soft creams, shimmery pinks to matte blacks. The effects are almost sculptural, turning the sitter into a variation of the Greek sculptures that Moore had long studied.

With its meticulously studied hues and geometries and Classical elements, Pansies would seem to be a mixture of the best of Whistler and Alma-Tadema, two artists who were active and incredibly influential in Moore's circles. However, when Pansies was first exhibited at the Royal Academy of 1875, John Ruskin noted its distinct quality as "a consummately artistic and scientific work," and "a lesson in composition." Further, Ruskin suggested that one "should hide in this picture the little honeysuckle ornament above the head, and the [ribbon] hanging over the basket, and see what becomes of everything!" ('Academy Notes, 1875' in The Works of John Ruskin, eds. E.T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, London: George Allen, 1903-1912, vol 14: pp. 272-73). As with many other visitors to the exhibition, Ruskin appreciated Moore's ability to depict a realistic scene infused with aesthetic details without relying on the high finish of Alma-Tadema's historical compositions or the loose constructions of Whistler's tonal "symphonies." Created from drafts of cartoons, drawings, figure studies, drapery analysis, and oil sketches, Moore's work was finished with a semi-opaque gray glaze, which simulated the glamorous effect of a gauze screen--a pleasing view of a room where ultimate beauty lives.