Seen and Heard: Victorian Children in the Frame


Fascinating exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery looking at the representation of children in Victorian art.

I must admit I thought this show might be a bit saccharine but it was saved by good commentaries and an excellent timeline of changes to legislation in the period to help children. It was shocking to see that a law was passed in 1847 to restrict children’s working hours in textile factories to 63 hours a week. What were they working before?!

The show had nice themes such as at play, at work, in poverty, at school etc and there were some lovely pictures. It’s always nice to see Millais “First Sermon” and “Second Sermon” featuring his daughter pristine in the first and asleep in the second. Also to read again the story of the child model in Leighton’s “The Music Lesson” who was a circus performer turned actress who married an aristocrat. There must be a novel in that!

New finds included “Sympathy” by Briton Riviere of a dog sitting on the stairs with a little girl who had been banished there. Also some nice pictures by Thomas Webster of children in school and a fun picture by William Collins “The Kitten Deceived” of children teasing a kitten with a mirror.

Closes on 28 April 2019

Review
Times


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