Victorian Art in Britain

 The Long Engagement by Arthur Hughes


 
A beautifully painted, subtly coloured picture, thus saved from being overly sentimental. This picture was given to BMAG in 1902 by the executors of a Dr Griffiths, & is one of its greatest Pre-Raphaelite paintings. It shows an impoverished curate, & his fiance in a woodland setting. The two figures are expertly painted, & the wooded background is exquisite. It is one of the most famous pictures by Hughes one of the great painters of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, & a modest, retiring, kindly man. Throughout his career Hughes struggled to gain recognition, & to sell his pictures at realistic prices, due to his gentle non-competitive nature.

Location : Birmingham City Art Gallery