Hammock
Maker
(artist)
1885-1963
1885-1963
Title
Hammock
Date of Production
(circa) 1913 - 1914
Medium
graphite, brown ink and watercolour on wove paper, the lower left corner made up on laid paper
Dimensions
Height: 35.5 cm
Width: 41.4 cm
Width: 41.4 cm
Accession Number
D.2016.XX.12
Mode of Acquisition
Brigid Peppin, gift, 2016
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Copyright
© Estate of Helen Saunders
Location
Not currently on display
Keywords
Label Text
Rather than relaxing, the woman lying in a hammock appears to be suffering. The hammock resembles a shroud, and the figure’s tortured hands recall those of a crucified Christ.
The framework supporting the hammock resembles the back of a Queen Anne chair, common in middle-class homes like that of Saunders’s family. Although she left home for a poorer but more independent life, during the most radical period of her career she sought partial anonymity to spare her family embarrassment. She was keenly aware that numerous women artists faced similar dilemmas.
The framework supporting the hammock resembles the back of a Queen Anne chair, common in middle-class homes like that of Saunders’s family. Although she left home for a poorer but more independent life, during the most radical period of her career she sought partial anonymity to spare her family embarrassment. She was keenly aware that numerous women artists faced similar dilemmas.
Provenance
with the artist until her death in 1963; bequeathed to her sister, Ethel Saunders; bequeathed to her first cousin once removed, Helen Peppin, 1971; given to her daughter, Brigid Peppin, 1989; offered by her as a gift and part-purchase to the Samuel Courtauld Trust, 2016
Exhibition History
Drawings Gallery Display - Helen Saunders, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 14/10/2022-29/01/2023
Max Weber: an American cubist in Paris and London, 1905-15, Ben Uri Gallery, London, 24/06/2014-05/10/2014
Modern Art in Britain 1910-1914, Barbican Art Gallery, London, 20/02/1997-26/05/1997 ...More
Helen Saunders (1885-1963), Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 09/01/1996-03/03/1996; Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield, 16/03/1996-20/04/1996 ...Less
Max Weber: an American cubist in Paris and London, 1905-15, Ben Uri Gallery, London, 24/06/2014-05/10/2014
Modern Art in Britain 1910-1914, Barbican Art Gallery, London, 20/02/1997-26/05/1997 ...More
Helen Saunders (1885-1963), Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 09/01/1996-03/03/1996; Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield, 16/03/1996-20/04/1996 ...Less
Literature
Peppin, Brigid, and Cork, Richard, Helen Saunders (1885-1963), exh. cat., Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and Graves Art Gallery ,Sheffield, 1996
pp. 10, 44
pp. 10, 44
Inscriptions
Watermark: Watermark: none.
Inscription: Verso: upper left, graphite: "Imp"; lower left, graphite: "ROT. No. 5".
Collector's mark: none.
Inscription: Verso: upper left, graphite: "Imp"; lower left, graphite: "ROT. No. 5".
Collector's mark: none.
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