THE SISTERS
By RALPH PEACOCK


THE SISTERS
By RALPH PEACOCK
IN THE TATE GALLERY. LONDON

Originally intended for the Civil Service, Mr. Peacock's talent was so conspicuous that at an early age he made up his mind to take up painting as his life work. He received great encouragement from his father, who joined a class in the South Lambeth Art Schools with him when the son was but fourteen years old. Here he was accustomed to work two evenings a week while studying for his examinations in the daytime. He was eighteen when his work attracted the attention of John Pettie, who induced the youth to devote himself solely to his art. A year at the St. John's Wood Art School was followed by a course at the Royal Academy Schools, which he entered in 1887. In 1890 he was able to support himself by teaching and by illustrating books. Working in the evenings, he gained the Gold Medal and the Travelling Studentship in Historical Painting with his picture, " Victory," and for nearly two years he travelled abroad studying and painting. From Switzerland he sent a landscape which was exhibited in the Institute of Painters in Oil Colours, and from Italy his picture. " Oxen Ploughing," which was a feature of the Royal Academy Exhibition in 1893.

" Sisters" was painted in 1900, and was presented to the nation by the artist. It is interesting to note that the elder sister is now the painter's wife, while the younger is the girl shown in " Ethel."

The great charm of this painting lies in its colour scheme, The grey shades of the dresses contrast agreeably with the mahogany brown of the background, both of which serve to display advantageously the complexions of the two girls and the golden and rich brown hues of their hair.

From the book "Famous Paintings" Volume 2 printed in 1913.

Large files of this public domain print are available at Stock Photos at Songs of Praise
(Firefox users must click again on the large photo to see the very large image.)




Online "Name the Painting"










Ralph Peacock
online resources

Ethel
by Ralph Peacock

Online book illustrated by Peacock
"Both Sides of the Border"


Famous Paintings in this Series





James Archer
My Great Grandmother


Bashkirtseff
The Meeting


Bouguereau
Charity


John Brett
From the Dorsetshire Cliffs


Arnesby Brown
The River Bank


Joseph Clark
Mother's Darling


John Constable
The Hay-Wain


Jean Baptiste Camille
Corot
The Fisherman's Hut


Jean Baptiste Camille
Corot
A Flood


Leonardo Da Vinci
Monna Lisa


Edouard Detaille
The Dream


Henri Fantin-Latour
Flowers


Thomas Gainsborough
Queen Charlotte


Thomas Gainsborough
The Market Cart


Jean Baptiste Greuze
The Head of a Girl


Jean Baptiste Greuze
Fidelity


James Clark Hook
Home With the Tide


Alfred William Hunt
Windsor Castle


Josef Israels
The Shipwrecked Mariner


B.W. Leader
The Stream in Summer-time


Madame Vigee Le Brun
Portrait of the Artist

Alphonse Legros
A Canal With a Fisherman


Anton Mauve
Watering Horses


J.L.E. Meissonier
The Cavalier


Sir J.E. Millais
Speak! Speak!


Sir J.E. Mallais
My First Sermon


George Morland
The Reckoning


George Morland
The Inside of a Stable


Murillo
The Immaculate Conception
of the Virgin


Alfred Parsons
When Nature Painted
All Things Gay


Ralph Peacock
The Sisters


Rembrandt
Syndics of the
Cloth Merchants' Guild


Guido Reni
"Ecce Homo"


Sir Joshua Reynolds
Portrait of Mrs. Richard Hoare
With Her Infant Son


Briton Riviere
The Temptation
in the Wilderness


Dante Gabriel
Rossetti
Day Dreams


John Singer Sargent
Miss Ellen Terry
as Lady Macbeth


Lady Stanley
(Dorothy Tennant)
His First Offence


Jan Steen
Grace Before Meat


Marcus Stone
On the Road from
Waterloo to Paris


Constant Troyon
Watering Cattle


H.S. Tuke
"All Hands to the Pumps"


Velazquez
King Philip IV. of Spain


S.E. Waller
Sweethearts and Wives


Thomas Webster
The Smile

Index
Famous Paintings Volume 1
Art Gallery

Index
Famous Paintings Volume 2
Art Gallery

Index
Art Appreciation
Lessons