Search the De Morgan Collection
Life study, two male and one female nude figures
Artist: De Morgan, Evelyn
Study of nude female figure for ‘Hero Holding the Beacon for Leander’
Artist: De Morgan, Evelyn
Drawing from cast, standing male nude, antique
Artist: De Morgan, Evelyn
Compositional study for ‘Death of a Dragon’, a female angel, male and female figures in despair
Artist: De Morgan, Evelyn
Compositional Study for ‘Pro Patria Mori’, a female angel with outstretched wings, two mourning women, a male spirit
Artist: De Morgan, Evelyn
This is a pastel compositional study for an oil painting which was unfortunately destroyed in a fire in 1991. In the painting a mother and wife or sweetheart of a deceased soldier mourn at his grave. Unlike the rather austere view of mourning depicted in ‘In Memoriam’, it is an intimate and raw representation of the experience of loss and grief. While the mother remains prostrate with grief and despair, the younger woman takes some consolation from a vision of her beloveds resurrected spirit being embraced lovingly by a triumphant angel. Here De Morgan illustrates her sustained belief in the power of hope and faith to overcome despair and her belief in eventual spiritual redemption. The imagery in the work recalls the biblical references in John 19:25 to the women who remained at Calvary to mourn after Christ had been crucified and in this, the painting conforms with many representations of the Christian / Marian notions of sacrifice and redemption found in First World War literature and visual arts. However the title of the painting meaning to die for ones countryis somewhat subversive. The title is derived from the latin phrase Dulce Et Decorum est pro patria mori, “it is sweet and seemly do die for ones country”, but the patriotic context of the phrase is intentionally lost in Evelyns edited version. Her choice of title must be viewed in conjunction with the war poet Wilfred Owens use of the phrase in his work Dulce Et Decorum Est where the patriotic sentiment is disparaged as the old lie and is therefore indicative of Evelyns pacifist standpoint and by this point public criticism of the war. ‘Pro Patria Mori’ was destroyed by fire in October 1991.
Study of a man’s legs in tights, male
Artist: De Morgan, Evelyn
Study for ‘Portrait of William De Morgan’, shoulders of a male
Artist: De Morgan, Evelyn
Study for Portrait of William De Morgan. The portrait now resides in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Study for ‘Gloria in Excelsis’, two hands and the frame of a harp
Artist: De Morgan, Evelyn
Study of standing nude famale for unknown painting
Artist: De Morgan, Evelyn
Study of seated figure in drapery for unknown painting
Artist: De Morgan, Evelyn