[121515] Beverley : Elwell Trail - Seated Nude in the Studio

Butcher Row, Beverley, East Yorkshire.

Picture No 2 on the Elwell trail. There are 22 in total to find around the town.

Frederick William Elwell RA (1870-1958) (1870-1958) "Seated Nude in the Studio", 1935.

 

It was customary for artists to develop their understanding of the human form by sketching the nude figure from life. Fred Elwell was no exception and several of his early works focus on the nude. He then abandoned the subject for many years but returned to the naked female form with "Seated Nude" which he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1935.

 

Much has been written about the voyeuristic appeal of the nude. However in this instance Fred shifts the emphasis away from the nude as a provocative subject intended for the male gaze and focuses on the subject of self-exploration. Here we see a self-assured woman engaging with her own likeness as captured on canvas.

 

Born in Beverley in 1870, the painter Fred Elwell trained at the Lincoln School of Art and the academies in Antwerp and Paris before returning to his home town. With the support of his fellow Beverlonians, Fred’s career flourished. In 1914 he married the accomplished artist Mary Dawson Holmes and the couple settled at Bar House, North Bar. The town and townspeople of Beverley were a constant source of inspiration for both Fred and Mary, and although their work is not confined to regional subjects, local people and places feature significantly.

 

On his death in 1958, Fred bequeathed a large collection of his paintings, together with a selection by his wife, to Beverley Art Gallery. With the support of Beverley Civic Society, the Elwell collection has been liberated from the confines of the gallery walls! High quality replica paintings can now been seen throughout the town, enabling a wider audience to enjoy the Elwell paintings in settings that proved so inspirational to the artists.

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