Sunday at Chelsea Hospital, from "The Graphic," vol. 3

Sir Hubert von Herkomer

February 18, 1871 · Wood engraving · Drawings and Prints

Herkomer contributed many scenes from contemporary life to the early issues of the weekly newspaper "The Graphic." Here he depicts a service in the chapel of the Royal Chelsea Hospital, a residential home for retired British soldiers in London. The artist later wrote of the subject that, "The idea was to make every man tell some different story, to be told by his face, or by the selection of attitude." This illustration focuses on two foreground figures, one of whom checks for the pulse of a companion who has quietly died during the service. It was soon republished in "Harper's Weekly" on March 18, 1871. The poignant subject was made into a large painting in 1875 (now Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight), that won Herkomer immediate fame. Exhibited first at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1875, it was then awarded a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle, Paris in 1878.

Artist

Sir Hubert von Herkomer

Date

February 18, 1871

Medium

Wood engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928