Woman Sheltering a Child in a Landscape

William Hamilton

1770–80 · Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, over graphite · Drawings and Prints

Hamilton belonged to a generation determined to expand the scope of the arts in Britain. He traveled to Rome as a teenager to study with Antonio Zucchi, returned to England to make decorative paintings for Robert Adam, then entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1769. From that point forward he focused on historical and literary subjects, together with portaits. This early drawing of a woman sheltering her child beneath a tree may represent Margaret of Anjou, who fled into the woods with prince Edward after the Lancasterian defeat at the Battle of Hexham, during the Wars of the Roses.

Artist

William Hamilton

Date

1770–80

Medium

Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, over graphite

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 2015