The First Time of 'Asking', from "Illustrated London News"

William Luson Thomas|William Hemsley

May 8, 1869 · Wood engraving · Drawings and Prints

This wood engraving reproduces a work by Hemsley, a London genre painter and son of an architect who initially had followed his father’s profession, painting in his spare time. Known for genre subjects, he exhibited at the Royal Academy, British Institution and Suffolk Street, eventually becoming vice president at the latter. The image relates to a painting made near the end of Hemsley's career and shows a young couple at the start of their courtship, seated together in a high backed pew in a church, a sanctioned public setting which also affords some privacy. Having dropped her glove, the young woman waits for her companion to notice and retrieve it. The print was engraved by William Luson Thomas, a leading wood engraver of the period, and likely published as part of the "Illustrated London News" reportage on current art exhibitions.

Artist

William Luson Thomas|William Hemsley

Date

May 8, 1869

Medium

Wood engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Donato Esposito, 2019