Description
The subject for this portrait is Miss Kathleen Bruce, later Lady Scott, the widow of Antarctic explorer Sir Robert F. Scott. However, as the picture's original title underlines (Souvenir of an "International Ball"), the identity of the sitter is less important than her treatment as a decorous object. Highlighting the woman in front of a shadowed screen decorated with foliage, Shannon positioned her to ensure her hoop skirt billowed out and filled the large chair. The result is a "bouquet" of fabrics and bows which bursts forth from the real bouquet of flowers nestled upon the woman's lap. Shannon's debt to the Venetian Renaissance painter Titian (about 1489-1576) is evident in the loose brushwork he used to represent realistically the soft material of the dress and to heighten the sense of ornamentation. Although aware of contemporary art movements, he instead preferred to follow the art of previous masters like Titian. He shared this love of older tradition with his living and working partner, Charles Ricketts (1866-1931), as well as with Alphonse Legros (1837-1911), a French-born artist who was an important teacher in Britain.
Provenance
Sir A. Kay Muir; (Shepherd Gallery, New York)
Souvenir of an "International Ball" (Portrait of Miss Kathleen Bruce)
1907
Accession Number
1979.16
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
Unframed: 116.8 x 87.2 cm (46 x 34 5/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
Tags
Painting Early Modern (1901–1950) Oil Painting Canvas British
Background & Context
Background Story
Charles Hasslewood Shannon (1863-1937) was a British painter known for the elegantly composed portrait and figure paintings that make him one of the most accomplished painters of the British aesthetic tradition. Souvenir of an International Ball from 1907 depicts Miss Kathleen Bruce in the elegantly composed, richly colored manner that distinguishes Shannon's best work from the more general portrait painting of his contemporaries. Shannon was known for his elegantly composed, richly colored portraits and figure paintings that combine the influence of the Old Masters with the aesthetic sensibility of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the 1907 portrait shows his talent for combining elegant composition with rich color.
Cultural Impact
Souvenir of an International Ball is important in the history of British painting because it demonstrates the elegantly composed, richly colored manner that Shannon brought to portraiture as one of the most accomplished painters of the British aesthetic tradition. Shannon's elegantly composed, richly colored portraits—combining the influence of the Old Masters with the aesthetic sensibility of his period—represent one of the most accomplished traditions in British portrait painting, and the 1907 portrait shows this tradition at its most elegantly composed.
Why It Matters
Souvenir of an International Ball is Shannon's elegantly composed British portrait: Miss Kathleen Bruce depicted in the richly colored manner of one of the most accomplished painters of the British aesthetic tradition. The 1907 portrait shows the combination of elegant composition with rich color that makes Shannon's portraits distinctive.
