Evelyn De Morgan

KT748Evelyn de Morgan (1855-1919)A head study of the model Alessandro di MarcoColoured chalks on coloured paper35.5 x 32.5 cm: 14 x 12 ½ inchesProvenancePrivate collection, U.K.Alessandro di Marco was a professional artist’s model from Piedmont. Evelyn De Morgan made studies of him on several occasions, initially when she was at the Slade and later in her own studio. This drawing probably dates from 1890s. Another study of Alessandro in the De Morgan Foundation collection, for her 1899 painting The Valley of Shadows is not dissimilar to the present work (D_EDM_0038): https://www.demorgan.org.uk/collection/study-of-a-head-male/Di Marco was used by Evelyn De Morgan in two works depicting Boreas, 'Boreas and Oreithyia' (De Morgan Foundation P_EDM_0040, 1896) and 'Boreas and the Fallen Leaves' (c. 1910-14). He also features in 'Aurora Triumphans' (1876), 'Life and Thought Have Gone Away’ (1893), 'The Poor Man Who Saved the City' (1901), 'The Marriage of St. Francis and Holy Poverty' (1905), 'The Gilded Cage, A Soul in Hell’ (with curly hair) and '1914'.Di Marco modelled for Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896) in Rome and was one of the artists’ models working in London around 1870. Sir William Blake Richmond (1842-1921) described him as “a fellow so graceful and of such a colour, a kind of bronze gold” (S.T. Buckle, British Art Journal, Autumn 2012, Vol. 13, Issue 2, p.67:https://www.eb-j.org/pdfViewer/articles/MTA1OA== 2012). William Hamo Thornycroft noted in his diary that Alessandro sat for long periods of time without a break. He was the model for Merlin in Edward Burne-Jones’s earlier work 'The Beguiling of Merlin' (1872-77). He was also photographed by Julia Margaret Cameron. George Richmond described him as ‘the living embodiment of a classical sculpture’.

Evelyn De Morgan (1855 – 1919)The head of a womanColoured chalks on buff paper35.8 x 23.4 cm.; 14 1/8 x 9 ¼ inchesProvenancePrivate collection U.K., by descent until 2024.This beautiful drawing of the head of a woman deep in thought may be a study for the figure of Purity in De Morgan’s 1914 painting 'The Vision', also known as ‘1914', an allegoricalpainting inspired by World War I. The work depicts two women representing Peace andPurity in the foreground, with a demon representing war behind them (private collection, with the Louise Whitford Gallery/David Hughes in 1981).De Morgan was a pacifist, deeply moved by the horrors of the Boer War (1899-1902) andWorld War I, who made over fifteen paintings criticising war.

Evelyn De Morgan (1855 – 1919)A study for Boreas and the Fallen Leaves, c. 1910 - 1914Coloured chalks on buff paper36.8 x 23.5 cm.; 14 3/8 x 9 ½ inchesProvenancePrivate collection, U.K. and by family descent until 2024Boreas was the Greek god of the north wind. In this study for Boreas and the Fallen Leaves in the collection of the De Morgan Foundation (P_EDM_0044) he is shown with his lips pursed, blowing the wind. The oil depicts him by a gnarled oak tree, blowing the leaves which turn to maidens with long golden hair as they fall to the ground.The most important of the four wind gods, Boreas is usually depicted as a winged man of mature age, his hair floating in the wind. He had two faces, so he could see where he was going and from where he was coming.https://www.demorgan.org.uk/collection/boreas-and-the-fallen-leaves/The model for Boreas was the professional artist’s model, Alessandro di Marco from Piedmont. Evelyn De Morgan made studies of him on several occasions, initially when she was at the Slade and later in her own studio. This drawing probably dates from 1880s. Another study of Alessandro, for her 1899 painting The Valley of Shadows is on the same buff colour paper, and also probably dates to the 1880s: https://www.demorgan.org.uk/collection/study-of-a-head-male/Di Marco was used by Evelyn De Morgan in another work depicting Boreas, Boreas and Oreithyia (De Morgan Foundation P_EDM_0040, 1896). He also features in Aurora Triumphans (1876), Life and Thought Have Gone Away(1893), The Poor Man Who Saved the City (1901), The Marriage of St. Francis and Holy Poverty (1905), The Gilded Cage, A Soul in Hell (with curly hair) and '1914'.Di Marco modelled for Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896) in Rome. Alessandro was one of the artists’ models working in London around 1870. Sir William Blake Richmond (1842-1921) described him as “a fellow so graceful and of such a colour, a kind of bronze gold” (S.T. Buckle, British Art Journal, Autumn 2012, Vol. 13, Issue 2, p.67:https://www.eb-j.org/pdfViewer/articles/MTA1OA==2012). William Hamo Thornycroft noted in his diary that Alessandro sat for long periods of time without a break. He was the model for Merlin in Edward Burne-Jones’s earlier work ‘The Beguiling of Merlin’ (1872-77). He was also photographed by Julia Margaret Cameron. George Richmond described him as ‘the living embodiment of a classical sculpture’.The first owner of this drawing was a keen collector of De Morgan’s work, and also owned ‘The Dryad’ (1884-5) now in the De Morgan Foundation.Evelyn De Morgan, who attended the Slade School of Art, was influenced by George F. Watts and Edward Burne-Jones and by the work of her uncle John Roddam Spencer Stanhope. She often visited Stanhope in Florence, where she developed a love of the work of Botticelli and quattrocento art. She first exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1877. In 1887 she married the ceramicist William De Morgan, with whom she often wintered in Florence.De Morgan’s work is held in many national collections including the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, National Trust properties Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton and Knightshayes Court, Devon, the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, the National Portrait Gallery, London and Southwark Art Collection, London.With thanks to Scott Thomas Buckle for his comments on this work.

Pencil17.8 x 17.7 cm; 7 x 7 inchesProvenance: M. D. E. Clayton-Stamm, by descent until 2018.Evelyn De Morgan, who attended the Slade School of Art, was influenced by George F. Watts and Edward Burne-Jones and by the work of her uncle John Roddam Spencer Stanhope. She often visited Stanhope in Florence, where she developed a love of the work of Botticelli and Quattrocento art. She first exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1877. In 1887 she married the ceramicist William De Morgan, with whom she often wintered in Florence.It has been suggested that this may be a preliminary study for a figure in her painting The Red Cross, 1916, in the collection of the De Morgan Foundation.Her work is held in many national collections including the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool; the National Trust properties Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton, and Knightshayes Court, Devon; the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth; the National Portrait Gallery, London; and the Southwark Art Collection, London.Maxwell David Eugene Clayton-Stamm was an authority on the work of William De Morgan (on whom he published extensively), Pre-Raphaelite ceramics and the Blake-Varley sketchbook of 1819. He was a collector and bibliophile.