Circle of Thomas Faed (1826-1900) - 19th Century Oil The Reading Lesson

Description

A truly charming 19th Century interior scene from the Circle of Thomas Faed. The scene shows a rustic kitchen with a mother and child sat by an open fire. The mother holds an open book on her lap with a reading glass in her hand as her daughter looks up at her, one hand on her lap. The artist's use of gestural, loose brushwork for the surroundings and tighter, more focused technique on the sitter's hands and faces, is similar to that of Thomas Faed. The painting has been inscribed "T. Faed" to the lower right corner and the the painting has been presented in a handsome 19th Century tarnished gilt frame with laurel and berry outer molding and acanthus leaf strap work, finished with a gilt slip. their is an inscription at the reverse reading "Thomas Faed 1867." This is likely in a later hand. On canvs.

Condition

The condition is typical for a picture of this age including some discolouration. Inspection under UV light reveals some areas of restoration. Two small dents to the lower right quadrant and some abrasion to the paint from the frame at the lower left corner. The frame has some tarnishing and some areas of loss and restoration.

Size

59.5 x 49.5cm (23.4" x 19.5")
Framed Size: 85.5 x 75.5cm (33.7" x 29.7")

Artist Biography

Thomas Faed RSA (1826–1900) was a Scottish painter.
Faed was born on 8 June 1826, at Barlay Mill in Gatehouse of Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire, and was the brother of the artists James Faed, John Faed and Susan Faed.
He received his art education in the school of design, Edinburgh and was elected an associate of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1849. He went to London three years later, was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1861, and academician in 1864, and retired in 1893. He had much success as a painter of domestic genre, and had considerable executive capacity.
Three of his pictures, The Silken Gown, Faults on Both Sides, and The Highland Mother are in the Tate Gallery and a further two, Highland Mary and The Reaper hang in the Aberdeen Art Gallery. The Last of the Clan, completed in 1865 and arguably his best known work, is in the Kelvingrove Gallery in Glasgow.
He died in London on 17 August 1900.