h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale - Artist - A87846132
Author: SashaQ - eccentric Editor - U9936370

An Entry about one of my favourite artists, as a couple of her paintings are owned by Liverpool Museums

Thank you Sasha, this is lovely, I enjoyed reading about Eleanor, and what a fabulous name! I've had a look at some of her paintings and The Uninvited Guest is really striking! I particularly love portraits of angels and so that really appealed and the bride is simply gorgeous!

A tiny nitpick: "It is not known what the illness was, but it affected her hands, so she was unable to draw or paint, and it also affected her eyes, so when she recovered enough to be able to hold a pencil or paintbrush she had difficulty with small designs but found it easier to produce larger works instead, particularly designs for altarpieces and stained glass windows in churches around the Bristol area." is a huge sentence, I suggest breaking it up thus:

>>Perhaps as a result of working so hard, in 1923 Eleanor fell ill. It is not known what the illness was, but it affected her hands, so she was unable to draw or paint. It also affected her eyes, so when she recovered enough to be able to hold a pencil or paintbrush she had difficulty with small designs. Instead, she found it easier to produce larger works, particularly designs for altarpieces and stained glass windows in churches around the Bristol area.<<

And you could link to A686748 on stained glass earlier in the Entry.

I do love stained glass windows, there are some stunning ones in Grimsby Minster and I have seen some marvellous ones abroad.


GB

Ah, a Pre-Raphaelite...you have to adore them.

This is lovely, short and sweet.

May I venture a suggestion to make it a teeny bit longer?

Could you take one representative painting, link to it, and explain briefly what it means, what it does, and perhaps what inspired it? You know, give us an intro to her work that way? Just a few sentences would do.

I found 'The Forerunner' interesting, but didn't know what it was about.

Thanks GB

Huge sentence broken up as suggested, and link added

Thanks Dmitri

Excellent idea to include a specific example of the style - I shall check the book catalogue tonight and see what I can do

I was intrigued about "The Uninvited Guest" and who/what was uninvited - was it the angel, or was there a bee (or wasp) tangled in the bride's train which the bridesmaid was trying to set free?

I could actually look at that painting for hours,



GB

Done

Yes, I like the Pre-Raphaelite style, and there is so much detail in Eleanor's paintings that you can look at them for hours, or see something different every time you encounter one. My favourite is the Little Foot Page, as I like the blue and green colours rather than the red in The Forerunner, and the detail in the fabrics and the forest background is exquisite

Thank you. That's a big help to the reader - it gives us a way to appreciate the work.

Thanks Sasha, that's a definite improvement

I can see why your favourite is the Little Foot Page, I am imagining a girl chopping off her hair to get a job as a Page in the Royal Court. There is a lot of red in The Forerunner! But it would make an excellent jigsaw...I will have to investigate

GB

Thank you

The story of the Little Foot Page is interesting (what little I know of it from the description of Eleanor's painting) - the girl's boyfriend was called up to go to war and she was worried about him, so she decided to join up as his page so she could look after him.

Ah - I went a-googling and found the ballad - interesting indeed... that she was in love with a knight, so he told her to be his page, then they went to his house together where it seems he was already married - the page had a baby in the stable, then the knight's wife found her and they all lived happily ever after!

I like the painting on its own better, so it has multiple meanings depending on the viewer

I hadn't heard of Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale before, so found this article interesting and informative. The link to the selection of her paintings is very useful.

I don't supose there were many successful women painters at this time. Did she have difficulty establishing herself as a painter? Maybe I'm being a tiresome feminist but I thought it might be nice to call her 'an outstanding woman artist' or something similar.

Thanks mvp

Good point - I shall investigate and add paragraphs to put her art into the context of the time.

I added a paragraph - see what you think.

I found another book that mentioned Eleanor, so the Legacy section has been updated

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