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THE SISTERS
By RALPH PEACOCK

THE SISTERS
By RALPH PEACOCK
IN THE TATE GALLERY. LONDON

Originally intended for the Civil Service, Mr. Peacock's talent was so conspicuous that at an early age he made up his mind to take up painting as his life work. He received great encouragement from his father, who joined a class in the South Lambeth Art Schools with him when the son was but fourteen years old. Here he was accustomed to work two evenings a week while studying for his examinations in the daytime. He was eighteen when his work attracted the attention of John Pettie, who induced the youth to devote himself solely to his art. A year at the St. John's Wood Art School was followed by a course at the Royal Academy Schools, which he entered in 1887. In 1890 he was able to support himself by teaching and by illustrating books. Working in the evenings, he gained the Gold Medal and the Travelling Studentship in Historical Painting with his picture, " Victory," and for nearly two years he travelled abroad studying and painting. From Switzerland he sent a landscape which was exhibited in the Institute of Painters in Oil Colours, and from Italy his picture. " Oxen Ploughing," which was a feature of the Royal Academy Exhibition in 1893.

" Sisters" was painted in 1900, and was presented to the nation by the artist. It is interesting to note that the elder sister is now the painter's wife, while the younger is the girl shown in " Ethel."

The great charm of this painting lies in its colour scheme, The grey shades of the dresses contrast agreeably with the mahogany brown of the background, both of which serve to display advantageously the complexions of the two girls and the golden and rich brown hues of their hair.

From the book "Famous Paintings" Volume 2 printed in 1913.

Large files of this public domain print are available at Stock Photos at Songs of Praise
(Firefox users must click again on the large photo to see the very large image.)

Online "Name the Painting"

Ralph Peacock
online resources

Ethel
by Ralph Peacock

Online book illustrated by Peacock
"Both Sides of the Border"

Famous Paintings in this Series

James Archer My Great Grandmother	Bashkirtseff The Meeting	Bouguereau Charity	John Brett From the Dorsetshire Cliffs
Arnesby Brown The River Bank	Joseph Clark Mother's Darling	John Constable The Hay-Wain	Jean Baptiste Camille Corot The Fisherman's Hut
Jean Baptiste Camille Corot A Flood	Leonardo Da Vinci Monna Lisa	Edouard Detaille The Dream	Henri Fantin-Latour Flowers
Thomas Gainsborough Queen Charlotte	Thomas Gainsborough The Market Cart	Jean Baptiste Greuze The Head of a Girl	Jean Baptiste Greuze Fidelity
James Clark Hook Home With the Tide	Alfred William Hunt Windsor Castle	Josef Israels The Shipwrecked Mariner	B.W. Leader The Stream in Summer-time
Madame Vigee Le Brun Portrait of the Artist	Alphonse Legros A Canal With a Fisherman	Anton Mauve Watering Horses	J.L.E. Meissonier The Cavalier
Sir J.E. Millais Speak! Speak!	Sir J.E. Mallais My First Sermon	George Morland The Reckoning	George Morland The Inside of a Stable
Murillo The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin	Alfred Parsons When Nature Painted All Things Gay	Ralph Peacock The Sisters	Rembrandt Syndics of the Cloth Merchants' Guild
Guido Reni "Ecce Homo"	Sir Joshua Reynolds Portrait of Mrs. Richard Hoare With Her Infant Son	Briton Riviere The Temptation in the Wilderness	Dante Gabriel Rossetti Day Dreams
John Singer Sargent Miss Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth	Lady Stanley (Dorothy Tennant) His First Offence	Jan Steen Grace Before Meat	Marcus Stone On the Road from Waterloo to Paris
Constant Troyon Watering Cattle	H.S. Tuke "All Hands to the Pumps"	Velazquez King Philip IV. of Spain	S.E. Waller Sweethearts and Wives
Thomas Webster The Smile	Index Famous Paintings Volume 1 Art Gallery	Index Famous Paintings Volume 2 Art Gallery	Index Art Appreciation Lessons