William Holman Hunt - Scene at Sheen

with inscription 'Scene at Sheen/Holman Hunt' (lower centre)
pen and brown ink and brown wash on writing paper stamped 'The Planes, East Sheen', watermark '1862'
8 x 6 3/8 in.

Hunts work depicts a scene at The Planes, East Sheen, home to Octavius Ommanney (1816-1901), and his family. His wife Helen, on the far left, is surrounded by five of their children, Georgiana, Charlotte, Frederick, Annie Maria and Mildred. The watermark on the sheet dates the drawing to 1862 at which point Hunt was actively looking for a wife and he may have thought of the Ommanney daughters as possibilities for that role.


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