Q & A

P.M. of Ottawa, Ontario writes:

Since I was a child we have had "Lady Bountiful” in our house. It was passed down to my family from my father's father.

My father use to always tell me that he was the little boy about to accept the cake. I believed him right up until I was about 14.

Then he told me the truth. This picture was salvaged by a relative many years ago off a ship that was abandoned during a storm off the coast of Nova Scotia. My father's family is from Nova Scotia.

Not too much was known about the picture, or the artist, Fred Morgan. But everyone loved it. I now have this picture in my home and I still joke to my children and tell them that the little boy is their grandfather when he was young. My father passed on almost 16 years ago but this picture makes me feel that he is still here with me. It is a great comfort to me, and I will always hang it over the dining room buffet where it has always hung during its history with my family.

I tried to find some reference of the artist on the web, but have not had much luck. I did find a copy of Little Lady Bountiful in an art store but it was in colour, and mine is not.

I would be extremely grateful of any information you could provide about the artist.

The Picture is in the original frame which measures 3.5' x 2.75'. The actual picture measures, 2.33' x 1.5' (feet)

She is a larger picture, but I have never lived in a home without her.

We asked Erik Peters to respond:

Your picture entitled “Little Lady Bountiful” is as typical an example as one is likely to encounter of one of the principal genres of Victorian painting– the endearing depiction of children. Oftentimes, they were portrayed engaged in commonplace activities, in this case a family picnic. Other examples would include children playing amongst themselves or with their pets, assisting with household chores, or at the beach. While such sentimental subject matter might now be considered by some to be mawkish or cloying, in its day it enjoyed tremendous popularity, as it pleasantly reinforced many of the social concerns of the Victorians, like morality and discipline, in settings that reflected wealth, abundance and harmony or, at the very least, an absence of want or deprivation. This would have been executed, remember, during the height of the Victorian empire.

In “Little Lady Bountiful”, by Fred Morgan, we are treated to an idyllic picnic scenario; three children of a well-to-do family are engaged in a riverside picnic with their sitter (she appears to be too young to be the mother of three; to portray her thus reinforces the notion of affluence – the family can afford to have their children cared for by a sitter). This is further enhanced by the abundance of pastries and fruit they are enjoying, the fine china on which it is presented and, in particular, the finery they wear, which serves as a visual counter-point to the two young children on the left. Clearly, these two are less fortunate; their clothes say it all (even if their faces don’t! Physically, they appear as healthy and robust as the three affluent children. To have rendered them otherwise would have compromised the pastoral nature of the scene). The youngest of the three is being gently guided by her sitter to share in their “bounty” by offering food to her less fortunate visitors. She does so willingly, happily, as her siblings look upon with approval. Thus, a high moral standard – generosity and sharing - is demonstrated and maintained within a heart-warming scenario – two hallmarks of High Victorian genre painting.

Frederick Morgan (British, 1856-1927) was one of the key practitioners of this type of subject matter and his original paintings have always fared well within the market for this type of work. In fact, a painting of his entitled “The Teeter-Totter” sold recently in Toronto for $276,000! He was known to have used his own children as models for some of his paintings, and it has been suggested that his success at rendering such heart-warming scenes so consistently may well have been enhanced by the affection he held for his “models”. He exhibited at numerous public galleries in England including the British Institute and the Royal Academy, the latter with such titles as “Just Caught” (1868); “The Doll’s Tea Party” (1874) and “An Apple Gathering” (1880).

Such was the popularity of Morgan’s work that many of his paintings were reproduced and, in fact, what you have is not an original painting by Morgan but, rather, what is called a “photogravure”. Essentially, it is a photograph of the original painting, the negative of which has been transferred onto a metal plate that was then used to produce an unknown number of prints. I cannot tell exactly from the photos you provided, but I suspect yours was originally a black and white print (they usually were) that was later hand-coloured with watercolour. This was a fairly common practice by certain dealers of the day, as it would enhance the visual appeal of the prints, making them more saleable. The simple oak frame in which it hangs is likely the original, although the mat is not. The title revealed by the cut-away at the bottom will be part of a wide border or margin that may also contain information such as the printer, the publisher, the date of production and so forth.

As this is clearly a very treasured piece, I’d like to offer two suggestions regarding the care of this. First, ensure that the matt is acid-free. If it is not, replace it. Over time, non-acid-free mats can stain the paper. Also, if the backing of the frame is comprised of wood (usually oak) strips, replace them as well. Again, over time these can severely stain the paper. Such stains can be treated and often removed, but prevention is always preferable to cure.

In terms of value, it would be limited to its intrinsic, decorative appeal and would be rather modest. At auction, assuming it is in good condition, it might fetch $75/100. There are still a good number of these types of prints that find their way onto the market on a fairly consistent basis, so scarcity would not be a factor. At any rate, it appears evident from your enquiry that its emotional and sentimental value would far exceed almost any sum, and for that you should be envied! Continue to enjoy it, and thanks for the enquiry.

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