39/1981

Collection

Paintings, Prints and Drawings

Brief description

'Maids of All Work', a genre scene of two housemaids on a doorstep, oil on canvas, signed and dated 'J Finnie 1864-5'.

Title

Maids of All Work

Object name

painting
oil painting

Object number

39/1981

Production person

John Finnie (artist)

Production date

1864-1865 (painted)

Production place

England (painted)

Period

Victorian (1837-1901)

Material

oil paint
canvas

Technique

painted

Physical description

This oil painting on canvas depicts two housemaids standing on a doorstep talking. One girl has been cleaning the front door step and has paused in her work. She is leaning on a mop and a pail of water stands in the open doorway behind her. She is dressed in her working outfit of a cotton dress and apron. The other girl is more smartly dressed in her outdoor clothes and is holding a jug. She has apparently stopped to talk on her way to buy milk. Both are wearing crinolines. The setting appears to be urban and could be based upon Liverpool, where Finnie worked for many years. The painting is signed and dated at the bottom right hand corner 'J Finnie 1864-5'. It is framed and glazed in a plan moulded burr walnut frame, with a narrow gold slip between the frame and the glass.