‘The Barley Harvest’ (1859) by George Elgar Hicks

About

Victorian genre painter George Elgar Hicks is little known now, but, for a time, his works followed the mid-nineteenth century fashion in art and literature for the depiction of modern life. Much inspired by the social panoramas of William Powell Frith, Hicks’ paintings recorded and reflected Victorian Society, its structures, ideals and concerns.

Beginning with ‘The Barley Harvest’ – one of three paintings by Hicks in The Atkinson’s collection – this talk considers Hicks and his work in context, providing an insight into the social preoccupations of the time and addressing their relationship to other artists and works.

Dr. Anna Maddison is a researcher and lecturer in the History of Art and English Literature, specialising in the Victorian era. Her doctoral thesis addressed the influence of Victorian Spiritualism upon the work of Pre-Raphaelite poet-painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Dr. Maddison has 18 years experience of designing and teaching courses at university level, for the University of Liverpool (Continuing Education), LJMU, and in a freelance capacity at other higher education venues.

She has lectured at a number of art galleries over the years, including the Atkinson, the Walker, the Lady Lever Art Gallery and Tate Liverpool.