Daydream

Description of the artwork

Our painting shows a woman in profile, probably in winter, warmly dressed in a fur coat and wearing a tulle-covered hat in shades of purple and blue. The subject is having a drink by the sea, with a boat in the background and a relief reminiscent of the cliffs of the southern coastal landscape of southern England. The woman is dressed and coiffed in Edwardian fashion. The painterly touch is lively, particularly for the clothes and the landscape, but Hawkins has given his subject’s face a much softer touch, contrasting with the rest of the canvas. He painted several portraits of women in profile, including the presumed portrait of Ellen André (1889), which also depicts the left profile of a woman by the sea, warmly dressed and wearing a hat. The female figure played an important role in Hawkins’ artistic output, and he painted a great many portraits of elegant women, both full-length or in bust form, both indoors or against a landscape background, throughout his career. 

Origin

Private Collection, France