Lot 77: After the Victory

John Faed, R.A. (1820-1902) After the Victory signed and dated 'Faed. 1873' (lower centre) oil on canvas 32 ¾ x 43 in. (83.2 x 109.2 cm.)

83.2 x 109.2 cm.

London, Royal Academy, 1873, no. 91.

M. McKerrow, The Faeds: A Biography, Edinburgh, 1982, pp. 145, 147.

Bought by Lefèvre, 1873 (£420). Anonymous sale; Bearne's, Exeter, 31 October 1984, lot 322. with David Messum, London, 1985, no. 8.

When exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1873, this picture was listed with a quotation from the Scottish poet, Robbie Burn's ballad of 1793, When Wild War's Deadly Blast was Blawn, which tells the story of life after war 'Wi' mony a sweet babe fatherless,/And mony a widow mourning'. The devastated widow has received news of the death of her husband, leaving her with two children and an elderly mother-in-law to care for.