Lot 56: Alexander Melville (British, active 1846-87) Queen Victoria knitting quilts for the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley

Alexander Melville (British, active 1846-87)
Queen Victoria knitting quilts for the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley
signed and dated 'Alexr Melville/1887' (lower left)
oil on panel
50 x 39cm (19 11/16 x 15 3/8in).
Footnotes

Provenance
Private collection, UK.

Alexander Melville was commissioned by Major Michael Stocks to paint Queen Victoria with Princess Helena and Princess Beatrice knitting quilts in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle. The quilts were presented to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Netley for the soldiers wounded at Tel-el-Kebir in Egypt in 1882. The painting, now in the Royal Collection at Osbourne House (RCIN 406260), was dated 1886. It is possible that the current work was painted the following year as a gift to the Queen.