Family Group
- Artist: Mabel Nicholson
- Date: c.1911
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 1695 x 1479 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the "Family Group" by Mabel Nicholson. Painted around 1911 with oil on canvas, the work measures roughly 1.7 m wide by 1.5 m tall. Nicholson’s own children become the focal points: the eldest son Tony stands directly at the viewer, his left hand resting on the chair beside the sewing nurse. The daughter Nancy sits at the nurse’s feet, her knees lifted toward her younger brother Kit, who is perched on a table playing with a small model ship. The ship, a replica of The Pandora, ties the brothers together and adds a subtle sense of movement. The composition is deliberately arranged so that the figures’ postures reflect gender expectations: the seated girl mirrors the nurse’s posture, suggesting a future role of nurturing, while the boys stand and engage with the toy, hinting at travel and adventure. The lack of interaction among the figures subverts the typical happy domestic scene expected of a family portrait. Nicholson had a thriving career, with a solo show at the Chenil Gallery in London in 1912, but her life was cut short by the influenza epidemic in 1918. This work exemplifies her skill in turning everyday domestic moments into layered narratives of societal roles.
See it in person
Family Group is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
