Portrait of Sidney Wells
- Artist: Joanna Mary Wells
- Date: 1859
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: unconfirmed: 276 x 251 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the "Portrait of Sidney Wells" by Joanna Mary Wells. Painted in 1859, it’s an oil on canvas that captures the artist’s second child looking straight ahead. Wells was part of the Pre‑Raphaelite circle and she studied early depictions of Jesus in Italy, which informs the frontal, almost devotional pose. Her meticulous brushwork brings the tiny infant’s face into sharp focus, inviting the viewer to feel as if the child is right there. The scene is tender yet tinged with a sense of loss; Sidney died of a childhood illness, and Joanna herself did not survive the birth of their third baby two years later. The painting is a quiet testimony to Victorian birth risks and the intimate bonds between mother and child.
See it in person
Portrait of Sidney Wells 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.
