John William Godward

Thomas McLean, London
Beacon Gallery, New York
Private Collector, New York (acquired from the above, circa 1940s)
Thence by descent to the present owner

London, Thomas McLean, Annual Winter Exhibition, November 1902, no. 48

Vern Grosvenor Swanson, John William Godward, The Eclipse of Classicism, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1997, p. 208, no. 1902.12 

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This work is in beautiful state. It has been recently cleaned. The canvas is unlined. There is no unsightly cracking, and there does not appear to have been any abrasion or damage. The work should be hung as is.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Thomas McLean gallery exhibited Godward’s When the Heart is Young in its annual winter exhibition of 1902. Though the work was one of Godward's more important pictures of the period, it was soon lost for well over a century.  The raven-haired model in this recently discovered painting is linked to a number of Godward’s masterworks of the early 1900s, including Sweet Dreams (1901), Summer Flowers (1903, sold: Sotheby’s, London, November 12, 1992, lot 180), and Dolce Far Niente (1904, Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection).  While the model’s hair is neatly styled atop her head in the other works, here, her lustrous wavy tresses spill freely over her pale hand and the veined-marble bench. Though painted before the artist’s Italian sojourns, When the Heart is Young illustrates the lure of the Mediterranean: the long curving lines of the model’s body resting against a leopard pelt are echoed in the tops of the Ischian isles along the horizon line, while the rich greens of the grape vines growing over their pergola seem to reach out toward the resting figure further enhancing the sensual scene.  The palette of the toga’s pink fabric, bound by golden ribbons and pale blue stola, is repeated in the beautifully-studied poppies blooming in a garden plot.  The inclusion of flowers is one of many compositional elements that point to the Victorian interest in the revival of Classicism and ancient Rome, prevalent at the beginning of the twentieth century, which favored form and beauty over visual narrative. In Greco-Roman mythology, the red poppy symbolized forgetfulness, sleep, and resurrection, and was said to grow along the banks of the river Lethe as it entered Hades.  While likely included for decorative rather than allegorical reasons, the poppies add to the exotic languor of When the Heart is Young.  As its title suggests, every aspect of Godward’s painting forms a complete vision of youthful beauty lost in romantic daydreaming; from the deep, dreamy pools of the model’s almond-shaped eyes to the peacock fan carelessly dropped upon a mosaic floor, everything about the scene suggests she rests awaiting discovery.