Arthur John Elsley

Arthur Elsley was considered the preeminent painter of the suburban lives of Victorian children.  The artist’s production was spurred by the birth of his beloved daughter Marjorie in 1903.  Using photography as well as a combination of outdoor oil sketches and studio sittings, Elsley captured Marjorie countless times, with family and friends.  In Swing Swing, Marjorie is seen at the composition’s center, gently pushing a baby in a hammock. The woman guiding the hammock is Marjorie’s governess, Miss Gomersall, who appears in a number of Elsley’s works, always looking serene and lovely.  Though the backdrop for this work is an imaginary one, the hammock depicted here was kept in the artist’s garden.  So, for this tender family depiction, as for so many others, Elsley draws upon his own contented domesticity.

A badminton birdie and racquet lie discarded in the foreground, a hint of the afternoon activities to come.  The delicate blanket flutters in the breeze, and the girls laugh, leaning into their pleasant task.  Though buoyed by a bustling sense of fun, a feeling of bucolic calm prevails in this lush suburban setting.  This image of leisure and unhurried family life opened a window onto simple and innocent pleasures, and fulfilled the desires of the Victorian viewer.