Low Lodging House, St. Giles's; A Study from Life, from "The Graphic," vol. 6

Low Lodging House, St. Giles's; A Study from Life, from "The Graphic," vol. 6

Sir Hubert von Herkomer

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Herkomer depicts poor women in cheap accommodations in the London neighborhood of St. Giles that borders Soho and Bloomsbury. Such scenes were uncommon in contemporary illustrated journalism, but "The Graphic" championed an unflinching portrayal of the outcasts of society. Most of the women are elderly, perhaps widows forced to remain in housing that was intended as a temporary solution for homelessness. Early in his career, Van Gogh admired Herkomer and collected prints such as this. Noticing how these slumped postures and clenched hands convey suffering, the Dutch artist made related figure studies.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Low Lodging House, St. Giles's; A Study from Life, from "The Graphic," vol. 6Low Lodging House, St. Giles's; A Study from Life, from "The Graphic," vol. 6Low Lodging House, St. Giles's; A Study from Life, from "The Graphic," vol. 6Low Lodging House, St. Giles's; A Study from Life, from "The Graphic," vol. 6Low Lodging House, St. Giles's; A Study from Life, from "The Graphic," vol. 6

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.