THOMAS ARMSTRONG (1835-1911)

Armstrong is an interesting and rare figure who concluded his career as Director of Art at the South Kensington Museum (later the V&A). He was immortalised in George du Maurier’s Trilby as a member of the 'Paris Gang', alongside Whistler and Poynter. The novel recorded their youth while students in Paris: Armstrong studied under Ary Schaeffer. He showed at the Royal Academy from 1865, and later, when it opened, at the Grosvenor Gallery. He was a lifelong friend of Albert Moore, and many of his subjects carry a similar feeling for colour, composition, and decorative harmony.
This picture was first owned by George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle, himself an artist, but noted as a friend and patron of Burne-Jones and Walter Crane.