Study of Ivy

Frederick Sandys

Date: c. 1863 (or 1857?)

Materials: Pencil and white chalk

A delicate but powerful piece of observation, this study of ivy was used in the background to a portrait of Sandys's first patron, the Norfolk clergyman James Bulwer (now in the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa). Traditionally dated to 1863, it is more likely to be earlier - of 1857, the previous year on which the week dates are correct for a diary of work on the picture.