Currently not on view
The Kiss,
1891
Henry John Stock, 1853–1931; born London, England
1996-63
While Stock’s fastidious drawing style and romantic subject matter reveal his admiration of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, the sentimental atmosphere and unusual vantage point of this composition reflect a taste for Symbolism, which emerged in the late Victorian period of the 1890s. The drawing of two young lovers idealizes a universal emotion, without the literary or biographical references often favored by Rossetti and his followers. Stock exhibited a painted version of this work at the Royal Academy in 1894, and this drawing at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colors the following year, indicating the importance that the composition held for the artist.
Information
Title
The Kiss
Dates
1891
Maker
Medium
Graphite and white chalk
Dimensions
image (sight): 87.5 × 54.7 cm
frame: 90 × 78 × 3 cm (35 7/16 × 30 11/16 × 1 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Surdna Fund
Object Number
1996-63
Signatures
Signed and dated, lower left: 1891 | H. J. Stock
Inscription
inscribed on an exhibition label attached to the original backing: The Kiss | by Henry J. Stock Fulham Studios | 454a Fulhman Road | SW | no. 5 | Price 15.15.0. [in artist's hand]
Culture
Type
Materials
Subject
Acquired from the artist by Francis P. Osmaston; his descendants; purchased by Museum from Kate Ganz, Ltd., London. (her catalogue No. 10: A Catalogue of Drawings, Small Paintings, & Oil Sketches, at Jason McCoy Inc, 22 May-12 June 1996, no. 34, illus.) (See reference Bib. 4829);
