Henry Alexander (1860–1894)

Sunday Morning, representing an elderly woman reading a picture book in a high-ceiled, sunlit room, conforms to a popular theme among late nineteenth-century genre painters who favored subjects of old age or youth or sometimes a combination of both.  What sets Alexander apart is his fascination with every object and detail of both the interior and the exterior.  He very consciously places equal focus upon each object: the elaborate wire birdcage, the woman’s sewing utensils, the ragged piece of carpet beneath her chair, and her heavy, detailed garments. The floorboards are uncarpeted and uneven; a group of small pictures—mostly graphics—hangs somewhat haphazardly on the wall. The flourishing plant is unpruned, and even the one item of elegance, the glass-enclosed clock at the extreme left, is cut off in the composition.  Sunlight streaks through the window, but barely reaches the woman or her book.  Outside in a seemingly untended garden, red flowers are flourishing.  In this brilliantly painted composition, Alexander has created a work of great poignancy.