The Lady of Shalott, 1905
Courtesy of the owner
Vital Statistics
Oil on canvas, 36� x 24� inches
Signed lr: “Wm. T. Trego”
Private Collection
Commentary
Based on the early-nineteenth-century poem by Alfred, Lord
Tennyson, Trego’s painting joins a dozen or so other works inspired by the same
verses in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. With her name—and
therefore the title of the painting—written on the boat as described in the
poem, the lady looks longingly at Camelot as she floats downstream toward the
castle. There are no oars in the oarlocks, and she cannot control the boat any
more than she can control her destiny. The victim of a mysterious curse, she
will be dead before the boat reaches Camelot. The background, with mellow
late-afternoon light falling on the distant towers and trees, is reminiscent of
some paintings by Maxfield Parrish and quite different from “the low sky
raining” actually described by Tennyson.
Provenance
Obtained from the artist by a member of his cousin Howard
Trego’s family and passed down through the family to the current owner.
Exhibitions
Doylestown, Pennsylvania, James A. Michener Art Museum, June 3-Oct 2, 2011: "So Bravely and So Well: The Life and Art of William T. Trego."
Condition
The painting is in very good condition
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