Page:Woman in Art.djvu/137

WOMAN IN ART ," "The Shadow of the Future" (purchased by H. R. H. the Prince of Wales), "The Ring," "Sisters," "The Pain of Parting," etc. At the Berlin exhibition, 1896, her canvas entitled "Satisfaction" received the gold medal for its admirable work and its no less pleasing subject. At the Paris Exhibition Universay, 1920 her painting was awarded the silver medal.

As is absolutely natural, the work of Laura Alma-Tadema improved rapidly after her marriage to the great artist, yet in no way did the instructor interfere with her expressed individuality. One infers that it was the criticism of technique, and the sympathetic suggestion that was of real help to the younger artist, that such help counted, for their subjects remained as distinct as do the rivers Rhone and Arve in confluence.

Another natural consequence marking a distinct period in her painting was the fact of her beautiful mothering of her two little step-daughters, Laurence and Anna Alma-Tadema, of whom she was exceedingly fond. She painted them many times. One piquant little sister has climbed from a chair to the deep window seat, one slippered foot resting on the edge of the chair as she sits looking out into the beautiful green. An orange in one hand is prophetic of another pleasure later on. She is indeed "Looking Out o' Window."

"Love's Beginning," bought by the German Emperor, depicts a young lady of an earlier Holland period, sitting with her embroidery frame and entertaining a young man of refinement, for he has on "short clothes" and a Dutchess lace neckerchief for the occasion.

"Well Employed" is a charming canvas in more ways than one. Mother and daughter seated by the quaint massive table of the seventeenth century pattern of Holland's best, the high-backed chairs matching it in carving and finish. A portion of tapestry, seen above the paneled wainscoting and next the door frame, is a fitting background for the mother at the end of the table with her knitting, and the young girl seen in profile reading aloud from a large volume. A fur-covered cushion gives the right height for her graceful pose. Charm number two is in the sweet faces framed in the dainty lace caps of the period, and the spirit pervading the ensemble, of mutual interest in the reading, and in the loving companionship of mother and daughter. Charm number three is the composition which is a joy, and number four is the technical excellence of every part. Certainly the artist was well employed working on the canvas; and as a work of art it might be called Harmony, for the characters are in harmony, the composition most 105