Lady Godiva (painting)

Lady Godiva
Godiva
ArtistJohn Collier
Year1897
MediumOil painting on canvas
Dimensions142.2 cm (56.0 in) × 183 cm (72 in)
LocationHerbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry
Accession No.VA.1974.0048 Edit this on Wikidata
IdentifiersArt UK artwork ID: godiva-55279

Lady Godiva is an 1897 oil-on-canvas painting by English artist John Collier,[1] who worked in the style of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The portrayal of Lady Godiva and her well-known but apocryphal ride through Coventry, England, is held in Coventry's Herbert Art Gallery and Museum.[2]

Lady Godiva was bequeathed by social reformer Thomas Hancock Nunn. When he died in 1937, the painting was offered to the Corporation of Hampstead. He specified in his will that should his bequest be refused by Hampstead, the painting was then to be offered to Coventry.[3] The model in the painting is Mab (Mabel) Paul, an artist model and West End theatre actress who was also painted as herself by John Collier.[4]

  1. ^ "Lady Godiva by John Collier". 31 December 2020.
  2. ^ Boyraz, Alp (19 March 2019). "This is the Herbert Art Gallery that you've ignored". Cov Campus. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  3. ^ Patrick W. Montague-Smith "Letters: Godiva's family tree", The Times, 25 January 1983
  4. ^ https://www.artnet.com/artists/john-collier/miss-paul-seated-wearing-a-red-robe-suI_KVhCHlmcok_O00R2bw2