Motherhood
(1903)

George COATES

Medium: oil on canvas
Measurements: 283.4 × 140.0 cm (framed) (overall)
Place/s of Execution: Ealing, Middlesex, England
Inscription: inscribed in black paint l.l.: George Coates
Accession Number: 134-2
Department: Australian Painting
Credit Line: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Presented by the artist under the terms of the National Gallery of Victoria Travelling Scholarship, 1904
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation
Gallery location: 19th Century European Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
Subjects (general): Daily Life Relationships and Interactions
Subjects (specific): cups (drinking vessels) curtains (window hangings) daughters families (kinship groups) family life jugs (vessels) mothers tablecloths
Provenance: Gift of the artist, 1904

Frame

The frame for Motherhood is in the form of Italian Renaissance tabernacle frames, it associates the painting with religious subjects and images of devotion. It is made in one piece and there are no marks identifying the maker. It is possible it was made in England and travelled with the painting. If it was made in Melbourne it would be by John Thallon, one of the few companies capable of building something on this scale in 1903/4. It would have been an expensive frame to build and demonstrates considerable commitment to the painting and the role of the frame in the presentation of the image.
The painting was acquired as part of the Travelling Scholarship requirements for the painter.
Framemaker: Unknown - 20th century
Date: c.1903/4
Materials: timber, composition and gold leaf
Frame Condition: good original condition