William Quiller ORCHARDSON<br/>
<em>The first cloud</em> 1887 <!-- (recto) --><br />

oil on canvas<br />
134.8 x 193.7 cm<br />
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br />
Purchased, 1887<br />
p.312.1-1<br />

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The first cloud depicts a couple weathering the first cloud in a storm that looks to threaten their marriage. Ted Gott discusses what x-rays have revealed of the painter’s artistic decisions, and the work in context of the radical 1882 law, the Married Women’s Property Act.

View work in NGV Collection online