27 Emotions in Images: A Variation on a Visual Interview

The feelings that images from art history evoke for Victoria K. Walker from Beyond Bloomsbury

I am so thrilled to be able to offer this guest post to you today. It comes to us from

Victoria K. Walker

of

Beyond Bloomsbury

which is one of my favorite newsletters here on Substack. Victoria is “a historian, writer, and PhD researcher of early twentieth-century artists and writers, with a particular interest in the Bloomsbury Group, a circle of friends whose work profoundly impacted twentieth-century culture.” She shares biographies of those artists with us through her newsletter and each one is thoughtful and thought-provoking.

I invited her to share her deep knowledge of this subject with us in a unique way by doing a sort of “visual interview” with us expressing emotion through the experience of viewing art. Given a word that reflects a feeling, such as Happiness or Regret or Apprehension or Weary, she gives us the painting that most gives her that emotion. It’s so fascinating to see her responses here, especially to see the differences in images between some of the words that are relatively similar (Cozy and Comfort or Fear and Apprehension).

I hope you enjoy this visual exploration of emotion. I hope that you have the opportunity to see some art that you’re not familiar with. And I hope that you’ll visit Victoria’s newsletter to learn more about some of the art pieces/ artists that interest you most.

Happiness

Any Morning, Margaret Barker, Oil on Canvas, exhibited. 1929 (Tate)

Joy

The Christmas Tree, Harry Bush, Oil on Canvas, 1933 (Grundy Art Gallery)

Sadness

Cafe Scene, Edward Le Bas, Oil on Canvas, Date Unknown (University of Oxford)

Grief

The Empty Chair, Charles Spencelayh, Oil on Canvas, 1947 (Private Collection)

Serenity

Morning, Dod Procter, Oil on Canvas, 1926 (Tate)

Learn more about the artist from Victoria:

Dod Procter: A Portrait of the Artist

Contentment

‘The Hammock, Charleston’, Duncan Grant, Oil on Canvas, 1921-22 (Laing Art Gallery)

Duncan Grant: Life Before Bloomsbury

Nostalgia

The Breakfast Table, Robert Baker, Oil on Board, c. 1930s (Private Collection)

Comfort

Comfort: ‘Interior, 31 Mornington Crescent, London’, Spencer Gore, Oil on Canvas, 1910 (Leeds Art Gallery)

Cozy

The Blue Mantlepiece, Marie-Louise Roosevelt Pierrepont, Oil on Canvas (Thoresby Courtyard)

Fear

The Garden Enclosed, David Jones, Oil on Wood, 1924 (Tate)

Apprehension

House of Cards, Stanley Cursiter, Oil on Canvas, 1924 (Orkney Museum)

Sympathy

His First Grief, Charles Spencelayh, Oil on Canvas, 1910 (Ferens Art Gallery)

Gratitude

Land Army Girls Going to Bed, Evelyn Mary Dunbar, Oil on Canvas, 1943 (Imperial War Museum London)

Amused

The Merry Wives, Paul Montem Clarke, Oil on Canvas, 1949 (The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery)

Curious

A Conversation, Vanessa Bell, Oil on Canvas, 1913-16 (The Courtauld, London)

Vanessa Bell: Life Before Bloomsbury

Peaceful

A London Garden, Roger Fry, Oil on Canvas and Laid on Panel, 1924 (Private Collection)

Roger Fry: Life Before Bloomsbury

Pleasure

Summer, Miguel Mackinlay, Oil on Canvas, 1933 (Bushey Museum & Art Gallery)

Foreboding

The Girl and the Letter, Harold Knight, Oil on Canvas, 1906 (Harris Museum & Art Gallery)

Freedom

Nude on a Beach, Gunning King, Oil on Wood Panel (Brighton & Hove Museums)

Love

‘Sunday Afternoon, Hyde Park’, Laura Knight, Oil on Canvas, 1952 (Christie’s)

Laura Knight: A Singular Vision

Hope

‘January, Where Daffodils Lie Sleeping’, Samuel John Lamorna Birch (1869-1955), Oil on Canvas, Date Unknown (Paisley Art Institute Collection)

Jealousy

The Young Menage, Harold C. Harvey, Oil on Canvas, 1932 (Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum)

Regret

Woman in the Window, Alberto Morrocco, 1953

Calm

‘Window, South of France’, Duncan Grant, Oil on Canvas, 1928 (Manchester Art Gallery)

Bored

Ennui, Walter Richard Sickert, Oil on Canvas, c. 1914

Weary

Laundry Girls, Albert Daniel Rutherston, Oil on Canvas, 1906 (Tate Britain)

Determined

Self Portrait, Anna Katrina Zinkeisen, Oil on Canvas, c. 1944 (National Portrait Gallery, London)

All of us are unique in our experiences of art. Do these resonate with the same emotions for you?