#dunsley hall

The Missal (1902), by J.W. Waterhouse 

This painting of a virgin reading a missal in a domestic setting resembles the painting “Mariana in the South” from five years earlier. The kneeling woman, her outfit and the tiles on the floor are all similar.  In the background, a courtyard is seen with fruit trees that symbolize the fertility of the girl.  Unlike in “Mariana”, any references to literature or history are missing.

The present location of this painting is unknown and even the dimensions are undetermined.  The last-known owner was shipping magnate Frederick Haigh Pyman, who bought it in 1909 for his holiday resort Dunsley Hall, now a hotel near Whitby.