The Holiday Group 1907

Editor: This is “The Holiday Group,” an oil on canvas painting from 1907 by George Washington Lambert. It strikes me as a very Edwardian, idyllic scene, but something about the arrangement of figures feels slightly…off? What do you see in this piece, and what story do you think Lambert is trying to tell? Curator: Ah, yes, the subtle unease beneath the surface of the idyllic! I think that’s precisely what grabs me too. It's as if Lambert is saying, “Look, isn’t life lovely? But…”. The slightly stiff posture of the woman in the hat, the way the figures don’t quite connect, gives a sense of staged presentation and speaks to the formal conventions around portraiture at the time. Almost like they’re acting a part, don’t you think? And the little boy – what’s he looking at, do you think? It feels charged with symbolism! Editor: I do see it, there’s a quiet detachment in their expressions and that stiffness adds another layer. Perhaps the ‘holiday’ isn’t all that carefree? And, maybe it’s my imagination, but there is a slightly erotic element with the children. How much of that is me bringing a modern eye to it? Curator: That's a really interesting point! Those classical references were often employed in art of the period and served many symbolic purposes; innocence, nature, but they are invariably infused with something else… In art, the presentation is never 'just is' innocent: one is reminded of, say, Lewis Carroll, so is the eroticism already ‘there’ or are we putting it there ourselves in response to current, prevalent interpretations? What’s for sure, that ambiguous power makes the image timeless! Editor: Food for thought, indeed! I hadn't considered that dialogue between the artwork's time and ours. It definitely enriches how I experience this piece. Curator: Precisely. That conversation is the art! It's how art never dies, I think. Always changing as we change and reflect back on it with new eyes and with new understandings.