The Departure 

Conroy Maddox painted “The Departure” sometime in the 20th century with oil on canvas. The painting seems to depict a museum of some sort, and the title hints at the idea of leaving a place like this behind. The lion in the foreground is reminiscent of the sculptures that guard the entrances of many museums. Inside, we see people looking through what may be windows onto a landscape with figures outside as well as a hot air balloon. Perhaps Maddox is commenting on the museum as a window onto the world. Maddox was part of the surrealist movement in Britain, and surrealists often used their work to critique social institutions. I wonder if Maddox is critiquing the museum, suggesting that it has become a tomb, disconnected from the real world, and in need of an exit. To understand more about the painting, one could look into museum history, as well as the history of surrealism and its critique of institutions. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.