Terms and Conditions
The artist, title and date of the work must be listed anywhere the image is reproduced:
William Quiller Orchardson
The first cloud 1887
oil on canvas
134.8 × 193.7 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1887
Photo: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Where possible, the image must be reproduced in full (no cropping or over-printing). If you wish to use a detail of the work, a full reproduction of the work must also be reproduced elsewhere in the publication.
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The first cloud
1887
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
134.8 × 193.7 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1887
Gallery location
19th Century European Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1887, The first cloud is one of William Quiller Orchardson’s finest commentaries on the social life and manners of his time. Orchardson observes a couple who have just returned from an evening out (they are elegantly attired, but there is no fire in the grate).
Artwork Details
Accession Number
p.312.1-1
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Dame Carol Colburn-Grigor CBE through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Human Figures Interiors Relationships and Interactions
Subjects (specific)
conflict (general sense) couples departures discord domesticity evening dress (concept) marriage (social construct) scenes (depictions)
Provenance
Purchased from the artist by Thomas Agnew & Sons (dealer), London, 27 April 1887, stock no. 4465; from where purchased, on the advice of Edward Langton, for the NGV, 2 May 1887.
Exhibited Royal Academy, London, 1887, no. 291; Second Intercolonial Exhibition, Sydney, 1896, no. 3; Royal Academy, London, 1968–69, no. 329; Sir William Quiller Orchardson RA, organised by the Scottish Arts Council, Edinburgh (and touring), 1972, no. 49; Sex, Sentiment and Symbol: Representations of Women in Victorian Art, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, New Zealand, 1998–99; Love and Death, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 2001.
Frame
Original, maker unknown
Frame
The frame on The first cloud is contemporary with the painting and came into the collection with the painting in 1887. It is a large format Academy frame.
The richly ornamented cassetta form makes reference to Italian frames of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Frame Details
Framemaker
Unknown - 19th century
Date
1887
Materials
timber, composition, gold leaf
Frame Condition
good original condition
Dimensions
188 x 247 x 23 cm