Oil paint on plywood
Tate Collection
Works with images
General Collection
Chantrey Bequest
Collection
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/maurice-greiffenhagen-1218" aria-label="More by Maurice Greiffenhagen" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Maurice Greiffenhagen</a>
Dawn
Presented by the Trustees of the Chantrey Bequest 1926
<p>Greiffenhagen was a stalwart of the official portrait, showing often at the Royal Academy. For twenty years he was in charge of the life class at Glasgow School of Art. Occasionally he painted religious subjects, or groups of life studies put together as a composition with some deeper but unexplained meaning. The three contrasted poses of 'Dawn' are placed artificially in a landscape, but look like a demonstration of life painting.The Chantrey Trustees, who bought traditional paintings from the Royal Academy for the Tate Gallery collection, chose both this and another group of nudes in preference to his portraits.</p><p><em>Gallery label, August 2004</em></p>
painting oil paint plywood
15 October 2011 – 28 January 2012
2012-01-28
15 October 2011 – 28 January 2012
2012-01-28
2011-10-15
National Railway Museum (York, UK)
2011-10-15
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company's Academy Poster Campaign
Loan-out
Dawn
support: 959 × 2019 mm
frame: 1110 × 2172 × 76 mm
Presented by the Trustees of the <a href="/search?gid=999999977" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">Chantrey Bequest</a> 1926
<p>Greiffenhagen was a stalwart of the official <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/portrait" title="Glossary definition for 'Portrait'"><span>portrait</span></a>, showing often at the Royal Academy. For twenty years he was in charge of the life class at Glasgow School of Art. Occasionally he painted religious subjects, or groups of life studies put together as a <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/c/composition" title="Glossary definition for 'Composition'"><span>composition</span></a> with some deeper but unexplained meaning. The three contrasted poses of 'Dawn' are placed artificially in a <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/l/landscape" title="Glossary definition for 'Landscape'"><span>landscape</span></a>, but look like a demonstration of life <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>painting</span></a>.<br/>The Chantrey Trustees, who bought traditional paintings from the Royal Academy for the Tate Gallery collection, chose both this and another group of nudes in preference to his portraits.</p>
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2004-08-31T00:00:00
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<p><b>N04192</b> DAWN 1926
<br/> 
<br/>Inscr. ‘Maurice Greiffenhagen 1926’ b.l.
<br/>Oil on wood, 37 3/4×79 1/2 (95×202).
<br/>Chantrey Purchase from the artist 1926.
<br/><i>Exh:</i> R.A., 1926 (196); <i>Late Members</i>, R.A., winter 1933 (321).
<br/><i>Repr:</i> <i>Royal Academy Illustrated</i>, 1926, p.73.</p>
<p>The <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/c/composition" title="Glossary definition for 'Composition'"><span>composition</span></a> is somewhat reminiscent of Ferdinand Hodler's pictures ‘Night’ (1890) and ‘Day’ (1900), both in the Kunstmuseum, Bern, though the artist's son wrote (9 October 1957) that Greiffenhagen did not admit the influence.</p>
<p><b>Published in:</b>
<br/>Mary Chamot, Dennis Farr and Martin Butlin, <i>The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture</i>, London 1964, I</p>
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Catalogue entry
2004-10-05T00:00:00
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