1870 – 1970 was a concept painting with my brother Christopher’s girlfriend, Caroline Broadhurst, as the model. Although, my brother had just left to go to university in the US, my mother stayed in touch with Caroline and arranged for her to do some modeling. When my mother saw Caroline in this coat, she immediately noticed its timeless style, especially when paired with the appropriate blouse. Further adding the hair style and hat, one can easily see her being from the previous century.

In the background of the painting you can see a rendition of the famous Divan Japonais lithograph by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. A reproduction of the poster had been given to my mother by her cousin, Donald Miller, after they had been to a Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition in London. She had it hung on the wall of her studio. Appropriately for the theme, the poster was done by Toulouse-Lautrec to advertise one of the café-concerts he frequented in Paris. I think it works perfectly to provide the bridge across time to help the viewer see the timeless nature of the subject.

In my mothers collection of photographs I found an original Polaroid of the subject that my mother would have taken as a reference so the model could sit in the same position and my mother could continue to paint the clothing when the subject wasn’t there.

In the diary entries we can see that the original title of the piece was to be “Theatre 1970” and it was only after completion that she decided on the 1870 -1970 title for its symmetry and message. We’ll not quibble that the lithograph was completed sometime from 1892-1893.

I believe the painting was purchased by John Davies, my mother’s friend and bank manager who subsequently retired to the Channel Islands. Besides a great painting, I’m sure he also saw it as contributing to the bottom line of her meager bank account.

Diary Entries