Lear, Cordelia (1917-1918)

Dated 1917-1918, "Lear, Cordelia" is an artwork by Louis Rhead. About the period around 1917-1918: The first decades of the twentieth century were a period of rapid experiment, with Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, and the first abstract painting appearing within a few years of each other. Dada and Surrealism followed the First World War, the Bauhaus school was founded in 1919, and Art Deco became the fashionable decorative style of the 1920s and 1930s. It is listed in the Illustration collection. The image is in landscape orientation. Background on Illustration: Illustration serves a text or a story, a tradition that runs from decorated medieval manuscripts to printed book plates, magazines, and posters. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are often described as a golden age of book and magazine illustration.

Buying "Lear, Cordelia" means getting a digital file, not a physical print: Digital JPEG + PDF files, 300 DPI, delivered by email once payment is confirmed. A 300 DPI file is intended for printing at home or at a local print shop, where you can choose a matte, satin, or fine-art paper to suit the room. A landscape format suits wide, low wall spaces such as the stretch above a bed, mantel, or sideboard. Illustrative graphics are valued for their decorative line work and narrative quality, which makes them a strong fit for gallery walls, kids rooms, studies, and more intimate interiors. A simple frame with a mat often helps an image settle comfortably into a room. Matte and fine-art papers reduce glare in bright rooms, while glossy papers give stronger contrast and deeper blacks. Choosing a standard frame size and printing to fit it often saves the cost of custom framing. Screens and printers render colour differently, so a small test print is a sensible way to check tones before committing to a large size.

American, 1857–1926

If you like the visual language of Louis Rhead, explore more works by the same artist in our collection.