The reading lesson (1887)

This page presents "The reading lesson" (1887), created by Arthur Trevethin Nowell. About the period around 1887: In the 1890s, colour lithography and Art Nouveau made the illustrated poster a celebrated art form. The later nineteenth century is the era of Impressionism, whose first group exhibition was held in Paris in 1874, followed by Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, and the Arts and Crafts movement. Figurative in brief: Over the centuries, painters have used the figure to express social standing, narrative, and emotion. Portraits, group scenes, studies of the nude, and pictures of daily life all belong to figurative art. The catalogue places it in Figurative. The format is square.

Your purchase of "The reading lesson" on onlly.art is a digital download: Digital JPEG + PDF files, 300 DPI. After payment the download link arrives by email, and you can send the files to any print service you trust. A square format is flexible and works well on its own or as part of a grid on a gallery wall. Figurative works draw attention to the human presence, the gesture, and the emotional tone, so they work particularly well as a standalone focal point in living rooms, studies, and bedrooms. If you are unsure about size, measure the wall first, then pick a frame whose proportions follow the image. 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. Matte and fine-art papers reduce glare in bright rooms, while glossy papers give stronger contrast and deeper blacks.

English, 1862–1940

If you like the visual language of Arthur Trevethin Nowell, explore more works by the same artist in our collection.