The Outcast, 1851

Richard Redgrave RA (1804 - 1888)

RA Collection: Art

Redgrave studied at the Royal Academy Schools from 1826 and originally contributed mostly historical and literary subjects as well as landscapes to the Royal Academy exhibitions. However from 1840 he painted a number of pictures which depicted the more unfortunate characters from modern life such as The Governess (1845) and The Sempstress (1846), which highlighted the plight of many female workers.

The Outcast represents a fallen woman with her illegitimate child being evicted from her home by her stern father, despite the pleadings of the family. On the floor is a purse of money and an incriminating letter. The scene is made more pathetic by the snowy wastes outside the door and the innocent child’s hand raised in echo of the hand of the pleading sister.