“Far Away Thoughts”
This lovely oil on canvas painting is by the English Neoclassical artist, John William Godward, and is titled “Far Away Thoughts”. This painting dates to 1892. It exhibits typical Godward aspects; a woman in a studied pose wearing classical dress.
Godward’s style often gets confused with Pre-Raphaelites, but he actually painted in the Neoclassical style. He was interested in recreating idealistic scenes of Classical Rome. That same year, Godward created another oil painting to which he gave the same name. That one featured another classically dressed woman, this time sewing in a landscape setting, as opposed to the portrait seen here. Godward often made several versions of his artwork.
The model fort this painting is likely Lily Pettigrew; one of two sisters who often sat for Godward, in addition to other artists.
“Far Away Thoughts” is currently in a private collection.
For more on John William Godward, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
