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Hopes and Fears of Migration in a Poignant Painting
The beginnings of a life-changing journey
Works of art sometimes have a way of capturing a truth that might otherwise seem hard to imagine.
The first impression of this painting is rather forbidding, but give it a few moments and this image will take you into the life-changing moments of a couple relocating to a new life.
It achieves its power through the artist’s meticulous attention to detail and brilliant use of colouration, coupled with the psychological depth of the foreground duo.
Painted by the English artist Ford Madox Brown, The Last of England depicts a boatload of families leaving the shores of their home country in the hope of finding better fortunes in a new life overseas. Most likely bound for the gold fields of Australia, the white cliffs of Dover — their port of departure — recede into the distance behind them.
The two main characters are husband and wife sitting side-by-side on the outer deck of a boat. They are huddled beneath a wind-warped umbrella that protects them from the spray of the water. Her pink scarf ripples across them, whipped up…
