This luminous interpretation of J.M.W. Turner’s 'Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage' was painted around 1875 by Elizabeth Martha Roberts (c.1839–between 1911 and 1921), a London-born artist whose life unfolded within the quiet margins of the Victorian art world.
Widowed young and raising children in Lambeth, Roberts belonged to a generation of women who pursued their craft in the hours left over from duty, yet whose persistence produced works of genuine merit. Her copy was made under the auspices of the National Gallery’s copyist programme, a rare gateway for aspiring women artists barred from most formal training. To retain her annual permit, she was required to submit a finished copy for approval, and this painting was both a product of her time there and an application piece itself.
Turner’s original, exhibited in 1832, was among the most beloved paintings available to Victorian students. Its sweeping arc of river and golden light, its theatrical framing pine, and the poetic melancholy that drifts through its Italianate valleys made it irresistible to those seeking to master atmospheric colour. It was also, crucially, a painting that looked different in the 1870s than it does today.
Intriguingly, before successive cleanings stripped away Turner’s most delicate surface veils, the work shimmered with the subtle glazes and tinted films that he often laid atop varnish - fragile, evanescent layers that recorded his final adjustments of mood. Roberts copied the picture when these uppermost nuances were still present. Indeed, her version preserves luminous modulations in the sky and warmth upon the distant hills that have faded or vanished from the Turner itself. In this sense, her work is not merely a study after a master; it is an inadvertent witness to a state of the painting now largely lost to time.
Her handling is instinctive and sincere. The light moves gently through the sky, blooming in soft transitions that echo the endless hours spent observing Turner’s chromatic haze. The figures in the foreground, far from being perfunctory, are modelled with warmth and a sense of community, travellers gathering in shared rest, perhaps not unlike the small household waiting for her at home. She approaches Turner without bravado, respecting his atmosphere rather than attempting to outshine it, and the result is a faithful yet quietly expressive homage.
Elizabeth Martha Roberts lived most of her life at Prospect Lodge, Holland Road, Lambeth, where census records describe her as an artist in “drawing and painting.” Like many Victorian women artists outside professional circles, she supported her family through a combination of art and practical income, occasionally letting apartments to make ends meet. The archives at the National Gallery record her repeated participation in the copyist scheme throughout the 1870s and 1880s - a mark of both capability and determination. She remained active into the early years of the 20th century, sharing her household with her daughter Robina until her death sometime before 1921. Robina also became an artist.
Seen today, this painting resonates as more than a copy: it's a demonstration of the intimate labour of a woman who carved out a place for art in a life accustomed to constraint. It preserves a rare glimpse of Turner’s masterpiece as it once appeared, while its emotional undercurrent honours the many overlooked women whose artistry enriched the corridors of Victorian London.
Inscribed on a label on the reverse. Held in a modern frame with a ribbed inner moulding, enriched outer border, and restrained classical design.
Learn more about Elizabeth Martha Roberts in our directory.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 56” x 36” / 142cm x 91cm
Year of creation: c. 1875
Labels & Inscriptions: Brodie & Middleton’s shipping label on the reverse relating to the painting being transported from Mrs E M Roberts of Prospect Lodge to the National Gallery, care of Mr Meadows.
Provenance: Private collection, France.
Condition: Cleaned. Revarnished. Faint stretcher mark. Craquelure in areas. The paint layer is stable. Patches to the reverse. Frame in excellent condition.
Our reference: BRV2180
