Needing funds to pay for his new house and studio in Compton, Surrey, now the Watts Gallery, Watts produced further copies of Hope for private sale.
A small 66 by 50.8 cm (26.0 by 20.0 in) version was sold to a private collector in Manchester at some point between 1886 and 1890, and was exhibited at the Free Picture Exhibition in Canning Town (an annual event organised by Samuel Barnett and Henrietta Barnett in an effort to bring beauty into the lives of the poor) in 1897.
It is now in the Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
Another version, in which Watts included a rainbow surrounding the central figure to reduce the bleakness of the image, was bought by Richard Budgett, a widower whose wife had been a great admirer of Watts, and remained in the possession of the family until 1997.
Watts gave his initial oil sketch to Frederic Leighton; it has been in the collection of the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool since 1923.
Watts is thought to have painted at least one further version, but its location is unknown.
Needing funds to pay for his new house and studio in Compton, Surrey, now the Watts Gallery, Watts produced further copies of Hope for private sale. A small 66 by 50.8 cm (26.0 by 20.0 in) version was sold to a private collector in Manchester at some point between 1886 and 1890, and was exhibited at the Free Picture Exhibition in Canning Town (an annual event organised by Samuel Barnett and Henrietta Barnett in an effort to bring beauty into the lives of the poor) in 1897. It is now in the Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town. Another version, in which Watts included a rainbow surrounding the central figure to reduce the bleakness of the image, was bought by Richard Budgett, a widower whose wife had been a great admirer of Watts, and remained in the possession of the family until 1997. Watts gave his initial oil sketch to Frederic Leighton; it has been in the collection of the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool since 1923. Watts is thought to have painted at least one further version, but its location is unknown.
Hope (painting)