Brown Eyes
- Artist: Sir George Clausen
- Date: 1891
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 559 x 413 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the “Brown Eyes” by Sir George Clausen. Painted in 1891, it’s an oil on canvas portrait that captures a local girl from Cookham Dean in Berkshire. Clausen, who studied in France, brought an impressionist touch to his rural naturalist subjects. You’ll notice the delicate play of light across her face and the flicked brushwork in the background – both hint at the freshness and fleeting nature of youth.
The piece sits at a modest size, about 56 × 41 cm, but its intimacy invites close inspection. Clausen’s background is interesting too: in 1886 he helped found the New English Art Club, offering a platform outside the Royal Academy. This work, presented to the collection by C.N. Luxmoore in 1929, reflects that spirit of innovation. Even though the girl’s name isn’t recorded, the portrait speaks volumes about everyday village life, a scene rendered with the immediacy of plein‑air painting.
Overall, “Brown Eyes” exemplifies Clausen’s blend of Impressionist flair and documentary sensibility, offering a snapshot of late‑19th‑century English countryside through a young woman’s gaze.
See it in person
Brown Eyes is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
