A Problem Picture: A Visit to the Haunted Chamber

One of the great perks of my job is that I get to scower decades worth of auction catalogues. I ran across this painting, which appealed to me for the tension created by the composition and the contrast created by the black dresses of the two figures and the yellow tonality of the room, including the oak floorboards and yellow bed dressing. The painting is entitled A Visit to the Haunted Chamber (click to enlarge) and depicts two elegantly, but conservatively, dressed women cautiously entering a room. A glimmer of light shines through a crack in the door hidden from the women's view, but which also attracts two errant rats. Although, one could relegate this painting to an artist's desire to create a tension in the work, I am reminded of the great interest in spirituality that occurred during the latter half of the nineteenth century, particularly following the Crimean War, the American Civil War and, later, the Great War. The personal result of those tragedies was that individuals who had lost loved ones in the conflicts sought refuge in the world of spirits, in particular, the belief in an afterlife and the ability of the deceased to communicate, via mediums or apparitions, to the living (the English also developed a tradition of fairy painting). I have yet to research the exhibition records of the work and any periodicals that commented on the picture, but am increasingly interested in the narrative implied in the work. With regard to the formal elements, I am drawn to the beautifully rendered embroidered bed dressings (although somewhat tattered) and the painting above the fireplace, which depicts a young girl in a salmon colored dress painted in the style of Sir Joshua Reynolds standing next to a stag. I have named the two women Shawna and Debbie.

William Frederick Yeames, R.A. (British, 1835-1918)
A Visit to the Haunted Chamber
o/c, 23 1/2" x 33 1/4"
signed and dated l. r. "W.F. YEAMES-1869-"
Exhibited: Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1870, no. 187; Royal Jubilee Exhibition, Manchester, 1887, no. 3 (lent by R.H. Knowles)
Literature: M.H. Stephen Smith, Art and Anecdote, pp. 160-61

Yeames was born in Taganrog in southern Russia, where his father was British Consul. He came to England at the age of thirteen and studied under the sculptor Richard Westmacott, then spent six years in Italy before settling in London and making his debut at the Royal Academy in 1859. He remained a regular contributor, becoming an Associate in 1866 and a full Academician in 1878. For many years he was a member of the St. John's Wood Clique, together with P.H. Calderon, H.S. Marks, G.D. Leslie, D.W. Wynfield, and G.A. Storey. This group concentrated on subjects of a historical nature and narrative paintings in which the story was revealed by close study of the actions and expressions of the subjects. In Yeames's work this technique evolved into the genre known as the "Problem Picture," in which the narrative of the image creates an unresolved dilemma or paradox for the viewer. In other words, the picture is deliberately intended to be enigmatic or open ended.

Yeames excelled in most types of painting, including portraits and landscapes, but he made his name with elaborate reconstructions of historical events, both real and imaginary. His most famous work, And when did you last see your father?, was exhibited at the Academy in 1878, and is in the collection of the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/collections/lastseefather/lastseefatherlarge.asp?back=0).