Mavis Pope

It can take a leap of imagination to think of one’s grandparents as young people in love. Black and white photographs may capture something but it is definitely a moment in the past. I am very fortunate to have a portrait in oils to conjure my grandmother, Mavis, not only in colour but caught by the eye of my grandfather, Richard Eurich. His younger sister, Evelyn, was at teacher-training college with Nana and it was she who introduced them. Who knows if it was love at first sight or if she caught his artists eye, but Popa asked if he could paint her portrait.

Two years later they were married!

The painting glows with the simple health of youth. This is a moment as fresh as the present. The curves of her cheeks and the brightness of her eyes are delicate and unsophisticated. The dark panel of the background to the left sharply delineates the swell of her cheek and the curl of her simple haircut and the paler two-thirds of the backdrop is gentle. I feel that he might reach out to cup her face in his hand as the darkness shapes her silhouette, turning her to face him before turning her back for him to continue his work.

There is a trust between artist and subject which I tune into as I imagine what she was thinking. We have this lovely painting as a clue to what he was thinking and feeling. I love the sense that the very request he makes is a first declaration of romantic interest. Was she flirting in response when she agreed to sit for him? Nana was beautiful but this is so much more than the portrait of a lovely young woman when one knows the story behind it.