Teatime at Haworth with the Brontës, by Sonia Lawson
The Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate

This large painting, measuring 152.2cm (H) x 122.4cm (w),  dazzles the viewer with colour. The title refers to the writing family, the Brontës, and an imagined shared meal. However, the scene itself has a more ethereal and unreal quality to it. It echoes the work of Symbolist painters from the early 20th century, conveying meaning through metaphor and dreamlike imagery, rather than through realism or attention to the natural world.

Sonia Lawson created a series of works, including this painting from 1981, inspired by the Brontës after a visit with her own family to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, based in the Brontës’ home. However, rather than attempting to accurately portray the famous historic characters or setting of the parsonage, she has focused on the emotional connection that she felt with the Brontës. In this way, the work transforms how the viewer sees them as the dark dining room becomes a bright and colourful space.

Teatime at Haworth with the Brontes, by Sonia Lawson (artist's own copyright), from The Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

Exploring the dining room at the Brontë Parsonage Museum
Haworth, West Yorkshire

The dining room at the Parsonage is a special place for many fans of the sisters’ writing. It was here that Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë wrote their now-famous texts, including ‘Jane Eyre’, ‘Agnes Grey’ and ‘Wuthering Heights’. The sisters had a nightly routine of walking around the table together, often until eleven o’clock, as they read and discussed their ideas and literary projects.

After the deaths of both Emily and Anne, Charlotte is known to have continued this habit alone, struggling to sleep without it. Martha Brown, a servant at the Parsonage, once expressed her sorrow, saying, “It breaks my heart to hear Miss Brontë walking alone, pacing back and forth.” This story would almost certainly have been familiar to Sonia Lawson when she visited the room. The table used by the sisters, however, would not have been in the room at that time since it was sold after the death of Patrick Brontë in 1861 and only returned to the Parsonage in 2015 when table was purchased by a grant from The National Heritage Memorial Fund.

The dining room in the Bronte Parsonage,  © The Bronte Society

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© The Bronte Society

Exploring Lawson’s interpretation

Lawson explained that she was influenced to paint this work by childhood recollections of gatherings at her own home, where artists, writers and academics met with her parents, both artists, in their home in Castle Bolton, Wensleydale.

The canvas has a strong sense of movement, shown through sweeping brushstrokes with an overriding feeling of confusion created by the anonymous faces and chaos of patterns. In some places, it is hard to differentiate between the people and the inanimate objects in the room. Lawson’s use of gold adds a richness to the scene, perhaps suggesting a feeling of being in the presence of greatness within the home of the Brontës. It was painted in 1981 in oil on canvas.

Teatime at Haworth with the Brontes, by Sonia Lawson (artist's own copyright), from The Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate
Activity – can we learn anything about the Brontës from this painting?


Night in a Private Garden, by Sonia Lawson
Scarborough Art Gallery

In another Yorkshire collection, this painting from 2010 (almost 30 years after ‘Teatime at Haworth with the Brontës’) forms an interesting comparison.

Measuring 129 cm (H) x 103cm (W), this large oil painting shows a couple  kissing in a garden illuminated by stars. Around them, a number of ambiguous figures stand, some appearing to watch the couple. Perhaps some are statues, or perhaps they are people at a party. The inclusion of the adjective ‘private’ in the title may also alter how we interpret it.

Lawson’s pink colour palette and application of rich golds combine to create a romantic and highly sensuous work, exploring a timeless theme. The ‘kiss’ is a recurring motif in art, often connected with intense emotions such as in Austrian artist Gustav Klimt’s (1907-08) famous symbolist work, ‘The Kiss’.

Please note that this painting contains a phallus.

Night in a Private Garden, by Sonia Lawson, at Scarborough Art Gallery, copyright artist's own

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Lawson’s life and career

Born in 1934, Sonia Lawson studied at the Doncaster School of Art, followed by the Royal College of Art in London, during the 1950s. She was well-respected throughout her career, elected as a Royal Academician in 1982. Following a retrospective exhibition of her work at The Mercer Art Gallery in 2016, Lawson offered works to a number of public collections across Yorkshire. She died in 2023.

Both these paintings are different in subject matter, tone and colour palette to many of Lawson’s works which were concerned with injustice and themes of war and conflict. 

Talking Points

What emotions do you feel when you look at the painting?

How has Lawson captured her own excitement about the Brontës in this painting?

Why do you think Lawson decided to make the viewpoint so that we are gazing down on the teatime gathering, rather than level with it?

Look closely at the painting. What other details can you spot?

Do you think any elements of the painting could refer to the Brontë sisters’ writing? How?

What aspects of the painting are likely to be different from a real teatime at the Brontë home in Haworth? 

Do you like the painting?

In 2009, Lawson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Following a retrospective of her work in 2016, she offered her artworks to a number of public collections. Why do you think it was important to her that she donate her work to public galleries?

 

Vocabulary

Symbolism: this movement took place in the late 19th and early 20th century, in a move away from representations of nature. Symbolist art often focuses on dreams, visions, myths and stories, capturing a different sort of ‘truth’, based on emotions. 

 

In the Classroom

Compare

Look at another painting by Sonia Lawson – ‘Night in a Private Garden’, from Scarborough Art Gallery.

Can you spot any similarities – in approach, style or techniques?

 

Exploring Symbolism – think about

Is there a person or place with which you feel a strong connection and would like to paint? What emotions do you feel when you think about them? What might your painting include if it focused on emotions rather than on what the person and scene actually look like?

Hands on History

There was a retrospective of the artwork of Sonia Lawson held at the Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate in 2016. The gallery has a changing programme of exhibitions which are free to access. Find out more on their website.

You can also visit the Brontë Parsonage Museum to see the real setting of this painting for yourself.

Click on the pins on the map to find out more about the venues.

 

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