He subsequently bequeathed the house and its contents to the National Trust in 1966.Įtty commented of his own work that 'finding God's most glorious work to be Woman, that all human beauty had been concentrated in her, I resolved to dedicate myself to painting – not the Draper's or Milliner's work – but God's more glorious work, more finely than ever had been done.’ No other artist in British history has dedicated themselves to the depiction of the human form as assiduously as William Etty, particularly the female nude, and this exceptionally well-preserved life study beautifully demonstrates the artist's skill at rendering flesh tints and capturing the human form.Ī prominent figure at both the St Martin’s Lane and Royal Academy drawing schools, Etty remained devoted to the life class throughout his career, attending sessions long after his official artistic training had finished and even when his deteriorating health made it inadvisable. He assembled a substantial group of paintings by the artist at Anglesey Abbey, his home near Cambridge. Huttleston Broughton, 1st Baron Fairhaven (1896–1966), a noted British racehorse breeder and art collector, was one of the most important collectors of Etty’s work.

William Etty by Kathlin Furey