One of the most compelling early images of lawn tennis has gone on display at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham.
Played!, painted by Sir John Lavery in 1885, forms part of the University of Birmingham-based gallery’s successful exhibition, Court on Canvas: Tennis in Art, which has been seen by more than 14,000 visitors since opening in May.
Lavery’s picture is a dramatic study of a young woman lunging forward, despite cumbersome clothing, to return the serve of her male opponent.
In the early days, women’s tennis was often little more than a form of under-arm ‘pat-ball’ due to the restrictions imposed by long skirts, bustles and tight-lacing. Women were not expected to be so athletic as Lavery’s heroine.
A Rally, a later watercolour version of Played! is also on show at the exhibition – the first time the oil and watercolour versions have ever been hung together.
Visitors can also see a contemporary tennis image by student photographer James Watson from Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD), who has responded to the scene in Played!, giving it a modern twist – the young woman in his photograph is now dressed in a short dress and stilettos.
Played! is on display in the Barber until January 2012. Court on Canvas: Tennis in Art runs until September 18. Admission is free.
