Sketch for 'A Hopeless Dawn'

This preparatory sketch for A Hopeless Dawn is a fully resolved study for the finished picture. The scene shows a young woman who has lost her husband at sea being comforted by her mother-in-law. The setting is a simple cottage interior, with a view of the sea and a table set like an altar to hint at the consolations of religion. The location for the scene is known to be Bramley’s own home on a tiny Newlyn lane. Penlee House Gallery collects work depicting the far west of Cornwall and by artists associated with the area. It has one work by Bramley in its holdings and this study for A Hopeless Dawn now joins it there.