WHAT GALAHAD HAD
It might seem a little odd that I would associate Sir Galahad with moments in my life, but anyone who has ever worked to a point of being really tired – I mean deep down “bone tired” as the old folks used to call fatigue ...utterly spent, washed up, pooped - has got to remember how done-in the gallant knight appears to be about the only painting I ever remember seeing of him as a subject.
It was done by George Frederick Watts who was born of Welsh parents in London in 1817.
We had a large sepia-toned print of Sir Galahad had an honored place in our family apartment, I remember. He wore full armor with a long sword from waist to ground level stood beside his horse who also appears to be resting. The picture was set in a two-inch frame of dark walnut frame under glass and the fame was about the same dark brown as the darkest portions of his metal armor.
Watts was an early bloomer as artists go. He had been discouraged by the president of the Royal Academy about seeking a career in art, but Watt’s father encouraged him to do so none-the-less, an by age nineteen George Watts was receiving commissions to do portraits and he also won a national prize in thee Westminster decorations competition in 1843. From Florence, Italy, Watts entered the same contest in 1845 and was, once again, a winner.
In 1864 he married young actress. They separated a year later and were divorced thirteen years later in 1877 when she married the artist Whistler. Watts married for the second time in l886 to Mary Fraser Tyler , a Scottish designer.
The painting of Galahad is typical of his many works as an allegory painting designed to bring about moral improvement in viewers. He himself was subject to prolonged discouragement. He went to visit a Princeps family in Kensington in 1840 and stayed, more or less until 1875. When they moved to the Isle of Wight, he moved with them. Their home was a Bohemian center for artists and seem to inspire him. He gained confidence and painted many portraits of visiting Victorian personalities. Married to his second wife Mary Tyler, an artist as well, he moved Melbury Road,.London and in 1881 changed that studio into a gallery and the couple moved to Surry where Mary Tyler setup a pottery, designed and decorated in Art Nouveau style the Mortuary Chapel dedicated to his works. In later years Watts refused a baronetcy two times - 1885 and in 1894. He did, however, accept the Order of Merit awarded in 1902.
It is good to have a reproduction of Watt's “Sir Galahad” handy when you feel tired. Dedicated as he was to finding the Holy Grail -the very cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper brought to England, it was said, by Joesph of Arimathea. He could not rest until .that prized cup had been found.
As a kid I remember looking at that picture and realizing how the subject was looking upward and into the twist of twigs, leaves and vines at sunlight peeking through. The drooped neck of his horse matched the armored man's obvious tired stance ,but the look on Galahad's face was was one of questing and searching, encouragement and hope. Mother must have though the old painting would help engender within us a spirit of steadfastness, stick-to-ity, gumption and stubbornness - depending on her mood for us at the moment.
A.L.M. January 9, 2005 [c597wds]
