A Restful Moment Oil Painting by William Gale

 William Gale (British, 1823 - 1909)

Title: A Restful Moment 

Medium: oil on canvas

Signature: signed with artist's monogram WG lower left

Unframed: 30.6 by 41cm., 12 by 16¼in.

Framed: 20½ x 24½in.

William Gale was a talented history and genre oil painter, born in London in 1823. He won many accolades as a student at Royal Academy Schools, and travelled to Italy in 1851 and the Middle East in 1862 and 1867. Due to his many influences , Gale's paintings are in an array of styles including sentimental, biblical, mythological subjects, portraits and orientalist pictures. Examples of his work are held by the Tate, Glasgow City Art Galleries and Museums and Art Gallery of New South Wales. 

William Gale was one of the many artists who, upon finishing his study at the Royal Academy Schools, set out to explore the east: namely North Africa, Algeria, Palestine and Syria. These remote countries at the crossroads of civilizations captivated his imagination, which he explored through his work. 

Following in the footsteps of the great Orientalists John Frederic Lewis and Jean Leon Gerome, William Gale evokes the Eastern Woman, the bright colors and delicate textures that can be found in the East. Using pure, rich glazes and extraordinary attention to detail, he renders the luxurious, beautifully embroidered headscarf. Eastern women kindled a curiosity in almost every Orientalist artist with their gaudy shawls and yakmash, heavy jewelry and enigmatic beauty.