“It’s nicer to think dear, pretty thoughts and keep them in one’s heart, like treasures.”
Lilian Westcott Hale, L’Edition de Luxe, 1910
Many beautiful, fragrant and flowery Mays have passed since I first read L.M.Montgomery’s wonderful novel “Anne of Green Gables”. The beloved children’s classic was first published in 1908 and many film and series adaptations were made in the last few decades, my favourite being the Netflix show “Anne with an E” (2017) starring Amybeth McNulty as Anne Shirley Cutberth, a vivacious, talkative and imaginative redhead eleven year old orphan girl living in a fictional town of Avonlea on the Prince Edward Island, Canada, in late nineteenth century. These late May and early June days always bring to mind the magic that I felt while reading the novel for the first time, inspired by a dear friend of mine who thought the character resembled me a great deal, and I finally decided to write this post, the idea for which was brewing in my mind for many years. While reading the book many paintings would come to mind and while seeing some paintings scenes from the novel would come to mind, so this post is about paintings, mostly Winslow Homer’s watercolours and some other, that share the aesthetic with both the novel and the series I’ve mentioned above.
The first painting here is Lilian Westcott Hale’s painting “L’Edition d’Luxe”, from 1910. Her paintings are a doorway to the gentle and secretive feminine world as she mostly painted interiors with women and children. This painting has that same soft, feminine, dreamy vibe and the painted girl is a redhead just like Anne. She is seated at a table and reading a book. A vase of spring blossoms on the table adds to the Anne-esque aesthetic. The hairstyle that she is wearing is a typical Edwardian Gibson Girl hairdo that Anne is seen wearing in the last season of the series, when she is preparing to go to college and is a tad more grown up.
Winslow Homer, Fresh Eggs, 1874, watercolour
Winslow Homer, A Sick Chicken, 1874
The two watercolours by Winslow Homer above; “Fresh Eggs” and “A Sick Chicken” both painted in 1874, remind me of the scenes in the series when Anne first arrives to Green Gables and finds out she is not wanted because she is not a boy and is walking on the roof of the chickencoop. She is a tender girl and tries to be helpful to the elderly siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthberth who end up adopting her and so she takes on a number of household chores, including getting the eggs from the chicken.
Winslow Homer, Girls Strolling in an Orchard, 1879
The watercolour “Girls Strolling in an Orchard” reminded me of Anne and her best friend and kindred spirit Diana, a beautiful and polite girl who is the first to befriend Anne. The girl on the left looks more dainty and fashionably dressed, the way Diana is in the book, while the other girl is wearing more simple clothes, the way Anne is in the novel because Marilla likes things to be sensible and proper. I can imagine the tall grass being swayed by the wind whilst they are strolling through it and I can imagine how much Anne would enjoy the scenery around her, especially that lovely branch full of blossoms that is almost touching Diana’s shoulder.
Winslow Homer, Fox Hunt, 1893
“Anne with an E” series diverged from the original novel and in the second season of the series a fox becomes a new character and this is something that doesn’t exist in the novel. Anne first sees the fox snooping around her secret hideout in the forest and begins to see it as another kindred spirit, begins to relate to it as well, Anne with an E’s writer and creater Moira Walley-Beckett said: “She [commiserates] with the fox at one point: ‘Do you get twitted about your hair too, the color of your hair?’ But they’re both always alone,” she said. But also, the characteristics of a fox are so much like Anne. They’re both incredibly inquisitive and self-sufficient.” (source)
Emily Shanks, Newcomer at School (New-comer at Gymnasium), 1892
Emily Shank’s painting “Newcomer at School” makes me think of Anne’s first day at school and how the other girls such as Ruby Gillis would have looked at her, how they would judge her and make fun of her red hair and her being from the orphanage.
Winslow Homer, Blackboard, 1877, watercolour
In chapter 24 of the book, one beautiful October day, Mrs Stacy – a new teacher comes to Anne’s school and Anne is instantly besotted: “Miss Stacy was a bright, sympathetic young woman with the gift of winning and holding the affections of her pupils and bringing out the best that was in them mentally and morally. Anne expanded like a flower under this wholesome influence…” Again, Winslow Homer has an appropriate painting for that moment of Anne’s life as well. Watercolour “Blackboard” shows a teacher explaining some geometry to the class that we don’t see.
Winslow Homer, Pond and Willows, Houghton Farm, 1878, watercolour
Nature plays a big role in the novel because it is a place and source of magic for Anne. There are many lovely descriptions of ponds, willows, flowery meadow and cherry blossoms throughout the novel and the change of seasons are indicated not merely to indicate the passage of time but also because Anne finds magic in different seasons and different clothes that nature puts on. Willows in particular are often mentioned, and they do have a striking romantic look to them, and the pond might as well be the Barry Pond which Anne refers to as “The Lake of Shining Waters”.
Winslow Homer, On the Stile, 1878
Homer’s watercolour “On the Stile” makes me think of Anne whilst on a walk with Gilbert. Her romance with him is not that much a part of the first of the Anne novels, but it is a part of the series and the actor who plays Gilbert is quite handsome. The boy and the girl in the watercolour are holding hands and are seen wandering around in nature, maybe looking for a secretive spot to spent time together. I love the way the girl’s bonnet’s ribbons are dancing in the wind and I like her attire as well and I can imagine Anne wearing something similar.
Winslow Homer, Fresh Air, 1878
To end the post, here is yet another gem from Winslow Homer’s plethora of watercolours titled “Fresh Air”. The girl, who looks similar to the girl in the watercolour “On the Stile” is gazing out into the distance. Her hands are clasped in a calm, resigned position, but there is a hint of worry in her eyes. The wind is present everywhere in the scene; her clothes, the ribbons of her hat, the branch behind her, even the blades of grass. Homer really makes the moment seem fresh and alive! The watercolour makes me think of Anne gazing out into the distance, into her future which, as the novels nears its end, is full of uncertanties, but also filled with possibilities of joy. Anne feels hopeful and scared both at once. The chatty girl we meet in the beginning of the novel has grown into a more quiet creature, though still romantic and imaginative under the surface:
“I don’t know, I don’t want to talk as much. (…) It’s nicer to think dear, pretty thoughts and keep them in one’s heart, like treasures. I don’t like to have them laughed at or wondered over.”
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