Morning

Codrington was born near Barnstaple and trained in London. She returned to painting in 1918 after raising her two daughters and exhibited at the Royal Academy throughout the 1920s. In her last years, Codrington returned to Devon.

Morning, discussed by Professor William Gallois on RAMM’s research blog, layers genres. The painting places a nude figure alongside a Turner landscape and a still life, blending genres once considered separate.

Women artists have long navigated the boundaries of genre, often working within the constraints imposed by social norms and limited access to formal training. Here, the woman seems to bask in this mix of genres, quietly asserting a presence in spaces where women have historically been excluded. 

Yusra Warsama wrote a poem in response to this painting, available on the Museum of Colour website.

You can buy a high-quality print of this work from Art UK.

 Visual description: A woman is asleep, lying on her back in a simple metal bed. Her left arm dangles towards the floor while her right hand holds the sheets to her chest. The room is cluttered. Next to her bed is a simple wooden chair covered in discarded clothing and a melted candle. There is a poster of an idyllic rural scene above the head of her bed.

In the foreground, morning light streams into the room. A breakfast table covered in a pink, ripped tablecloth is laden with food. There is half a loaf of bread alongside a piece of cucumber and a knife on a plate. Matches and cucumber peel lie on the tablecloth itself, alongside a bowl of tomatoes and a glass of water. Underneath the glass, is the edge of a rumpled newspaper.