Painting of the Month, May 2008 - Joshua Reynolds, Three Ladies Adoring the Time of Hymen (1773)Oil on canvas
support: 2337 x 2908 mm frame: 2827 x 3375 x 180 mm
painting
These are the aristocratic Montgomery sisters - Barbara, Elizabeth and Anne. Their father was the Irish aristocrat Sir William Montgomery and they were known as the Irish Graces. They are shown gathering flowers to decorate a statue of Hymen, the Roman god of marriage. Reynolds posed them in what he described as 'a variety of graceful historical attitudes'. These were taken from the work of admired old master painters, such as the seventeenth-century French artist Nicolas Poussin. Reynolds intended this to ennoble his figures, but it also laid him open to charges of plagiarism.
Tuesday 6 May 2008, 13.15-13.30
Saturday 10 May 2008, 14.30-14.45
Tuesday 13 May 2008, 13.15-13.30
Saturday 17 May 2008, 14.30-14.45
Tuesday 20 May 2008, 13.15-13.30
Saturday 24 May 2008, 14.30-14.45
Tuesday 27 May 2008, 13.15-13.30
Saturday 31 May 2008, 14.30-14.45
These popular 15-minute talks given by our Tate Guides focus each month on a different key work in the Tate's collection.
Room 18
Millbank
London
SW1P 4RG
Millbank
London
SW1P 4RG
How to get there:
Help plan your visit to Tate Britain using Transport for London's Journey planner, whether you're walking, cycling or using public transport. You can also access Journey planner on a WAP-enabled mobile by texting 'TfL' to 60835. Text is charged at standard rate.
Underground
Pimlico (Victoria Line, 600 metres approx.), Vauxhall (Victoria line, 850 metres approx.), Westminster (Jubilee, District and Circle Lines).
Buses
A number of buses service the area, including the 2, 3, C10, 36, 87, 88, 159, 185, 436 and 507.
Tate Britain is located on the north bank of the River Thames at Millbank, south west of the city centre and not far from the Houses of Parliament.
Boat
Tate Boat runs every forty minutes along the Thames between Tate Modern, the London Eye and Tate Britain.
Train
Vauxhall or Victoria stations are both located nearby.
Taxi
A taxi drop off/pick up point is situated on Millbank, just outside the Millbank entrance.
Car
There is a limited amount of pay and display parking in the streets surrounding Tate Britain (free at the weekends and after 18.30). Free parking at other times is only available to SEN groups booked into sessions.
Coach
Drop-off point on Millbank
By bike
There are bike racks outside the gallery to the left of the Manton entrance (at the end of Atterbury Street on the corner with John Islip Street) and also on Millbank near the entrance to the Clore gallery.
Access
There is level access at the Clore Gallery entrance for school groups using educational facilities with a lift to the galleries. There is also level access via the Manton Entrance on Atterbury Street, with a lift to the galleries (please do not use the Manton if you require an education booked service or educational facilities). To reserve a parking space or wheelchair please telephone 020 7887 3959.
