Where Is Hope? See It at Tate Britain

Q: Where can I see Hope?

This famous painting is at Tate Britain in London, which holds the national collection of British art. The museum has several other works by Watts, who was one of the most celebrated Victorian painters.

Q: What does the painting symbolize?

Watts depicted Hope blindfolded atop a darkened globe, playing her last remaining lyre string. Rather than despair, she listens intently for whatever faint music remains. It represents perseverance in the face of overwhelming difficulty.

George Frederick Watts painted this iconic allegory in 1886, showing a blindfolded woman seated on a globe, clutching a lyre with only one string remaining. Despite her circumstances, she strains to hear the faint music she can still produce. The muted blue and green palette reinforces the melancholy yet resilient mood.

The painting became one of the most reproduced images of the Victorian era, inspiring countless sermons and speeches. Watts intended it as a meditation on perseverance despite despair. Now at Tate Britain in London, this Symbolist work measures 142.2 × 111.8 cm.

This famous painting is at Tate Britain in London, which holds the national collection of British art. The museum has several other works by Watts, who was one of the most celebrated Victorian painters.

Watts depicted Hope blindfolded atop a darkened globe, playing her last remaining lyre string. Rather than despair, she listens intently for whatever faint music remains. It represents perseverance in the face of overwhelming difficulty.

The image became enormously popular as a Victorian moral lesson and has been referenced in countless contexts since. Barack Obama referenced it in his famous speech, and the blue-toned figure remains an enduring symbol of resilience.

Hope

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

More by George Frederick Watts

Mrs George Augustus Frederick Cavendish Bentinck and her Children

Lady Margaret Beaumont and her Daughter

Adam and Eve

Sir Galahad

Also at Tate Britain

Carlisle Wall (The Lovers)

Reclining Figure

Saint Eulalia

Mares and Foals in a River Landscape

Related Symbolism Works

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II

The Tree of Life

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I

Death and Life

The Kiss

Wasserschlangen II (Water Serpents II)

Lemminkäinen's Mother

Boy with a Crow

About Hope

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