Alone, ca. 1947

Amy K. Browning (1881 - 1978)

RA Collection: Art

Browning was one of eight children and this had a profound effect on her, making her determined not to become tied to a house and children and instead pursue a career as an artist. In 1899 she entered the Royal College of Art to study painting, but had to leave in 1901 to help her mother. Browning was only able to return when she won a scholarship, and it was then that she met and became friends with the suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst, and later assisted her in mounting the Women’s Exhibition of 1909.

Browning first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1906. She won a silver medal at the 1913 Paris Salon, followed by a gold medal in 1922. Her paintings were often painted in low tones, and in Alone this contributes to the sad scene of a lonely old woman.