A young woman opening a jewel casket

Alice Macallan Swan, born in Worcester in 1864, was a Scottish painter and illustrator. She spent her career in London and passed away in 1939. Her brother was John Macallan Swan, an animal painter and sculptor, who greatly impacted her early art education. Swan became famous for her watercolors, especially her flower paintings and images of women and saints. She showed her work at the Royal Academy, among other places.

The woman in the painting is bending toward a small box of jewels. These boxes often stand for secrets, inner thoughts, and the attraction of hidden beauty.

The painting was created with light pencil sketches and then brought to life with watercolor. Swan used a scratching out method to make the painting brighter and more detailed. The finished piece is polished and creates a calm mood, setting the figure in a quiet, personal story.

The painting reflects the late Victorian and Edwardian period’s interest in home life and women as subjects. Swan’s gentle, low-key way of painting is clear in this piece.
The rediscovery and proper credit given to A Young Woman Opening a Jewel Casket sheds light on the difficulties women artists faced in the 1800s and early 1900s. Their work was often overlooked or wrongly attributed, and their contribution to art history was frequently reduced. This painting, though, proves Swan’s skill and control of personal subjects. What’s more, it cements her proper position in the story of Scottish and British art.

History and Auction Information

• The painting was once mistakenly credited to John Macallan Swan and sold anonymously in Munich in 1977.
• It was later properly identified as the work of Alice Macallan Swan.
• It comes from Joe Setton’s collection.
• It was sold at Christie’s on December 10, 2020, as Lot 14.

This painting is one of Alice Macallan Swan’s most well-known pieces. Its sale has helped restore her standing as a talented artist in her own right, not just as John Macallan Swan’s sister.