This is a sketch for an illustration in a Liverpool Autumn Exhibition catalogue. A previous owner of this drawing was W Wolfenden, who had been an editor of the LAE catalogue. A jonquil is a flower in the narcissus genus, much like a small daffodil. 

'Jonquil' is also a yellow shade, the name taken from the flower. In the 1890s, yellow could be considered a dangerous colour. Whether Steer is referring to this association is interesting to consider. He was recruited by Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) to contribute to the magazine 'The Yellow Book', published between1894 and 1897 and ostensibly named for the French practice of covering pornographic novels in yellow paper.

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This is a sketch for an illustration in a Liverpool Autumn Exhibition catalogue. A previous owner of this drawing was W Wolfenden, who had been an editor of the LAE catalogue. A jonquil is a flower in the narcissus genus, much like a small daffodil. 'Jonquil' is also a yellow shade, the name taken from the flower. In the 1890s, yellow could be considered a dangerous colour. Whether Steer is referring to this association is interesting to consider. He was recruited by Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) to contribute to the magazine 'The Yellow Book', published between1894 and 1897 and ostensibly named for the French practice of covering pornographic novels in yellow paper.

Jonquil

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