Stooping Woman (Study of Ida with a Baby)

Ida was described by the critic and poet Arthur Symons (1865–1945) as ‘a creature of uncertain moods and passions’ and there was ‘something almost witch-like in her’. John’s drawing shows her foraging barefoot in the undergrowth. She is thought to be holding her third child Robin. John and Ida were living at Elm House, Matching Green, Essex when this drawing was made. After starting a family, Ida struggled to combine the roles of artist and mother. At that time, women were traditionally expected to look after children rather than pursue their own careers. Ida had five children before she died in Paris in 1907.