The Art of Frederick Morgan: Examples of 19th Century Modest, Feminine Dress

"Me Too"

To order these posters for your home, go to http://www.lovelywhatevers.blogspot.com/ and look for the Frederick Morgan art.

Frederick Morgan was a British painter who lived from 1847 until 1927. He loved portraying women with children, but sometimes had other artists, such as Arthur Elsely, and other painters, paint the dogs or other animals in his paintings.

"Day on the River"

His father, John Morgan, was also an artist, who took his son out of school in order to teach him to paint. Frederick said of his own father, "He taught me how to make a picture."

"Mother's Darling"

"Enough, And More to Spare"

"Picking Apples"

"Dancing Bear"

"Playtime"

"Won't You Have Some?"

You can see more of the excellent paintings of Frederick Morgan here http://www.oilpaintingfactory.com/english/default.aspx?oilPainting=Morgan%20Frederick_England_1847-1927

The women in these paintings are portrayed in soft, flowing garments, accented with collars, ribbons and lace. The eye is drawn toward the sweet expressions of the women and children.

The Victorian era was the last time women wore such long garments and pretty hats of that type. At that time, little girls looked forward to growing up, so that they could put their hair up and wear long skirts and dresses. Mothers did not believe in pushing their little girls into being too grown up too soon, so they did not allow them to wear long skirts or put their hair up til they became young ladies. Until then, their shorter dresses and bloomers could allow them to run and play .

I find this very interesting, in view of the fact that we are such a backwards society today. Women are taught to believe that they cannot do anything in a dress, yet for centuries before us, women did everything in a dress. Today, little girls are so pretty in their frills and sweet dresses, and mothers are always trying to put their hair up, yet when they reach the age of being young ladies, their clothing becomes more alluring and immodest.

A few years ago, I observed that the summer VBS teachers often taught small children while wearing shorts and t-shirts, both which are obviously immodest, and not very pretty. I wrote about this in an earlier article, challenged teachers to wear something pretty for the children.

I reminded them of just how tall some of those children are, and how their eye-level is sometimes just at the knees of their teachers. Wouldn't it be nice to wear pretty skirts, long, with animal prints or some pretty flowers on them, that would delight the children? Think , too, of what the child's eye-view is, and avoid giving them an eye full of the wrong thing. Tight clothing is not appropriate for children to see on women, and it is not a good way to develop their appreciation of beauty and of clothing.

It is so charming to see a young mother wearing a pretty skirt, with her child hanging on to the edge of that skirt, or hiding behind the skirt. I believe women and children have been cheated out of these wonderful experiences and memories, when they left the Biblical mandate to wear clothing that is flowing and modest.

My opinion of jeans is not very high, because if you have seen one pair, you have seen them all. If you saw one pair 50 years ago, you have seen them all, and if you find a new pair that you have never seen before, you have seen them all. They have never been able to make a pair of jeans look pretty, and they do not hide the woman's privacy, which is what modesty is all about. If you will study these pictures, you will see women and children doing many active things wearing the feminine garment called a dress. I have adapted sewing patterns to some of these paintings, particularly "Playtime" and "A Day on the River." All you have to do, is take any sewing pattern (a dress) for wovens (cottons and linens) and lengthen it, adding a collar or lace in appropriate places.

I appreciated the comments on the previous posts, which were very informative. Please continue to comment anonymously! I especially appreciate the insights on the problem of modesty, so I hope people will continue to post their honest opinions.

We have just experienced a very mutually edifying week and week end of the 4th of July, which included a VBS and an old time gospel meeting.

Many young men preached fine sermons about passing on their faith to their families. It was interesting to watch the men who were called on to speak, hand their babies back to their wives, when they got up to speak or pray. My husband had to make a few announcements, and since his granddaughter was planted firmly on his lap, he just carried her to the pulpit and held her while he made his announcements. I do not know if he even noticed that he was still holding her while he faced the audience. It was truly a family celebration this weekend, and the young ladies and young men were freely mingling with one another, while their parents visited. I enjoyed the multi-generational atmosphere so much.

When it was time for the meeting to close, and those who had come from other towns and states prepared to go back to their homes, my son inlaw, who offered the closing prayer, stated to the audience, " Thank you for coming to see us. You came to edify us and you did. I wish you were not going back where you came from."

This meeting felt a lot like the atmosphere that we once had in churches in the 1940's and 1950's, with a lot of down-home humor and good natured friendship between people of all ages. The singing, which was acapella, sounded as though a throng of angels in heaven had joined us. The children really enjoyed old time hymns and being allowed to sing as loudly as they liked.

A gospel meeting certainly makes people appreciate their house work. We all got behind on it and are looking forward to getting everything back in order. House work seems easy compared to the work that goes into a gospel meeting.

Please remember that you are welcome to comment anonymously, and it is in fact, preferable!