''Nevermore'' is an 1897 oil on canvas painting by the French

Post-Impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

artist

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

. Since 1932 it has been in the collection of the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

and on display in the

Gallery Gallery or The Gallery may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Art gallery ** Contemporary art gallery Music * Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s Albums * ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album * ''Gallery'' (Gr ...

. It was executed during the artist's second stay on the island of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

in the South Pacific. The enigmatic work depicts a naked Pahura, Gauguin's teenage ''vahine'' or wife, lying on a bed in their hut, her voluptuous figure echoed by the curves of the headboard. In the background behind the bed can be seen a raven and two mysterious human figures. The title "Nevermore", painted in relatively large capitals in the top left-hand corner, and the presence of the raven is an obvious reference to Edgar Allan Poe's 1845 poem "

The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a myste ...

", which was well known to Gauguin and recited at his farewell party in 1891. In the poem a mourning student is visited in his room by a raven which croaks the one word "nevermore" in response to his every question. At the time the painting was executed Pahura was grieving the loss of her first child (by Gauguin). Gauguin had not yet lost his favourite European-born daughter Aline, who died in the April of 1897: Nevermore was executed in the February. The artist himself claimed the bird represented a "bird of the devil who watches". The painting was purchased in 1898 by the British composer

Frederick Delius Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted atte ...

from Gauguin's friend

George-Daniel de Monfreid George-Daniel de Monfreid (14 March 1856 – 26 November 1929) was a French painter and art collector. He was born at New York City, in the United States, but spent his childhood in the south of France. Early he decided on a career in art, ...

for 500 francs. It was later bought by the British businessman Samuel Courtauld in 1926, who gifted it to the Courtauld Institute of Art. In 2010, the painting was voted Britain's ''most romantic'' in a poll organised by the Art Fund Charity. It beat competition from a five painting shortlist, which included masterpieces by

Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...

and

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

References

1897 paintings Paintings by Paul Gauguin Nude art Birds in art {{19C-painting-stub