Elaine

2020
Walker, Caroline
Caroline Walker’s paintings depict intimate scenes featuring women in a range of settings to explore the boundaries between public and private, labour and care. Her works hint at narrative possibilities but stories are never fully revealed. They document the myriad cultural, social and political factors that affect women’s lives. Since 2016 the artist has been profiling women at work in restaurants, nail bars, hair salons and hotels. She considers the invisibility of professions dominated by women, and how women’s labour is often undervalued or taken for granted. Elaine, 2020, is a portrait of an assistant at Walker’s local bakery, taken during a national lockdown brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘The bakery is a big feature of the local community’, the artist explains. The work shows Elaine, serving customers from the door of the shop. With a sensitivity to the figure’s role within the space and environment, Walker’s paintings offer a snapshot of society at a particular time and place.
  • Artwork Details: 125 x 100cm
  • Edition:
  • Material description: Oil on linen
  • Credit line: © the artist. Image courtesy of the artist and Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh
  • Theme:
  • Medium: Painting
  • Accession number: ACC17/2020

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The Arts Council Collection is the UK's most widely seen collection of modern and contemporary art.

With more than 8,000 works by over 2,000 artists, it can be seen in exhibitions and public displays across the country and beyond. This website offers unprecedented access to the Collection, and information about each work can be found on this site.