February 21st Annie Warren (Marriage)

On this day in 1897, Annie Eliza Warren of Newlyn married Jack Webb a miner of Camborne.  When Annie’s father died, she moved with her family to Gwavas Terrace, three doors away from a house that rented rooms to visiting artists.  In 1883, Annie Eliza became a regular model for Walter Langley (March 21st), earning 6d per hour. 

She is depicted in one of Langley’s most famous works ‘But men must work, and women must weep’ as the young, seated, woman who is waiting with an old woman for her fisherman husband to return home safely.  In his diary, Langley recorded paying Annie 2/6d indicating she had sat for five hours.

The title of this wonderful picture is taken from the poem ‘The Three Fishers’, by Charles Kingsley (June 12th) and whose first verse reads:


                                                                                                Three fishers went sailing away to the west,
                                                                                                Away to the west as the sun went down;
                                                                                                Each thought on the woman who loved him the best,
                                                                                                And the children stood watching them out of the town;

                                                                                                But men must work, and women must weep.




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