An allegorical watercolour

A most unusual watercolour possibly depicting a mother and child surrounded by symbolic elements. Inscribed in pencil below “the fabled infancy of a poet”. There is monogram in the left hand corner possibly TB

England circa 1920

Framed : Height 14 inches width 18 inches.

This allegorical watercolour depicting a seated female figure beside a reclining child within an imagined pastoral landscape animated by symbolic and dreamlike elements is executed in a rich yet softly blended palette. The composition combines expressive draughtsmanship with a distinctly poetic sensibility, balancing figuration with decorative abstraction in a manner evocative of early 20th-century Symbolist and Neo-Romantic painting.

Above the child appear fantastical airborne forms, while the surrounding landscape is populated with architectural and natural motifs suggestive of imagination, memory, and artistic inspiration. The inscription beneath, “The Fabled Infancy of a Poet,” reinforces the work’s literary and allegorical character, implying a meditation on creativity, innocence, and the formative power of myth and imagination.

The watercolour bears a monogram lower left, possibly “TB,” though the artist remains unidentified. The composition possesses an intriguingly personal and visionary quality, characteristic of the more experimental currents in British art during the interwar period.