The Soldier’s Dream of Home

Oil on canvas, laid down.

Painting size: 24.5” x 29.25”
Frame size: 35.5” x 40”

Hailing from a prominent English family of painters and engravers, Goodall rose to fame early in life. At the age of fourteen he won the silver medal at the Society of Arts. However, it would be his travels to Egypt, beginning at the age of 36, that would make and define his career.

Enamored with the exotic culture of Egyptian life, Goodall painted portraits, landscapes, and even Biblical scenes, inspired by his experiences.

The Soldier’s Dream of Home reveals Goodall’s fascination with Egypt through the desert landscape and distant pyramids. The subsequent popularity of this image inspired numerous copies, like the one seen here.

Sources:
Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs (Benezit, 1999)
Dictionary of British Art, Victorian Painter, Vol. IV (Wood, 1995).