Clio and the Children, 1913 & 1915

Charles Sims RA (1873 - 1928)

RA Collection: Art

Charles Sims often painted mythological scenes in everyday contexts, using friends and family members as models. He painted this picture in 1913 while living at Fittleworth, West Sussex. It depicts Clio, Muse of History, reading to a group of children in a still Sussex landscape. In 1915, following the death of his eldest son in World War I, Sims stained Clio’s scroll with red paint to represent blood. Sims believed that the War had violated the innocence of future generations. He felt that History could no longer be personified as a beautiful goddess passing on wisdom but that she had more violent lessons to teach.