Newgate: Committed for Trial

Frank Holl based this painting on real events he had witnessed at Newgate prison. He was one of a number of social realist painters working in the late 19th century. They aimed to draw attention to the conditions of the poor and instigate reform through their art.

Victorian reformers brought attention to prisoners’ welfare and campaigned for better conditions. They were particularly worried about different classes of prisoners being held together, as they believed it allowed hardened criminals to influence other inmates. You can see this concern in the painting. The prisoner on the left of the picture is of a respectable background but his family have been reduced to poverty by his incarceration. He is compared with the other prisoner, whose facial features and wild demeanour mark him as a dangerous criminal. His female visitor shields her baby, emphasising his violent nature.

Purchased by Thomas Holloway, 1882.