William Frederick Yeames and Visit to the Haunted Chamber

'Visit to the haunted chamber' (1869) by William Frederick Yeames;
Private Collection

One thing immediately becomes clear when you google the paintings of English artist William Frederick Yeames, born on 18 December 1835 and died on 3 May 1918. His paintings tell a little story. When I looked up his page on Wikipedia, I read that the group of artists known as St John's Wood Clique, of which Yeames was a member, concentrated 'on subjects of a historical nature and narrative paintings in which the story was revealed by close study of the actions and expressions of the subjects'. Yeames took this even further and worked in the genre known as Problem Picture. This is a genre in the late Victorian era that was characterised by a narrative that could be interpreted in different ways and often represented an unresolved dilemma. I love today's painting because of the colours and the depicted scene. The two women seem to be brave and a little frightened at the same time. I couldn't find anything on the story of the painting but just look at all the details and make up your own story!