Morning

‘Morning’ depicts a woman lying asleep in a simple metal bed pushed against the wall. Her left arm outstretches towards the wooden floor while her right clutches the crumpled sheets that cover her nude body. The room is tatty and cluttered; next to her bed is a simple wooden chair covered in her discarded clothing and a melted candlestick. In the foreground, morning light from an out-of-shot window streams into the room, highlighting a breakfast table covered with a ripped red and white checked tablecloth. Here, a half-read newspaper is grouped in a still life with a bowl of tomatoes, slices of cucumber, half a loaf of bread, and a glass of water.

The painting was created by artist Isabel Codrington (1874-1943), who was born in Bydown, Devon. She came from an artistic family and entered the Royal Academy School of Art aged just 15. She was best known for her paintings of ‘gypsies, hawkers and portraits of peasants’. Morning is typical of Codrington’s work and highlights her mastery of light and shadow.

On 6 September 2022 RAMM hosted ten internationally renowned writers, poets and spoken word artists as part of a partnership with the Museum of Colour. The Museum of Colour is a digital museum that explores the contribution made by People of Colour to the nation’s culture, specifically in film, television and the arts. Mona Arshi, Victoria Adukwei Bulley, Fred D'Aguiar, Jennifer Lee Tsai, Adam Lowe, Shivanee Ramlochan, Jacob Sam-La Rose, John Siddique, Yomi Sode and Yusra Warsama performed specially written pieces, influenced and inspired by objects in the collections at RAMM accompanied by live music from composer Randolph Matthews. The event is part of Museum of Colour's exhibition 'My Words', celebrating the legacy of poets of Colour in Britain over 250 years. Yusra Warsama wrote a poem in response to this painting: https://museumofcolour.org.uk/my-words/response-gallery/yusra-warsama?piece=3