Tea Party Diva

The Painting - Wimbledon Tennis Party by Edward Brewtnall

The Artist - Edward Brewtnall

Born in London in 1846, Edward Brewtnall’s was influenced by the Pre Raphaelite approach to art. This group admired Raphael, and added their own touch of romance to realistic settings.

They depicted women and men in looser, more natural clothing, and railed against restrictive styles such as bustles and hoops. This reflected a period of social change in the Victorian era.

While Brewtnall dabbled in various styles and genres, Wimbledon Tennis Party reflects this highly detailed romantic realism.

Brewtnall has certainly painted an interesting snapshot, not only of a Victorian Wimbledon Tea Party, but of the social strata and lifestyle in the Victorian period.

While the clothes seem formal to us, the Wimbledon Tennis Party is actually quite an informal afternoon tea by Victorian standards. This is reflected in aspects such as the table setting and the ladies balancing cups on their laps.

It’s not only the clothes that have changed over time. Note the shape of the boy’s racquet in Brewtnall’s painting above. It differs from the standard tennis racquet today.

Wimbledon Tea Parties Today

From those early days of informal outdoor Wimbledon tea parties, Wimbledon is now widely regarded as the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament. Big dollars are spent at Wimbledon in entertaining royalty, celebrities and corporate clients in the grand British tradition.

Tea in Art, Times Past