Emanuel Miller - The Roundabout

Emanuel Miller - The Roundabout, Oil Painting

Original oil on canvas attributed to Dr Emanuel Miller FRCP (1893–1970), the pioneering British child psychiatrist and father of theatre director, writer and broadcaster Jonathan Miller, titled The Roundabout. Emanuel Miller was a significant figure in early child psychiatry and wartime psychological medicine, but he was also a practising artist who painted, drew, etched and sculpted.

The painting depicts a child riding a fairground roundabout, handled with a lively, expressive touch and a warm, atmospheric palette. The subject has a particular charm, especially in light of Miller’s professional interest in childhood and the psychological world of children.

The attribution is supported by inscriptions on the reverse: one reading “The Roundabout – By Emanuel Miller”, and a second appearing to read “Sandhill Park, Bishops Lydeard, E. Miller.” Sandhill Park was used as a wartime psychiatric hospital, where Miller is understood to have worked during the Second World War.

The reverse also carries an old Winsor & Newton “School of Art Canvas” stamp. The canvas and frame show clear age, and there is an old repair patch verso.

A fascinating and unusually personal work, combining artistic, medical and wartime history.

Details

• Artist: Attributed to Emanuel Miller FRCP (1893–1970)
• Title: The Roundabout
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Framed size: 58 × 47.5 cm
• Signature / inscriptions: Inscribed verso with title, artist’s name, and apparent Sandhill Park address
• Condition: Good antique condition overall, with age-related wear and an old repair patch to the canvas verso
• Frame: Framed