About this artwork

The 'boy' in this painting is one of Wood's lovers, the English artist Francis Rose (1909-1979). The work shows a hotel room in Tréboul, Brittany. Wood suffered from mental instability made worse by an opium habit. This problematic side to Wood's character sometimes surfaces in his art. The tarot cards lying on the bed may allude to worries about money and love, and perhaps also to danger; in any event they seem to tell of his troubled state of mind. A few months after completing this painting, Wood was killed by a train. Whether it was suicide, an accident, drug related or the result of mental instability, remains unclear.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    Christopher Wood (1901 - 1930) English
  • title:
    Nude Boy in a Bedroom
  • date created:
    1930
  • materials:
    Oil on hardboard laid on plywood
  • measurements:
    53.80 x 65.00 cm; Framed: 75.80 x 86.20 x 9.30 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh. Purchased 1978.
  • accession number:
    GMA 1712
  • gallery:
  • depicted:
  • subject:
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Christopher Wood

Christopher Wood