The Gilded Cage (De Morgan)

The Gilded Cage is an oil painting on canvas by the English painter Evelyn De Morgan, from 1901-1902, on loan from the De Morgan Collection to the Watts Gallery.

In the painting a woman looks out a window. Her outstretched hand forms a gesture of yearning as she watches a group of dancers and musicians. The principal figure among the travelling group is a woman who dances while holding her baby, suggesting that the scene also represents maternal duty. Broken jewellery and a book lie on the floor.

A bird soars free about the dancers, which contrasts sharply to the captive bird in the gilded cage hanging near the woman's distraught older husband.