Found Drowned

Adopted by Tim & Lucy Lindholm

This stark painting depicts a young woman who has committed suicide by jumping into the River Thames from Waterloo Bridge. The heart-shaped locket in her hand perhaps contains a portrait of the man who has abandoned her.

In the Victorian period, the term ‘found drowned’ was used to avoid the stigma of suicide. With the outline of the newly constructed Hungerford Suspension Bridge looming on the horizon, Watts forces the viewer to recognise the significant social issues that this thriving, industrial city was otherwise failing to confront.