Dividend Day at the Bank of England

George Elgar Hicks (Lymington 1824 – Odiham 1914). Oil painting on board, Dividend Day at the Bank of England, by George Elgar Hicks (Lymington 1824 – Odiham 1914), signed bottom right GE Hicks 1859. A sketch for the finished painting (exhibited RA 1859, now at the Bank of England). Dividend day was the quarterly day when dividends on Bank Stock and Government Securities (known as Consols) were paid to personal callers. These were regarded as the safest form of investment, hence the widows shown on the right. The banking hall was designed by Soane, the architect of the Yellow Drawing Room, and embodied a similar use of space. Label - Exhibition of Victorian Life held at Leicester Galleries, Leicester Sq, London June 1937, No. 57 Dividend Day at the Bank of England. G.E. Hicks. Purchase Capt G. Bambridge. Label - Geo Rowney with handwritten G.E.Hicks 1859. Label - Exhibited at National Gallery - In Trust for the Nation. Painted gilt frame and gilt slip. Wimpole, Cambridgeshire (Accredited Museum)