'After the Meeting' is an Impressionist oil on canvas painting created by Cecilia Beaux in 1914. It lives at the Toledo Museum of Art in the United States.

The more we stimulate our brains, the more nerve connections we make and the better our brains work. At our Monday group we work with an amazing group of people living with Dementia, where we often look at art and review what we see. Making art is fun but it’s also a workout for our brains! Last week we looked at the painting 'After the Meeting' (1914) by Cecilia Beaux (1855–1942) and here are some of what was said:

"'Lady with White Gloves' (ironic tone) or “Woman in Chair” - If she was wearing more comfortable clothes, with the comfy chair, that would go. Very stripey. Going across and down, I can’t work it out. It looks like she’s having an earnest conversation. I’m not very sure… "

"I presume there was some reason for painting it. It’s overloading you with different things, part of it is going on in the background anyway. It reminds me of a painting years ago with waves, they moved!"

"It looks like she’s saying something, with the hand gesture. To someone off to the side. Is there a screen on the other side? To make it look private. The dark screen makes her face stand out more."

"There’s a lot of clutter behind the screen.  And a lot of clutter by her. Her hand becomes a focus amongst the clutter. The fur around her neck, and bird tail feathers in her hat… "

"I don’t know if she’s talking to a man or a woman. She’s gesticulating.  Is it a hairdresser? There’s a steaming cup of something there. A mirror too. One that you can’t see yourself in."

"I don’t like the colours, all of them! It looks better on the chair, but it’s very dark, the screen. I think she’s very fashionable for her time. She might be from France, or some European country. Her gloves are a little creased. I thought it could be more straight."

"It might be the afternoon. It’s probably her afternoon outfit. She’ll have one for the morning and one for the afternoon. I think she’s in a different room to the other. We can see a threshold. Is it a cafe? Is it a mirror? It’s not always a clear reflection when it comes to mirrors?"

"She looks very unhappy, as if she’s a bit out of it. Difficult to see where the hat starts and where the hair is. The chair is the main focus. If you couldn’t see it was a screen, you could think it was a door. And then, there’s a mirror?"

"The material doesn’t fit the style of the chair, it looks like a cover. It doesn’t depict a great deal of wealth. She looks well off, or gives that impression. The outfit doesn’t match, it’s very striking though. The bit in the middle could be a corsage."

"It could be the window of a ship… It’s quite high! This could be the Titanic! Shall we warn her? It’s too run down for the Titanic."

These sessions run every Monday and are designed with the needs of people living with all stages and types of dementia and long term neurological conditions in mind, and the needs of the people who are caring for them. We have spouses, children, professional carers, friends and family members who stay and get involved.