yes yes i know the pic but can't think what its called and it could either be sir john everett millais or john william waterhouse. but i think its more in the style of millais. i'm pretty sure its a picture of the lady of shallot though, or another woman from celtic mythology, but i can't think who.

well this is all i've found so far but i'm sure theres one like you say further away and i think its a bit greener in scenery and shes looking the other way a bit further in the distance but i can't find it anywhere. so this is probably the one you've already found:

judith.linuxhelp.ca/~jwwaterhouse/paintingsL-N/lady_of_shalott.html

I didn't see the show, so I'd need more detail. If it is similar to Waterhouse's, how similar are we talking? If it's basically the same but closer on the main figure, it may be that he had a detail of the painting, rather than a full print. Or were the colours and pose slightly different as well?

The only painting I could think of in a similar stlye and of the same sunject was by Sidney Harold Meteyard. Which you can see here: www.artmagick.com/paintings/painting1717.aspx

However, Sir John Everett Millais' Ophelia also came to mind, for some reason... www.artmagick.com/paintings/painting1901.aspx

Hope this helps.

jayjay i think its quite similar to the orphelia one, i'm sure theres one sorta crossed between that and the lady of shalot, very green and the boats in a distance and shes a slightly different woman to the lady of shallot one, unless i;'m imagining things.

Well, Ophelia is always portrayed under water, as far as I am aware, due to the nature of the story. Whereas The Lady of Shalott is usually portrayed sitting in the boat, if in the boat at all. The only other similar painting I can think of is Sir Frank Dicksee's La Belle Damme Sans Merci. Which has no boat. Or river. But I seem to have a mental association with this and the others...

Thanks SPIKE and Jayjay for your help! You sound like you know the one I mean, Spike, which is encouraging: it actually exists then! I looked at the links you both gave but none were the one I meant. I'll try to give more detail Jayjay, but I only saw it for a few seconds.

It is very similar to the Waterhouse "Lady of Shalott", but there were differences:

In the Waterhouse one the boat is shown on an angle, in mine the boat is shown side on.
In the one I mean, I think the boat is shallower, maybe kind of like a punt(?)
The Lady in the Waterhouse painting has a distraught expression, the lady in mine seemed quite serene.
The woman I saw had long, slightly wavy blonde or strawberry blonde hair loose down her back. She seemed to be leaning backwards in the boat slightly.
I think like Spike said, there was more greenery in the background.
The boat in the one I saw is further back towards the middle of the painting and possibly slightly to the left.

Well, that's all I can tell you, so I hope it helps. I'm 99% sure it wasn't the Waterhouse one. I hope inspiration strikes 'cause it's driving me mad! Cheers for trying to help!

OK, here we go...

These are all the paintings of the Lady of Shalott I could find:

www.artmagick.com/Paintings/Painting847.aspx
www.artmagick.com/Paintings/Painting1922.aspx
www.artmagick.com/Paintings/Painting3570.aspx

These are only paintings where she has been depicted on a boat, as there are many of her in different settings. From your description, the last link sounds the most likely, but I couldn't be sure. If it's not one of these then I'm lost, I'm afraid...

There so needs to be a search engine where you can draw a little doodle and it'll find pictures that match!

nah jayjay there aren't the ones i'm thinknig of myself, but i'm sure its a preraphaelites painting. and its deffinately celtic type mythology its based on.

Was it definitely a bought piece? I know he has done murals on walls and what not that are very impressive, maybe he did it himself based on that shallot lady one?

Just a thought - if you emailed the BBC perhaps they'd be able to help? I know they have a website for all their lifestyle programmes and they probably get queries like that all the time.

Desire - I never thought that he might have painted it himself, you could be right, though I hope not as that means I can't buy it!
White Hart - I think your idea is a good one. I think I'll try emailing the BBC and see if they can help me.

Cheers everyone for trying to help, and if anyone gets any sudden inspiration or if Spike remembers what it's called please let me know! If the BBC have the answer I'll let you know.

ok, i've been a looking as I love this picture!! I am however sure there is a variation of it as you describe, my mum remembers it too!!

i've found this
www.sapphire-designs.com/bryce/shallot.jpg

it's more the way you describe the variation however I don't think that it's the one you are looking for, but it's worth a look incase!!

Apparantly, John William Waterhouse's version of Elaine of Shallot is one of only a small number to show her alive at this stage in her journey down the river, so you could be looking for a needle in hay stack really!! most pictures show her dead already by this point in the story and lay down in the boat, not sat up!

Anyway, don't know if any of this helps, the e-mail idea is probably your best bet!!

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by Jayjay
However, Sir John Everett Millais' Ophelia also came to mind, for some reason... www.artmagick.com/paintings/painting1901.aspx

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thats my fave painting ever ever ever.

i havn't read the whole thread yet so i dont knwo if you found the painting but alot of artist did serises of painting, the same object of sceen but changed slightly. So maybe lawance had a rare'er version of the paintings you found.

Ooh, Dru's Dead Bird, I thought you'd found it then! But no... In my painting, the woman is sitting sideways on facing the right (very like yours) but the whole painting is much lighter, with more soft green and yellow colours and sunlight.

I've emailed the Beeb but don't hold out much hope because they say that they won't answer questions that are nowt to do with their programmes. I've also checked out LL Bowen's official site, but at the moment it only seems to consist of a title page. Still, I'll let you know if I have any success!

Okay, latest instalment of the saga... I had a phone message from a very nice BBC woman this afternoon. She said that they didn't have the info I wanted, but she suggested that I try contacting LL Bowen's agents, and gave me their address! So I'll try writing to them next. You never know, I might yet be successful!