Stock is a relatively unknown but highly individual artist who was an exponent of the English Romantic tradition. He enjoyed success as a society portrait painter, but his main area of interest was always imaginative subjects. This interest was almost certainly ignited as a result of his going blind as a child. His eyesight was miraculously restored after being sent to live at Beaulieu, Hampshire.
The influence of William Blake is apparent throughout Stock's œuvre. His identification with the earlier visionary must have been cemented by the fact that both artists moved from Soho to Felpham, West Sussex. Certainly, Stock's use of watercolour for literary paintings, which would more usually have been rendered in oil, owes much to the example of Blake.
The title of this drawing refers to a line from Shelley, 'And music lifted up the listening spirit until it walked exempt from mortal care godlike o'er the clear billows of sweet sound.
A pen and ink drawing of the same subject, with minor differences, also dated 1881, is in the De Young (Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco).
We are grateful to Scott Buckle for his help in preparing this catalogue entry.