The Owners
 Eastward Ho! August 1857 
Home Again, 1858 |
The paintings quickly found buyers. Eastward Ho! was bought by the MP Edward Leatham and Home Again went into the collection of Major William Spowers. Both works have been exhibited in public many times since they were first shown at the Royal Academy. Because of their popularity, O'Neil painted three versions of each painting: the full size version, a two-thirds size version and a small version on panel. The Museum of London owns the full size version of Home Again and the two-thirds version of Eastward Ho! If you look at both works on the wall, you will notice the brighter reds of the replica, Eastward Ho!, contrast with the more subtle colours of the original, Home Again. Eastward Ho! and Home Again are valuable additions to the Museum of London collections. They give us the opportunity to tell the stories of Victorian London and the British Empire in a uniquely dramatic and moving way. The works were bought with the help of generous grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the National Art Collections Fund.
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