OF THE
FO RMED BY
H F D N E JOH N . MC AD E , S
OF PHILADELPHIA ,
BY W B . RO ERTS
PRIVATELY PRINTED AT THE CHISWICK PRESS
I 9 1 7
PREFAC E
‘ H IT an admirable steadfastness of purpose , and in spite of the many natural temptations to branch o ut
F adden r H . M c M . in other directions , J ohn has adhered to his scheme of forming a collection of pictures
this a exclusively by British artists . In doing he has observed
o f restraint very unusual among collectors , and the sum total
a mi eneric a his efforts is collection g ; and not only this , but n V collection of extraordinary beauty and i terest . ariety is the
e r mainspring of collecting, and the greater the variety the ke ne does the instinct of the collector become . It very frequently
a nd happens that man begins to collect, a for some time co nfi nes m hi self to , one phase of art ; but just as one book
to opens up many others, so the step from one branch of art F another is a matter of easy gradation . rom engravings the collector naturally passes to drawings , thence to pictures in oils , and from one school of artists to another . The question of variety in art collecting is largely a personal matter ; but those ’ Who c a have seen this collection When it was in M r. M F dde n s own home , or When it was on view in the public galleries in N ew Y Philadelphia , Chicago , or ork , Will agree that , though r M c M . F adde n has co nfi ned himself to the E arly British S chool , his collection is remarkable in its variety and in its interest .
M r. M cF adden t a ur began to collec a quarter of cent y ago . V A s is the case with many other men who have developed t fi ne u in o collectors , his object in purchasing a pict re now and then was rather to adorn a vacant space on the walls of his dining or sitting room than to form the nucleus of what would ’ ’ ’ ‘ ‘ Z a eflz vzem m ‘ some day become a collection . But fip mangmm ; E so , u , , in the course of time during his freq ent visits to ngland one painting after another was added , and a few pictures de veIOped into an imposing collection entirely different from any other in A merica . ’ M c F a n It is interesting to note that M r. dde s first pur G ’ L R chase was ainsborough s splendid portrait of ady odney , which will always remain one of the gems of the collection , and m which , it may be mentioned by the way , is now com ercially he worth at least five times as much as t owner paid for it. The same may be said , indeed , of the other pictures which were acquired before the great rise in prices of the last few years . Whilst no wise man buys pictures with the same motives as he — buys stocks and shares solely in the - hope of pro fitable divi — ' ’ dends yet it is always a satisfaction to know that one s hobby
u n is not an pro fitable one even in the mere matter of money . But the intellectual enjoyment afforded by a fi ne collection of pictures such as this has no money equivalent .
The dominating notes , if one may use the phrase , of ’ r M c F ad e M . d n s fine collection , are the series of portraits of R women and men by omney and Raeburn . Probably there is n S not a ywhere in the United tates another gallery in which ,
either artist is represented by so many characteristic works . Most of these portraits are not only of people who were famous
in their own day, but some of them have become part and
o f parcel of British history, perhaps not a little with the aid the O artists to whom they sat for their portraits . thers , such as the v i ’ M B S ir o Re no lds s aster unbury of J shua y splendid portrait , died before his time , and he is known to posterity almost ’ x S ir n e clusively as the subject of J oshua s famous picture . O S ir W the other hand , it might almost be said that J ohn atson G ordon , in spite of his high qualities as an artist , owes much of his celebrity with posterity on account of his portrait of the
W z N S ir W S . i ard of the orth , alter cott — Hogarth han ds down to us after an interval of nearly two — centuries groups of two distinguished families , both long since x e tinct in the male line , but both of which contributed much to the making of E nglish history When E ngland was not much B H more than an island kingdom . y a happy coincidence ogarth F has , in the ountaine and the Castlemaine groups , bequeathed us exquisite miniature - like representations of the most eminent
A n fi r members of both families . unfortunate e completely ’ L M N eltho r destroyed awrence s portrait of iss p , but the beau tiful Miss West is still present with us in all the loveliness of ’ — youth . Lawrence s most successful pupil Harlow who would — have become a serious rival but for his early death is repre L sented by two masterly groups of the eader family, and by
r a charming one of M s . Weddell and her pretty children in ’ -so meness a all the frolic and éc mam of the nursery . ’ Turner s magnificent View of the Burning of the Houses of Parliament may justly rank at the head of the pictures other B than portraits . y a happy accident the picture which follows it comprises something of the same scene ninety years before v by a man whom Turner may ha e met in his early boyhood ,
Richard Wilson . This is one of the earliest existing pictures L W of ondon by ilson , and as a document in the history of B E the capital of the ritish mpire it is of the highest interest , apart from its importance as a very early work of one of the V11 6 rs E fi t and one of the greatest of nglish landscape painters . “ fi ne L Constable , with his ock and other pictures , Crome an d S t N o rwich D C o x L ark of the school , avid , J ohn innell ,
G M o rlancl E eorge with his three pictures of nglish rural life ,
G S fi ure eorge tubbs , and that interesting g in the history of
A - r F , B nglo rench art onington , all cont ibute to the complete ness of this collection .
’
A M r. M c F adden s word ofthanks , in conclusion , is due to A M r. L n friend , ockett g ew, who has given the writer every assistance in the compilation of the following pages . W R . .
LON DON .
m r S ep te ée I 9 I 7 .
!7iii C ONTENTS
RIC HARD PARKES BONINGT ON Coast Scene in Normandy
HN C T A R . A . The Lock JO ONS BLE ,
HN CONS T AB LE R . A . Hampstead Heath JO ,
HN C T A The Dell , Helmingham Park JO ONS BLE ,
H a fi eld 1 8 D AVI D Co x Going to the y , 49
’ ’ N ROME JOH C Blacksmith s Shop , Hingham
JOHN CROME Woody Landscape R HOMA A O O GH Henrietta, Lady Rodney T S G INSB U ,
M R R A . HO A A O O GH . C T S G INSB U , lassical Landscape
GE ORGE HENRY HARLOW The Misses Leader
GEORGE HENRY HARLOW The LeaderI Children
R G H GEO E HENRY A RLOW Mrs . Weddell and Children
WI LLIAM H OGART H Assembly at Wanstead
WILLIAM HOGART H The Fountaine Family
F F R A . . H n HN O R . o er JO H NE , Mrs pp
IR H MA A P R A . S O WR C . T S L EN E, Miss West
O LINNE L S E 1 8 HN L N . J , The Storm , 53
GEORGE MORLAND Old Coaching Days
GEORGE MORLAND The Fruits of Early Industry
GEORGE MORLAND The Happy Cottagers
S I R A R R R . A . v HEN Y R EBU N , Lady Belha en
S I R R RAE B U RN B issland HEN Y , Master
S I R R A R C HEN Y R EBU N , Master John ampbell
S IR A R R Co l. C C i HEN Y R EBU N, harles hr stie
S IR R A R R . A . E liban k HEN Y R EBU N, Lady
S IR HENRY A R . A . M r R R . EBU N , Lawrie of Woodlea ix PAGE
m HE NRY R A B R. A . S E URN , Alexander Shaw
R A . I R H R R B . S E N Y AE URN , Portrait ofa Gentleman
m R. A . S OS HUA RE Y NOLD S P. Master Bunbury J ,
R . A . S I R OS H UA RE Y NOLDS P. Edmund Burke J , C G E ORG E R O MNEY Mrs . rouch
res i n G EORGE RO MNEY Mrs . De C p g y
GEORGE R O MNEY Mrs . Finch
GEORGE ROMNEY Lady Grantham
G EORGE ROMNEY Lady Hamilton
EOR E M T ickell G G RO NEY Mrs .
GEORGE ROMNE Y John Wesley
GEORGE ROMNEY Little B o - Peep J AMES S TARK Landscape and Cattle
E E T UB B R A RG S s . . C G O , The Brick art
S IR HN AT D A O OR O R . . JO W S N G N, Sir Walter Scott M . W. . R A R R . . J TU NE , Burning of the House of Parliament
RIC HA R D WI LS ON R A , . . View on the T hames
RIC HARD PARKES BONINGTON
— 1 80 1 1 8 2 8
O S N NORM N A C A T SCE E , A DY
n 2 m . n vas 2 i . b Ca , 3% y 3 %
ONINGT ON occupies an unusual position in the annals of nineteenth
was century art, for while he was English by birth he French in training ,
so that he is claimed by each nation , With collectors of both of which
v fi rst 1 8 2 2 he has been a favourite e er since he exhibited at the Salon in , and at th e British Institution and Royal Academy of a few years later . The Marquis of
Hertford obtained an unrivalled series of nearly forty of his works , now in the
W C x allace ollection , and other important e amples may be found in public and p rivate galleries in England and France . His early death was a very serious loss to art, and while he accomplished much during his short career there is no doubt
t v o . hat, had he li ed , he would have produced yet m re important work
r M cF adden fi ne M . had long wanted to secure a example of his work, but it
’ was w as not until this y ear that he able to obtain it. Bonington s most successful p ictures were his views in Italy and his scenes on the coast of Normandy, and it is one of the latter which has found its way into this collection . It is a view at lo w t ide, with a wide expanse of the shore, the most conspicuous feature being a
‘
fi sh in b o at fi sh erman stranded g , near Which is a group of a with his wife and
- child (the two latter with red head dresses) , and a windlass ; on the left is a shallow
- pool , towards Which a red capped woman on horseback is approaching ; in the
fi u res - distance are other boats with g , and to the extreme right are sand dunes
with two huts ; the sun is seen through the grey clouds and birds are on the wing . This picture was one of two examples of Bonington in the collection of
h R . A . 1 8 2 u T omas Oldham Barlow, ( 4 the eminent engraver, famo s for his
I B . E . engravings of pictures by John Philip and Sir j Millais . It is not known
M r. where or when Barlow bought this picture , and it is impossible to identify it
with any of the various scenes on the Normandy coast which passed through the
’
M r. sale rooms during Barlow s residence in London , as in most instances neither
Mr. the size nor anydescriptive particulars are given . Barlow lent it to Burlington
1 88 M r. House in 4 , and after his death it passed into the collection of David
‘ it remain ed jardine , of High Lee , Woolton , Liverpool , where until March of this year . A photogravure appeared in the Jardine catalogue .
A R. . J OHN CONSTABLE ,
— 1 7 7 6 1 8 3 7
THE LOCK
m. n v s in . é Ca a , 47 y 5 5
ONS T A B LE and Gainsborough may justly be regarded as the two
greatest landscape painters of the Early English School of artists . d Both worke direct from nature , and were independent enough to throw aside the shackles of convention and classical tradition . Both were Suffolk
men born and bred , and both were inspired by pretty much the same scenes , before these scenes were disfi gured by railways and factories . But whilst Gainsborough
C was fi rst was a portrait painter from force of circumstances , onstable and fore most a landscape painter from choice and temperament .
’ s T h e nu mb er Constable s outlook w a in a sense restricted . of his superb pictures is not great, whilst that of his sketches is almost legion . Some of his ff favourite subjects he painted several times under di erent aspects , and The
f n Lock is one of these . O this there are two fi e versions : ( 1 ) the Royal Academy
”
b i . w as 1 8 2 8 in . 6 n picture of 4, A Boat Passing a Lock, 4 y 5 , Which bought , as
us O 1 0 , the artist himself tells , on the pening dayfor 5 guineas , including the frame
’
Mr. 2 Mr Mc F adden s . by Morrison , and is still at Basildon Park ; and ( ) . There
“ are several variants which need not be considered here . The rich and spontaneous
’ Mr Mc F adde n s character of . picture suggests that it is the parent so to speak of all the others , and there can be no doubt about this having been painted direct from
Mr . . C . . Consta ble an d h is nature J Holmes, in his exhaustive monograph on “ I n u en ce on Lan dsca P in tin 1 ma n ifi cent e a 02 . fl p g, 9 (p describes it as a g oil
fi nish ed sketch , which appeared to have been made on the top of another picture ” C ’ of the same subject . There can also be no doubt that it came from onstable s
’ ” - . 1 1 6 1 8 8 sale at Messrs Foster s on 5 May, 3 ; but there were then several Locks ’ fi n ish ed among the artist s remaining sketches , studies , and pictures . The titles
im o s a nd descriptions are so exceedingly brief, and no sizes are given , that it is p sible to identify any one of them with certainty . 6 It seems however , reasonably certain that this version was lot 7 in the ,
Constable sale and was bought for 1 2 5 guineas (the highest price but one in the , C sale) by aptain Birch , who exhibited it at the Birmingham Society ofArtists in
’ 1 e 1 8 1 8 the same year and who sent it to Foster s on 5 F bruary 5 5 , lot , when it ,
860 C was purchased for guineas by Holmes , an auctioneer of herry Street ,
Birmingham ; a small reproduction appears in the sale catalogue . Presumably, ' v Mr. Holmes either bought it in on behalf of the endor or for Ernest Gambart , one of the most enterprising and competent dealers in modern pictures during th e
n f second and third quarters ofthe lastcentury, and who , retiri g rom active business ,
- M . V . O 1 86 1 became Consul General for Spain , and was decorated with the . In Gambart relinquished one phase of his activities and he sent “ a very select
’ — . o f collection of modern pictures to Christie s , where they were sold on 3 4 May
’ “ C in . that year . Among the most notable of them was onstable s The Lock , 47%
” w as 2 in . T h e . by 5 5 celebrated original picture, which lot 94 on the second day
M r m It was purchased by . Leatham , in Whose fa ily it remained for forty years,
’
1 M c F adden s . th e 1 0 Mr. until 9 , when it became It is recorded on page 5 of
Cata lo ue o Oil Pain tin s b Me Old M asters E . A . g f g y in the possession of Leatham ,
Misarden 1 8 8 . Esq . , Park , Gloucestershire , 9
’ At - ma least two of the versions were engraved in the artist s life time , as y ’ M mo ir o i Li o m t . A e s lze e o / Con s a ble R . be seen from Leslie s f f f j , , chapter ix,
’
1 8 2 . as W . w S . which deals with the year 5 ofthe artist s career One by Reynolds ,
1 who wrote to Constable concerning the picture (No . ) It is no doubt the bes t
’ of your works , true to nature , seen and arranged with a professor s taste and judgment . The execution shows in every part a hand of experience ; masterly without rudeness and complete without littleness ; the colouring is sweet, fresh and
. th e healthy ; bright, not gaudy , but deep and clear Take it for all in all , since days of Gainsborough and Wilson , no landscape has been painted with so much i art fi ce . a truth and originality, so much art, so little The same subject, from “ ” was o n us second picture , engraved a larger scale , as Leslie tells , by David
”
C o rnfi ld . Lucas, as a companion to his print of The e
F latfo rd k The scene is placed close to Mill , and shows the entrance to a loc from which the water is rushing out ; and of which a man in a red waistcoat is
Opening the sluices with a crowbar . The lock is full of water, and a loaded barge is partly seen close to the lock , with a man fastening a rope round a post , and in the shadow of a tall , branching oak tree . To the left , close to the lock , are a man ,
C . a horse , and a dog . Dedham hurch is seen in the distance The sky suggests a
- breezy, showery day in summer time , and the atmosphere of the picture recalls the remark of a French painter when looking at Constable ’s picture in the Salon of
1 8 2 C E n lish man fi it 4 ome here , look at this picture by an g is steeped in dew .
’ F ad ak fi ld M r. M c de n s picture has been exhibited in Paris and also at W e e .
’ 1 8 2 It is probably one of Constable s numerous exhibits in the 4 Salon , which caused such a sensation in art circles in France and from which dated a new era in
U h e A n le erre . . u t French landscape art It would seemto be the No 3 5 9 , canal g ;
v le et paysage on oit sur premier plan les barques des personnages, barques being probably a misprint for barque .
’ r Mc F adden s Th m r can M a M . e A e i a z in e o A rt picture was reproduced in g f ,
January 1 9 1 7 .
N A C R. . J OHN O STABLE ,
HAMPSTEAD HEATH : STORM COMING U P
Can v s 2 h i . 2 ih a b . , 3 y 9%
ONS TA B LE ’S landscapes may be divided roughly into two sections ,
those of Suffolk and those of Hampstead Heath . His earliest exhibited
picture of the Heath was in the Academy of 1 8 2 1 ; but probably long
v before that date he had disco ered its manifold possibilities . It was the next best
” ‘
. Mr M . place after his beloved Suffolk His sketches from the Heath , . Sturge “ us Henderson tells in his monograph on the artist , primarily convey a sense of
” infi nitude the vastness and of the natural world encircling the life of the city . Constable became so enamoured of Hampstead that he took a house there in
1 8 2 1 , and his sketches of the Heath at all seasons of the year and under all
us moods probably number many hundreds . His art, as Leslie tells , was never more perfect than at this period .
’ ’ r Mc F adde n s M . picture is one of the artist s broadest and most panoramic
- views of the Heath , with a round mound in the foreground , a gravel digger on the
v a right , a alley with pool and sheep grazing on the left . In the middle distance
on the right is seen a tall , white , square mansion partly surrounded by trees, and
other houses are seen dotted about in the distance . The masses of dark and th rea enin lo uds t g c herald the approaching storm .
w r ff ith shallow wate , spanned by another and slightly di erent rustic bridge ; in o ur fi ure picture also there is no g of a cow in the shallow water , but through the opening of the trees a cottage or barn is seen . Helmingham Hall and its owners played an important part in Constable ’s
1 8 life . About 0 7 he was employed by the Earl of Dysart to make copies of a n ch iefl umber of family portraits , y by Sir joshua Reynolds , and the acquaintance a ppears to have ripened into a long friendship which extended to other members of
T o lle mach e the family . Helmingham Hall , the seat of the family, is less than
fi n e nine miles from Ipswich , is in the midst of a park , and dates back to the time of Henry VIII ; it is surrounded by a moat of clear water and crossed by a drawbridge which is traditionally said to have been drawn up every night for 800
a fi fteen th y ears . Helmingham came into the family by marri ge in the century .
1 6 1 Queen Elizabeth stayed here in 5 , and her bed , lute , and spinet are still preserved here .
’ “ Mc F adde n s v was M r. iew of The Dell at Helmingham painted about
1 2 8 8 ; it was at one time in the collection of Sir Henry Thompson , by whom it
1 8 8 was exhibited at the Old Masters , Burlington House , London , in 7 3 , No . , as a Landscape : Wood Scene and again at the London International Exhibition 8 “ ” 1 . 1 0 . of 74, No 9 , as Dell in Helmingham Park It passed from Sir Henry
’ was Thompson s collection into that of Mrs . Joseph , whence it bought privately ; it is presumably the Landscape which Mrs . Joseph lent to the Japan Exhibition
1 1 0 8 . in London , in 9 , No . 5
I O
DAVID CO!
— 1 8 1 7 1 8 5 9
GO G TO THE H Y F 1 8 IN A IELD , 49
anvas 2 ih . b ih . C , 7 y 35
AVID CO! ’S pictures and drawings with the title of “ Going to the
” fi t Hay eld present a somewha bewildering problem , for the subject
was a favourite one with him for many years . They all present minor
ff fi ure di erences , a g more or less , or a slight clump of trees added or omitted , but
— o f 1 8 — are each has a beautiful silvery sky, and all about the year 49 , at least
B ettw s - - C probably done from the y y oed district, which exercised such a fascination
’
Mr. Mc F adden s 1 8 Co x . over version , which is signed , and dated 49 in the
- v extreme lower right hand corner, is a broad view o er a flat country ; a man in a
v white est is riding a harnessed gray horse and leading another, also harnessed , and preceded by a terrier dog ; the group is passing over a road beneath which is s a ditch , with large docks and other leafy plants on each side . In the di tance is
h a fi eld - the y , with men loading two hay wains, and towards Which the man on
was horseback is proceeding . This picture purchased privately from the Spencer
1 Brunton collection in 9 00.
I I
JOH N CRO ME
’ L C KS M I H S H OP I N G H M B A T S , H A
JOHN CROME OLD C ROME
— 1 7 69 1 8 2 1
B KSMI H’S S HO N E R HINGH M NORFO K LAC T P , A A , L
an va 8 ih . b ih . C s, 5 y 45
HIS is one of several pictures which “ Old Crome painted in and
I
about Hingham , a parish between Norwich and East Dereham , famous
for its church and for its many and ancient historical associations . Not
fi rst the least interesting of these concerns one Thomas Moor, its vicar in the half
v of the se enteenth century, who with many of his parishioners emigrated to New “ ” England where they erected a town and colony by the name of Hingham . That the connection between the Hingham of the Old World and that of the New is not forgotten was evidenced whilst these pages were passing through the press ,
' “ T Tzmes 2 for h e of 4 September announced : Citizens of Hingham , Massa ch usetts 0 , have subscribed 3 0 for the relief of citizens of Hingham ,
o rfo lk v N , who ha e suffered in the war.
v Another and later iew, also near Hingham , etched by the artist himself in
1 8 1 - Gillo tt 3 , once belonged to the famous pen maker , Joseph , and is now in the
’ Tate Gallery , London ; whilst yetanother belonged to the artist s friend and pupil f 8 1 . James Stark , and was by him exhibited at the Su folk Street Galleries in 34
’ M c F adde n s w as 1 808 Mr. picture exhibited at the Royal Academy in , and is “ ” regarded by Mr. Binyon as probably the most important of his contributions
1 80 1 8 1 8 v in defi n ite (which range from 7 to ) to that institution . Owing to the ery manner in which pictures were catalogued in those days very few of Crome ’s thirteen exhibits at the Royal Academy have been iden tifi ed ; this is one of the
. v fi ures exceptions It is a group with se en g of men , women , and children seen in
’ and about the blacksmith s shop , which is a gabled building with thatched roof, the timbers warped with age and the lines of its structure uneven . To the left a
1 3 coatless y outh is sharpening an instrument at a grindstone , and in the foreground
’ is a shallow pond with ducks swimming . Behind the shop is the blacksmith s
hatched roof cottage , partly overhung with trees , in the handling of which as t ,
” M r . Binyon has pointed out , one feels a reminiscence of Gainsborough . The
” “ quality of the actual painting, remarks the same authority, is delightful ; the luminous play about the uneven smoothness of the gable wall , the bloom upon C the rusted thatch , are painted as only rome could paint such things . This picture remained practically unknown and apparently unexhibited until
’
1 8 6 . 9 , when it appeared at an exhibition at Messrs Agnew s , whence it passed into
’
L . o h n Cr the present collection . It is described in Binyon s j ome an d j o h n
’
- F . D i kes s T N W . c h e o rw S ll Colma n 1 8 . 20 2 1 ich S ch o o l o e , 9 7 , pp ; in f ’ ’ E t h ' H . Cro me s e zh s 1 6 S 0 . 1 Pa intin 1 0 . 6 . . g, 9 5 , p 3 ; and Theobald s g , 9 , p 4 It
M r . 6 is probably identical with the picture which Dickes also describes on p . 3 of his book as the one “ which apparently came back to Norwich after the
M r. at F . C Exhibition [ the Royal Academy] and was lent by his son , rome , to the
’ B C 1 8 w e : 1 8 2 1 . . . Loan Exhibition of In J rome s sale , 34, read The
’ M r . C Blacksmith s Shop by the late rome , one of his best pictures in the style of
’ Gainsborough .
K . Renasslaer v Mrs . John van , of Philadelphia , possesses a car ed boxwood
k n n Ai ma . copy of the picture by Walter M .
I 4
N C ROME OLD CROME
— 1 7 69 1 8 2 1
WOO Y N S E AT O NEY D LA D CAP , C L
1 - vas 2 2 m. b 1 6 212. Can , y 2
“ HIS superb picture is worthy to rank with The Poringland Oak , C ’ which is generally regarded as the greatest of rome s creations , and
C w as dates from about 1 8 1 8 . It has often been claimed that rome
influenced by Hobbema , and there is ample evidence that the Norwich artist
admired the Dutch landscape painter beyond all others of this class . But there is “ ” little trace of Hobbema in any of his works , and in this Woody Landscape
there is no trace of any master but of Crome himself. It is almost certainly the
” C C 1 8 1 0 exhibi U pright Landscape Scene, from olney, which rome sent to the
’ C c tion of the Norwich Society, in Sir Benjamin Wrench s ourt, the Society whi h
Crome himself founded .
fi rst This picturesque group of trees was either painted and then etched , or
C fi rst etched fi rst and painted afterwards , by rome , for it is identical with the of
N o r o lh Pictures ue S cener the series of etchings issued in the series of f q y , by the ” “ C N o rwich late John rome , Founder of the Society of Artists , printed from the
”
. C 1 8 plates as left by himself, and published by Mrs rome in 34 . The etching is
’ ' Mr. H . S . C E tch zn s 1 6 described by Theobald , in his catalogue of rome s 0 , g , 9 “ 168 - 6 : pp . 9 A clump of trees on rising ground to the right , to the left an open landscape with rows of bushes and a farmhouse beyond . A rough road from the
. in 6 in left passes round the rising ground The size of the etching is 9 . by % .
rs There are four states of the etching, in the fi t two of which there is a donkey in the centre of the foreground . In the third state the donkey has been omitted and , t ’ his is the state of the plate as printed in Mrs . Crome s set in 1 834 . In the fourth
” “ At C state the title olney is added in etched letters . There are various minor
I S ff v u n ues di erences between the etching and the painted picture , but the iew is q i t o nabl . C y the same olney , it may be mentioned , is a parish in south Norfolk, about three miles west of Norwich . This picture was exhibited in the second series of works illustrative of
A Cen tm o B riti h A rt 1 1 88 y f s ( 7 37 at the Grosvenor Gallery, 9, by
M . . Mr. Mc F add n r S S . e Joseph , and is one of the four works secured by from the Joseph collection .
1 6
A INS B R A . THOMAS G ORO U GH .
LADY ROD N E Y
possessed a much greater depth of feeling and a far more affectionate disposition
” t E . han his contemporaries and subordinates credited him with (G . Marin
’ d in Our N va l H e ro 1 1 Wra all s H rical a es 0 . x isto , , 9 , p We know from
' “ “ ” M emoirs that Rodney s love of play proved ruinous in its effects to the
Admiral , and that in consequence his pecuniary distress was so great that he was
v . 1 us for a time compelled to lea e the country Early in 7 7 7 , Wraxall tells , Rodney sent over from Paris his second wife with the view of procuring a subscription to
’ be opened among the Members of the Club at White s , for his relief. Lady Rodney
fi ndin it g , however, impracticable to raise any supplies from that source, after
’ m f fi n all uch ine fectual solicitation among Sir George s former friends , y renounced
H v difliculties re - the attempt . How Rodney got o er his and was instated in the
v navy need not be told here , but the devotion of his wife is a ery pleasant
e . pisode at a time when such devotion was not too common But, according to
’ E Co k a n e s Com lete Peera e G . . y p g , Lord and Lady Rodney lived apart for some
’ 2 1 8 2 years before the former s death . Her will was proved 4 April 9 .
Rodney himself was painted many times ; by Reynolds (fi rst in 1 76 1 and
a w as gain afterwards) , by Gainsborough , whose portrait exhibited at the Royal
1 8 M o n n o er b Academy of 7 3, and now belongs to Lord Rosebery, by y , and y
y w as o thers . This portrait of Lady Rodne apparently unknown until Lord
v Re elstoke lent it to the Old Masters exhibition at Burlington House, London ,
Mr M F a 1 8 0 . c dde n in 9 , and about three years afterwards it was bought by .
The portrait was painted a few years after her marriage , probably about 1 0 7 7 ,
fo r Lady Rodney is apparently under rather than over thirty years of age . Her
type of beauty is oriental , and she probably had Hebrew blood in her veins . She
refi n ed is of a and haunting type of loveliness , with dreamyey es and an enigmatical
- - smile on her lips . She is wearing a shot blue , low cut dress , edged with gold , the
train of which she holds over her right arm , whilst with her left hand she holds a
gauze scarf against her bosom ; the short sleeves of her dress are of white muslin ;
the top of the corsage is trimmed with a rope of pearls ; her powdered , curly hair ,
v which is bound with blue ribbon , falls o er her ears and neck . Set in a dark
background , Lady Rodney is shown walking to the left .
’ Theportrait is recorded and described in SirWalterArmstrong s Gain sbo ro u h g ,
2 8 was Th e A merican M a z in e o A rt 1 0 . , and reproduced in a 9 4 , p 7 g f of January
1 9 1 7 .
" l ifi x ltd W s h ' 4 é l r w b L Qw ulsto me a h si ( ) % /
l i q f ( , F wd “ : Af us fi ne. L? i F )
A B R. . THOMAS GAINS OROUGH ,
— 1 7 2 7 1 7 8 8
A CLASSICAL LANDSCAPE
8 h . Can vas 8 ih . b i , 3 y 4
HIS fi ne landscape probably dates from the middle period of Gains
’ r borough s activities as a landscape artist, and is evidently painted unde
A . nfl R . the i uence of Richard Wilson , It is , therefore , less English than
’ most of Gainsborough s landscapes , and , consequently, it is especially interesting
v v h f to students of this master . It is an extensi e iew wit early summer e fects . In
- and the middle distance is a nearly conical shaped mountain peak, with a castle
Ou buildings on a plateau to the right . both the right and left of the picture are
- V wind blown trees and huge rocky boulders . The iew is divided in the foreground bya shallow river with a waterfall ; on the right bank is a shepherd holding a stick guarding a flock of sheep apparently about to drink in the river ; on the left bank are two goats . The scene is probably painted from the same neighbourhood as the landscape
’ ' in the Duke of Sutherland s collection and illustrated in Lord Ronald Grower s
Thom s a G ins b r h 1 . 6 a o ou 0 . g , 9 3 , facing p 5
“ w t; M ah j m h i m r m fi C . g , , a ; ( y
H GEORGE . HARLOW
T H E MI S S E S LEADE R
GEORGE HENRY HARLOW — 17 8 7 1 8 1 9
THE MISSES LEADER
n vas ih . b ih . Ca , 93 y 5 7
HIS group and the companion one of the Leader children , both ofwhich
’ 1 8 1 6 - are clearly painted under the influ ence of Harlow s date from about 7 ,
master, Sir Thomas Lawrence and are quite worthy to rank wi h that , t
’ artist s groups . But each has an individuality which far removes it from the
category of imitation . They are among the most brilliant as well as the largest a nd mostambitiousachievementsofan artist wh o would probably have out - distanced
Lawrence but for his untimely death .
- The two sisters, both abouttwenty years of age , are seen to full length , and of i the size of life, in an interior or on a balcony . The Miss Leader stand ng to the right and perhaps the elder ofthe two, is in a white low dress , with short sleeves , a , golden shawl loosely thrown across her shoulders and twined around her right arm ; she is supporting with her left hand a harp which she is in the act of uncovering w ith her right ; a red coral bracelet is around her right arm ; her dark curly hair is arranged over her forehead , and she is looking towards her sister . The latter is seated to left and is in a dark dress cut square at the neck ; she is holding a book
v v of music on her lap , and in turning o er the lea es is looking up at her sister as if consultingher about a piece to be performed on the harp . The background consists o f a fluted pillar and a red curtain . M P The two sisters were the daughters of William Leader , Esq . , . . , of
Putney Hill , London , an intimate friend of the artist, and with whom he some
t . w as . imes resided The lady with the harp Anne Leader Her sister , Fanny
v 1 8 1 F Leader , married on 7 No ember 5 Sir Peregrine uller Palmer Acland ,
F airfi ld . e co . 2 1 8 Bart , of , Somerset ; she died 9 February 44 , leaving an only
2 1 daughter, whose grandson , Sir Alexander Fuller Acland Hood , was created Lord
S t. 2 2 1 1 1 Audries , June 9 This picture is particularly interesting because it was
’ painted in exchange for another . Oneof Harlow s most famous works was a large
”
Mr. W Shakespearean scene , HubertandArthur , which was painted for . Leader,
1 00 1 8 1 the price being guineas ; it was exhibited at the British Institution in 5 ,
v . Mr. but may ha e been painted some years previously Leader, we are told ,
afterwards exchanged it with the artist for a subject of nearer domestic interest .
” the portraits of his two daughters .
This and the companion group described on the following page , are referred
’ ' i r io a h v D zc zon a o N tio nal B r o l. a . 1 to in the y f g p y , Second Supplement , ii , p 43 ;
’
C A rt in E n la n d 1 86 . and in Dutton ook s g , 9 , pp
2 2
GEORGE HENRY HARLOW
— 1 7 8 7 1 8 1 9
THE LEADER CHILDREN
Can vas ih . b ih . , 9 3 y 5 7
G RO U P t . of four children with a donkey, facing the spec ator The
flo win elder girl in white dress, yellow straw hat, and g yellow shawl , is
riding on the donkey and supporting in front of her a golden - haired
- bare legged child who is holding up a whip in his right hand . The donkey is being led by a boy in red dress with white collar and stockings , whilst on the opposite side is the younger girl in white dress and blue sash , holding her hat in her right hand . The group is seen passing through the gateway ofa plantation .
M P. Four children of William Leader , Esq . , . , of Putney Hill
1 Wi11iam C C ( ) Leader, the elder son , matriculated at hrist hurch , Oxford ,
’ 2 1 8 20 was 1 8 2 4 April , aged eighteen ; a student in Lincoln s Inn , 4, and died at
2 8 1 8 2 6 . Oxford , February
2 C C ( ) John Temple Leader, younger son , matriculated at hrist hurch , Oxford ,
1 2 1 8 2 8 v — February , aged se enteen ; a well known politician and connoisseur , Liberal
8 - 1 8 - M . P 1 . for Bridgwater, 35 7 , and for Westminster 37 47 , and an intimate friend u r of Lo is Bonaparte, afte wards Napoleon III ; left England permanently and r 1 8 1 1 0 chiefl esided abroad from 44 to his death March 9 3 ; lived y at Florence , w in and near hich he bought several old residences , including the great
C Vinci liata v astle of g , where he was isited by many distinguished personages , including Queen Victoria and Mr. Gladstone ; directed and assisted at the compilation of many books , and left for the restoration of the central H bronze door of the Duomo at Florence . e fi gured in the famous hoax which
2 2 1 8 an Lord Brougham played upon the public on October 39 , when it was
2 3 ’ no u d nce M r. s that Brougham was killed in a carriage accident , and that Leader
” ' h imself h ad life was despaired o f. It was proved that Brougham either inspired
h is or written the letter which gave rise to the report, in order that he might read
disco mfi ture own obituary notices , and enjoy the of the newspapers which praised
him under the impression that he was dead . A notice of his career appears in
the second volume of the Second Supplement of the D ictio na ry of N ation al
B io ra h . g p y . In this group he is the boy seated on the donkey
fi rst 2 1 8 1 6 (3) Mary Leader, the elder of the two girls , married , , on 3 April ,
B . C E . R N . C . C . aptain Lowther rofton , , , and secondly as his second wife,
2 1 8 2 C Lo sack R . N . 3 August 3 , aptain Woodley ,
’ 8 2 1 1 1 S t. (4) Jane Leader , the younger girl , married May 4, at Margaret s ,
u in to ck sh ead Westminster, the Rev . Alexander Luttrell , Rector of East Q
Somerset , and was grandmother of the third Baron Westbury .
The foundations of the family fortunes would seem to have been laid by th e — grandfather of the children in the two pictures William Leader, coachbuilder to 8 the Prince of Wales , of Liquor Pond Street , and , Bedford Row, London , who
’
1 8 . was n died in May, 7 9 His son , also William Leader , Harlow s patron , not o ly
M . P. C a coachbuilder , but a distiller and glass manufacturer ; he was for amelford , — 1 8 1 2 - 1 8 1 8 1 8 20 1 8 2 6 1 8 2 8 , and Winchelsea, , and died in , his widow surviving 8 until 1 83 . The two groups remained at Putney Hill until they were inherited by Lord
H . M F ad n . Mr. . c de Westbury , and by him sold privately to J
24
GEORGE H . HARLOW
S W A N D H D R E MR . EDDELL C IL N
WILLIAM HOGARTH
— 1 6 9 7 1 7 64
THE ASSEMBLY AT WANSTEAD HOUSE
an vas 2 ih . b 2 ih . C , 5 y 9 %
’ H o arth s C HIS is one of g earliest, largest , and most important onver
sation Pieces , as such groups were called in the eighteenth century . It
2 8 1 2 . begun on August 7 9 , and was in hand two or three years It
represents the Ball Room of Wanstead House , Essex, about seven miles from the
fi nest . centre of London , and one of the mansions in Europe It was the residence C of the great city magnate , Sir Richard hild , created successively Baron Newton ,
C T ln e Viscount astlemaine, and Earl y y , who is seen seated at a French table to
the extreme right of the picture , in company with his wife ( Dorothy Glynne ,
2 2 1 0 heiress of Henley Park , Surrey) , whom he married on April 7 3 (and who
2 1 died at Wanstead 3 February 743 and a young lady, probably their elder
daughter . The group of two youths and a girl at the opposite side of the picture
a e 1 F 1 r evidently the eldest son , who died before his father, 9 ebruary 7 34 , the
second son and eventual heir, and the younger daughter .
A conspicuous feature of the picture is the group o f four seated figures in the
centre playing cards , probably piquet ; one of the ladies of the party is showing
the ace of spades to Lord Castlemaine . The time of the day is afternoon , for a servant is seen in the background lighting the candles in the chandelier which is
suspended from the ceiling, and late afternoon is cleverly indicated by the subdued
light seen through the window at the extreme end of the room .
The Ball Room , in which Hogarth has introduced his great group of twenty
- fi s ure ft. 2 ft . six full length g , measured 7 5 by 7 Everyone of these friends and
C x relations of Lord astlemaine is clearly drawn from life, and if there e isted any records of his intimate family associations it is more than likely that some
2 7 fi u re of the identities would be re vealed . Each g is executed with the minute
fi delit v y of a miniature , and in spite of the ine itable formality of a crowded “ C ” onversation Piece of this period , the artist has so manipulated his figures — that e veryone stands out clearly and distinctly each person has a distinct indi
vid ualit — y . The whole scene is redolent of wealth and taste the costly tapestries
which hang on the walls , the elaborately carved mantelpiece , the painted ceiling ,
and the rich costumes of the many fi gures. The picture was commissioned by the host of the Assembly Lord Castle ,
’ H o ar — maine , and is believed to be the earliest example of g th s work in oils a
- masterpiece for a young man of only about thirty three years of age , who until
then had been almost exclusively known as an engraver . Lord Castlemaine w as
” risking his commission and his money on an unknown quantity, but the result
v in every way pro ed the wisdom of his judgement , and at once placed Hogarth at
. A t at the head of the English school of artists of his time the death ( Aix,
v 1 - 0 2 1 0 Pro ence , in March 749 5 , he was buried at Wanstead , 9 May 7 5 , aged
v C T lne 1 1 se enty) of Lord astlemaine , who became Earl y y in 7 3 , Wanstead House
e h 1 8 e was inherit d by his son , w o died unmarried in 7 4, wh n the property passed to
’ the latter s aunt , Emma , wife ofJames Long of Draycott, Wilts , and then to their
- C wh o 1 8 1 2 Ho n . daughter, atherine Long , in married the William Pole Wellesley,
’
wh o . afterwards Lord Mornington , a spendthrift squandered his wife s fortune In ’ “ ” 1 8 2 2 H o arth s the place was sold and the contents scattered , and g Assembly
as Mr. v w successively in the possession of Sir Robert Peel , Frederick Da is , and
’ M r M c F adde n T h 1 0 . s the late Lord weedmouth , at w ose sale in 9 5 it passed into
collection .
This work has frequently been exhibited in England : fi rst at the British
1 8 1 a 1 86 2 at Institution in 4 , and again t the same place in ; twice Burlington
’ o 1 88 1 6 William 8 . H use , in 5 and 9 It is referred to in Austin Dobson s
H o arth 1 A rt 0 . 2 1 1 8 1 0 g , 9 7 , pp , 9 , and 3 , and is described and illustrated in
in A m ica 1 er 1 . , April 9 3
“ 1 1 a £ 5 25- £ ? ? m 2 a e 11, f t c ; , 7 J 7J Howi e « el , l } l/ e. , m5 W g
WILLIAM HOGARTH
— I 69 7 1 7 64
THE FOUNTAINE FAMILY
anvas 2 ih . b 1 8 ih . C , 3 y
H I LS T The Assembly at Wanstead House may be described as
’ F adden s Mr. Mc a picture of commercial opulence , second Hogarth
us introduces to a family of ancient lineage , and to the most famous
i fi ve fi u res 1 member of t . The group of g dates from about 7 35 , and the park in
w e which the scene is depicted is probably a vie of Narford , the seat ofthe Fountain
fi ure family . The chief or central g is Sir Andrew Fountaine himself, a distin
uish ed fi u re C g scholar and antiquary, a great g at ourt, and the amateur who
formeddurin g his travels on the continent of Europe one of the h uest art collections
H e 6 6 u m . 1 ever got together by any one Englishman was born in 7 and died ,
1 married , in 7 5 3 , and his great collection remained intact for a century and a
’ quarter ; when sold at Christie s in 1 884 and 1 89 4 it realized over
- fi f h - probably not one t of its value to day . The two ladies to the left are doubtless ’ C C Sir Andrew s sister, Elizabeth , the wife of olonel Edward lent, the younger lady her only daughter . The young gentleman close to Sir Andrew and pointing to a
i C . p cture which is held by the vendor is her husband , aptain William Price The only son of this couple, Brigg Price , eventually assumed the name of Fountaine and succeeded to Narford and its treasures . The man holding the picture is also
r famous in art annals , for it represents Christopher Cock , the celebrated auctionee
51 of his day, in whose rooms in Covent Garden Hogarth exhibited his Marriage
” ’ 1 la Mode series in 7 5 0 . Cock s auction rooms were as famous in their day as
’ Christie s are to - day, for it was in these rooms that for generations were sold nearly all the great art collections . The exact identity ofthe picture which Cock is obviously submitting to Sir Andrew Fountaine has not been established ; but
2 9 R . Mr. Langton Douglas , who bought this Hogarth group from the present
. Lai Mrs Fountaine of Narford , considers it to be a work of Gerard de resse .
‘ ‘ T ete ch am etre “ his beautiful little English f p , which Waagen described as o f unusual clearness and freshness of colour and careful execution ” is like the , , “ Wanstead Assembly, duly recorded in all the books on Hogarth . It was
exhibited in London several times whilst it was in the Fountaine collection fi rst ,
in 1 8 1 7 at the British Institution , secondly at the National Portrait Exhibition at
1 86 1 88 South Kensington in 7 , and thirdly at Burlington House in 0 . As already
indicated , it was not included in the Fountaine sales at public auction . It is
‘ A n in A merica 1 1 . described and illustrated in , April 9 4
30
F F N JOHN HO ER ,
1 7 5 9— 1 8 1 0
F MRS . H OF N E R
Can vas 0 ih . b 2 ih . , 3 y 5
IT HOU T H 0 ner an being in any sense an imitator, pp , more than y
articu other artist, carried on the Rey nolds tradition , and this is p
larl 1 8 - y noticeable in this portrait of his wife , painted about 7 3 4 .
he v H o n e r The scheme of t portrait is particularly suggesti e of Sir Joshua . pp
m ch iefl painted any portraits of his wife, y in some fancy character and probably
us idealized . In this portrait she is presented to as if she were just returned from a walk a fresh - complexioned and good - looking young matron with an exceedingly , fi x ressio h . o amiable e p She is in a creamy white dress and bu , with a black shawl thrown loosely across her shoulders ; her yellow straw hat is bound with bright green ribbon which passes under her chin her fair hair is curly and falls in ringlets around her ears and on her shoulders ; her arms are folded in front and only the
left hand , on which is a plain ring, is seen .
H o n er o . t Mrs . pp was Ph ebe Wright, youngest daughter of Mrs Pa ience
Wright, the American sculptress and modeller in wax , a friend of Benjamin West,
' ’ and whose only son J o seph Wrigh t ( 1 7 56 - 1 79 3) worked in H o pp ner s studio before
’
1 8 2 . his return to America in or about 7 . Mrs Wright s house was a favourite
v H r rendezvous of Americans both before and after the Re olution . o pp ne and
’
o S t. 8 Ph ebe Wright were married at George s , Hanover Square , London , on July
’ 1 8 1 fi nest H o ner s 7 , and one of the of pp groups is that of his three children in
’ r H n r v M . . o e Widener s collection . Mrs pp survi ed her husband seventeen years,
1 8 2 . w as dying in 7 She a woman of strong character and great natural abilities , wh o f s numbered many distinguished people , notably William Gi ford , the famou
The rt r R vi w ua e l e e . editor of Q y , among her friends
- Mr. C This picture formerly belonged to low, a well known collector ofpictures ,
hn W o H o n r R A . M Ka e . . c a d and is described in the Supplement to j pp , , by y n
W . 1 1 . 2 . Roberts, 9 4, p 5
3 1
L P R T A A C . . A . SIR HOM S WREN E ,
MISS W E ST
her appointments with Sir Thomas Lawrence . One day she came in late slightly ,
flushed , and holding a watch in her hand . Her colour, her pose , were so exquisite
’ as she ad vanced to make her excuses and beg the artist s forgiveness that he , “ C readily replied , ertainly, madam , if you will allow me to paint you in your
present attitude .
The portrait was the property of Mrs . Ernest Woodgate of Ro ch ester (fo rmer1y
’ S treatfi eld Wo o d ate s - in - 1 0 Miss , William g daughter law) until 9 7 , when it came
i . nto the possession of Messrs Agnew, and was by them exhibited at their gal
fi n e leries in Bond Street in the same year . A mezzotint of it was engraved by 8 6 M r. 1 0 . 0 Norman Hirst in 9 , and a reproduction of the picture appeared on p of
’ “ 1 1 the Lawrence volume in Gowans and Gray s Masterpieces , 9 3 . It is de
’ W 1 1 scribed in Sir alter Armstrong s monograph on Sir Thomas Lawrence , 9 3 ,
- 1 6 1 0 . pp . 9 7
34
JOHN LINNELL , SEN .
1 7 9 2— 1 88 2
THE S M 1 THE EF UGE OR O , 8 R , T R 5 3
an v ih . b ih . C as, 35 y 5 7
TORMS appear to have had the same fascination for John Linnell , Sen . ,
they had for Turner and other artists , and he was singularly successful
in transferring his impressions on can vas . And in this picture we realize
the awful majesty and mystery of the impending outburst, heralded as it is by
the forked lightning and the black clouds . The scene is a broad view over an
u fi eld und lating and picturesque landscape , with a ofgolden corn ; the spire of a
h a church is seen in the valley in t e distance, and in the foreground a man and
woman with two children running for shelter towards a thicket on the right ; beneath the rustic stile on the extreme right is inscribed the artist’s signature
and date .
v v This is the parent of se eral ersions painted in the same year , and isrecorded
’
L n ll 1 8 2 . 2 2 T . Li e o ohn i n e in Alfred Linnell s f f j , 9 , p 7 ; it is one of the last
1 8 pictures exhibited by the artist at the British Institution in 54, to which he
T t n 1 808 . h e A he wum had been a regular contributor since , in its notice of th e “ exhibition , speaks of Linnell as a painter whose name is not to be pronounced
” - v without respect, for a well pro ed intensity of conception and execution , and points out that the upper part of the picture is all storm—and a very creditable
storm it is as far as weight of pictorial appliances go — while the lower part of the
all s s picture is smiles , a landscape quite unconsciou of the tears and frown
” impending .
The picture was one of the many fi n e works by modern artists which hung in
Mr o the gallery of . Joseph Fent n at Bamford Hall , Rochdale , until its dispersal
’ at Christie s on 5 May 1 8 79 . It passed thence into the private collection of th e
Mr. re late Thomas Agnew , of Fairhope , Eccles , near Manchester , whe it remained
1 06 M M ad n r cF de . until June 9 , when it passed into that of .
35
GEORGE MORLAND — 1 7 6 3 1 804
THE FRUITS OF EARLY INDUSTRY AND ECONOMY
n va 0 ih . b 2 ih . Ca s , 3 y 4%
LO w a ca e w a e anc o u see here, h t s , h t el g e y ; T h e just reward o f y o uthfu l I n dustry ! ’ o o k o all r c T h e happy Grandsire l s thr his a e , ’ earn d en n ev ac Where well pl ty brighte s ery f e, ’ u au sch o o l d v tu o The beauteo s d ghter in ir es l re, ’ o w ve th exam c v o N gi s ple she re ei ed bef re , ’ o n u an train d to fa o w n While her f d H sb d ir ren ,
Sees future laurels his brave o ffspri n g crown .
H E S E lines , in which the sentiment is perhaps of a higher order than
fi n e 20 in . 1 in . the poetry, formed the legend of the engraving ( 44 by 5g )
1 v 1 8 T . by William Ward , published on No ember 7 9 , by Simpson ,
’
t. C . S Paul s hurchyard , London It is a picture of a prosperous interior , with a view of a suburban villa hung on the wall , and , through the open window, of a
fi ures river with wharf and loaded barges . The group of seven g is admirably “ ” disposed . Seated at a table with writing materials is the Grandsire of the above verses ; he is a stout elderly man wearing a wig, and is in conversation , with his son , who is standing close to him , and holds with his right hand a ledger “ ” or book inscribed True Steward , and with his left is paying money into his
, ’ father s hand ; he holds a quill pen between his teeth . To the right his wife , in white dress , blue sash , and a large black hat trimmed with feathers and with a
- white frilled border, is holding the younger child on a chair, and with her right h hand has taken a bunc of grapes from a basket, held by a negro boy, and is handing it to the child ; between the negro and the child is a young man , perhaps “ wh o another son of the Grandsire, is watching the scene with keen interest .
39 On the left is a bottle ofwine in a cooler, and near by the elder of the two children
is lying on the carpeted floor , playing with a toy spaniel and holding an apple .
2 W. A second plate , about inches larger, was engraved , also by Ward from ,
this picture , with the costumes brought up to date , and published by Darling and
1 Thompson , of Great Newport Street, London , in March 794, whilst a later “ f issue is dated 1 804 . The subject is a companion to The E fects of Youthful
”
W . Extravagance and Idleness , which Ward engraved for the same publisher , — and was issued a few months earlier I July 1 789 ; this picture was also engraved
1 1 80 . a second time in 794, and again in 4 The two subjects , with their moral
v e 1 8 stories , must ha e be n exceedingly popular , and probably the 7 9 plates of the two were worn out with constant reprinting .
’ “ The two pictures were sold at Christie s in 1 8 09 as the property of A
”
8 . Publisher , and together then realized 5 guineas Apparently they afterwards
f T h e went into di ferent collections . That of Effects of Youthful Extravagance
- l 1 88 1 t o . was in that of Lieut . C Packe , at whose sale in it was bought for the la e
1 1 . M r Gilbe . Sir Walter y , and again passed into other hands at his sale in 9 5
’ Mc F adde n s picture does not appear to have passed through any public sale since
1 8 09 .
40
N Y HE R RAEBURN ,
4 1 7 5 6 1 8 2 3
LADY BELHAVEN
n vas ih . b 2 ih . Ca , 3 5 y 7
— HIS exceedingly placid and self possessed lady may almost be described
’ as the very antithesis of her origin . Yet on both her father s side and
’ “ ” v on her mother s she deri ed , as the genealogists say from turbulent clans which were constantly in rebellion or insurrection against, their kings or in fi gh ting among their own clans Scotland . One of her ancestors was the last
o f king and Lord of the Isles . Her ancestors were enthusiastic in their advocacy
h e Ran ald t Stuart cause , and her father , Macdonald , took part in the battle of
C v n ulloden , where he was se erely wou ded , an d after which he escaped to France — - H . e C and became aide de camp to Marshal Saxe was outlawed , but his hristian b e ’ name being, y an error , inserted as Donald , he succ eded after some years
e v i . fi rst d lay n reco ering his estates in Scotland His wife was Mary , sister of
v a the Earl of Selkirk ; his second wife , mother of Lady Belha en , was Flor
Mackinnon , daughter of the ancient family of Mackinnon of that ilk , which
traces its ancestry back to Alpin , King of Scotland .
v Just as an earlier Lady Belhaven is reported to ha e sat to Sir A . Van Dyck
and another to Sir Peter Lely for their portraits , so a later lady of that title sat to “ the Scottish Velasquez, Sir Henry Raeburn . Herself the descendant of many
’ ’ historic characters on both her father s and her mother s side, Penelope the ,
m c Clan ran ald youngest daughter of Ra ald Ma donald of married , at Edinburgh ,
2 1 8 on March 7 9 , into yet another ancient family . Her husband was William
Whis h aw Hamilton of , whose right to the peerage of Belhaven was admitted ten
years afterwards by the House of Lords , a title which had originally been conferred f r o C I . Pe nz ie loyalty to harles Miss Macdonald , as she was familiarl called y ,
43 “ h er fi u re was much celebrated for handsomeness of g , her beauty and her ,
suffi cie n tl accomplishments . She was y distinguished to form the subject of two 0
’ ” j ohn Kay s Original Portraits , which form an invaluable record of Edinburgh
social life during the latter part of the eighteenth century . She appears in two
‘ ‘ ‘ — t - cz- téz in C éte e por rai s , or rather caricatures one with aptain Dalrymple and in t t ,
C 1 8 . the other with aptain Elphinstone , 7 7 Lord Belhaven died in October 1 8 1 4,
and Lady Belhaven survived him less than two years , dying at Edinburgh on
1 86 8 8 May 1 8 1 6 . With the death in of their eldest son Robert , th Lord Belhaven 5 ,
the honours passed to a distant kinsman . l w Lady Belhaven is seen to half length , seated in a landscape , in White o la dress with short sleeves, arms crossed on her p , the left sleeve looped up with
pearl brooch ; she has dark , curly hair , and is looking to the left . This portrait
F a M r. Mc dden was lent by to the Old Masters Exhibition at Burlington House,
1 8 6 . London , in 9 (No and is recorded in the various works on Raeburn by
. Pin n n Sir Walter Armstrong (p . James Greig (p and Edward i gto n
(p . There is a version ofthis picture in the NewYork Public Gallery, No . 5
1 1 2 in the 9 catalogue .
’ B elh aven s Lady three nephews , the sons of her elder brother, form the
’
- subject of one of Raeb urn s most effective groups of child life .
44
S IR R . A A . HENRY R EBURN ,
MA S T E R B I S S LA N D
bank near a branching tree , and is in a green jacket and trousers with silver buttons , white stockings, and loose , white frilled collar ; his head is turned and
he is looking to the right, his left hand is holding his cap , whilst his right hand
H e - is resting on his knee . is a handsome , fair haired boy about ten years old ,
v 1 80 - 1 8 1 and therefore would ha e been painted about 9 0 . A photogravure was
’ was published in Christie s catalogue at the time it sold . It is recorded and
’
r Raeburn . 8 . described at length in M . James Greig s , p 3
A. R. SIR HENRY RAEBURN ,
1 7 5 6— 1 8 2 3
MASTER J OHN CAMPBELL OF SADDELL
as ih . b ih . Can v , 39 y 49
SING U LARLY pathetic interest surrounds this charming picture of
Master John Campbell of Saddell , Argyllshire , when a child , sitting
C w as on the tomb of his father and mother . John ampbell born in
w as 1 6 and both his parents di ed in the year o f his birth . The story told 79 , b “ in verse many y ears afterwards y Letitia Elizabeth Landon , in her poem The ” The Go lden Violet Dream : The Lay of the Scottish Minstrel , printed in ,
London 1 8 2 from which the following lines (in which the poetess apostrophizes , 7 , the mother) are taken
Y u w o to th e o m b ut no t a o n o ill g t b , l e,
F o r the do o m o f that h u nte r is as y o u r o wn . as en ee o me and k ss th e c ee k H t th h , i h
Of th o u n a c n o r ea to ak y y g f ir hild , f r bre ’ T h e bo y s sweet slu mber o f peace ; fo r no t ’ ’ l With his fathers o r thi ne is that o rphan s o t.
th e sa n ran u to a a e e As pli g sp g p st t ly tr e, m f r H e w flo urish b ut no t o u o n o o . ill , th f d ther, thee
. “ In her explanatory note the authoress says : This tale is founded on more modern tradition than that of the distant ages to which my minstrel belongs : the v t e — ision , the prophecy, the untimely death of h youthful pair are actual facts ; and
' ‘
C . Glen saddell an lzee the present ampbell , Esq , Laird of , g MelancholyValley, is the very child whose health and prosperity have realized the prediction of his
” birth . In after years John Campbell of Saddell became a famous all round
fi ures sportsman , and he g in the group painted by Charles Lees , and “ E . C . engraved by Wagstaff, The Grand Match of the Royal Caledonian
47 C C 1 8 urling lub at Linlithgow, 5 3 , and reproduced in the Badminton Library a Go l . 2 2 . C volume on f, p 7 John ampbell , a big, burly man , appe rs in this picture as No . 39 . Lees had painted his portrait some years previously, and exhibited it
H e 1 8 6 . 2 1 8 at the Royal Scottish Academy in 4 died on 4 October 59 . The Glen and Castle of Saddell form one of the most picturesque bits on the eastern coast
ma h io a of Kintyre . The Castle is a plain quadrangular tower, with a c l ted em battlement . There are also some remains of the monastery of Saddell , founded
1 1 6 C in 3 , for istercian monks , by Reginald , the son of Somerled , Lord of Kintyre
” and the Isles .
fi ne . This picture , with its background , is worthyof Rembrandt The beautiful
- golden haired child is smiling, for he is too young to understand the tragedyof his early days which Raeburn has handed down to posterity in this canvas . The child is in a white frock and is wearing black shoes ; his black hat is held in his left hand .
1 02 was The picture remained in the family until 9 , when it sold by John
’
- C m C C C . B . ampbell s son , Rear Ad iral harles ampbell , , of Saddell ,
. Th e S tu dio 1 08 Argyllshire It is reproduced in , February 9 , and is recorded in
’ M r R a burn . . e . . J Greig s , p 40
R . SIR HENRY RAEBURN ,
CH R LES (211 11 1 5 1 1 15 CO L . A
A. R. SI R HENRY RAEBURN ,
— 1 7 5 6 1 8 2 3
LADY ELIBANK
n vas ih . b 2 ih . Ca , 34 y 7
LT HOUGH this typically Raeburn portrait of a good - humoured young
’ matron of distinction was exhibited at Messrs . Agnew s galleries in
’
1 8 Raeb urn s . London in 9 5 , it has escaped the notice ofall biographers
’ M o n criefi — z . e Painted at about the same time as the famous Mrs Scott , during the opening years of the nineteenth century— the dominating note is supplied by the rich golden brown of the shawl or overdress over a white dress , which admirably harmonizes with the brown curly hair which flows over her forehead a fashion , by the way, which tended to conceal the intellectual features of many ’ e of the artist s sitters , and to accentuate som what their physical charms .
E libank C . Lady was atherine , daughter of James Steuart, Esq ; she married
1 80 E libank o ffi cer in 4 as his second wife, Alexander Murray, seventh Lord , an ,
in the 3rd Regiment of Foot- Guards and Lord Lieutenant of the county of Peebles
h e as 1 8 0 ( died in She w living in 3 , but the exact date of her death is
. E libank th e unrecorded by the Scottish genealogists Lady had no children , and title was inherited by her stepson .
Y R . SIR HENR RAEBURN ,
M W R I OF W R . LA E OODLEA
HE RY N RAEBURN ,
— 1 7 5 6 1 8 2 3
ALE! ANDER SHAW
ih . Can vas 2 ih . b 2 , 9 y 4
’ Raeb urn s HIS is another of splendid portraits of elderly men , and of
Whose identity unfortunately w e know nothing . It is presumably the
’ M r Ra ebu rn . . portrait recorded in . James Greig s , p 59 Alexander Shaw
- u is in a dark buttoned p coat with large brass buttons , and is wearing a white
H e neckerchief. is looking to the left with a smiling expression , as if the artist
v r had just said something amusing to him . The massi e head is fi mly balanced on
- thick set shoulders, and the whole impression of the picture is one of the vigour of old age .
se This portrait comes from the celebrated Jo ph collection of London .
5 5
R A . SIR HENRY RAEBURN .
PORTRAIT OF A GE N TLE MA N
P A S D . R SIR JO H UA REYNOL S , . .
1 7 3 2— 1 7 9 2
MASTER BUNBURY
anvas 2 ih . b 2 ih . C , 9 y 4
a LITT LE boy charming ; he is the son of Henry Bunbury, w s ,
’ Horace Walpole s comment on this h ue example of Sir Joshua
’ Rey n o lds s pictures of child life when it was exhibited at the Royal
1 8 1 . 1 . Academy of 7 , No 47 The elder son of distinguished parents, his father, C the younger bro the r of Sir harles Bunbury, was a talented artist, whilst his
” s C m mother w a Miss Catherine Horneck , the Little omedy of Oliver Golds ith, and many other members of the Bunbury family were eminent in various ways . Master Bunbury would probably have distinguished himself but for his early
1 2 T C C death . Born in November 7 7 , and educated at rinity ollege , ambridge ,
B . A . 1 was where he obtained his degree of in 79 5 , he gazetted in the same year
, in 2 th F to a captaincy the 7 Regiment of Dragoons , of which his uncle , rancis
He e . F Edward Gwyn , was colon l married a Miss rances Davison , and died at
- 1 8 . the Cape of Good Hope in 79 , at the early age of twenty six His mother only
d few . survive him a months His only brother, Henry Edward Bunbury, also
wo n entered the army at a later date, saw much service and a gold medal for
in bravery at the battle of Maida , succeeded his uncle as seventh baronet and h erited the extensive family estates in 1 8 2 1 .
Two generations of the Bunbury family sat to Reynolds for their portraits .
’ was 1 6 Master Bunbury s father painted by him , also as a youth , in 7 5 ; and
’ Mrs . Bunbury sat to him in the year of her son s birth . During recent times all
ch iefl the Bunbury portraits have been scattered , and have found new homes , y U in the nited States . The portrait of this little boy, with his red coat open , yellow vest, yellow breeches and golden hair falling over his forehead and ears ,
5 9 w as a labour of love with Sir Joshua , with whom it was such a favourite that he refused to part with it during his lifetime . But in his will there is the bequest “ so 1 2 T o Mrs . Bunbury the portrait of her son , and , after 79 , the picture found its place with the other family portraits .
The picture attracted so much notice at the Royal Academy of 1 7 8 1 that it was engraved in mezzotint in the same year by Francis Haward ; proofs of this
fi ne engraving are excessively rare . Later on it was engraved on a small scale by
S . W. Reynolds for the set of illustrations after the works of Sir Joshua Reynolds
Co . published by Graves and , Pall Mall , London , and has been reproduced by
' Re various processes times without number , being one of Sir Joshua y no lds s most popular pictures of child life , uniting, as a critic said of it when it was on
” view at the Academy , the characteristic simplicity of childhood in a high degree .
C was 1 A fi ne mezzotint of it by J . other Webb published in 908 . The portrait has frequently been lent to public exhibitions in London by its successive owners in the Bunbury family. It appeared at the British Institution in
1 8 1 1 8 1 1 86 1 3 , 5 , and ; twice at the Old Masters exhibitions at Burlington House ,
Mr 1 08 w as . C . was in 1 8 1 and again in 9 , when it lent by Fairfax Murray . It 9 ,
' also one of many fi ne pictu res of child life in the exhibition of Fair Children held at the Grafton Galleries in 1 89 5 (No . but was apparently there only during a portion of the exhibition . The picture remained in the Bunbury collection
until July 1 907 .
There are numerous copies of the portrait, one of which , by Rising, was ,
C H isto r o the o S ir osh ua according to Messrs . Graves and ronin ( y f f j
R n olds . ey ) , highly approved of by Reynolds
6 0
S U A LD P R . A . SIR JO H REYNO S , .
EDMU N D B U RK E
a nd is wearing a grey wig, his expression being serious and thoughtful . T his picture was lent to the Exhibition of National Portraits at South Kensington in C 1 868 (No . 8 20) by the Rev. harles Burney ; and again to the Guelph Exhibition
1 8 1 . at the New Gallery , London , 9 (No by the Venerable Archdeacon
C - - Burney (the Rev . harles Burney became archdeacon of Kingston o n T hames in who also owned portraits by Reynolds of the famous Dr . Burney and
’ David Garrick . It is interesting to note that among Sir Joshua s bequests was o ne to Burke of 75 with the cancelling of a bond for the same amount of money borrowed .
6 2
GEORGE ROMNEY
— 1 7 34 1 80 2
ROUC H MRS . C
an vas 0 ih . b 0 ih . C , 5 y 4
NE of the chief ornaments of Drury Lane Theatre , whose beauty and talents have been a subject for admirationand praise to every poet ” — and critic for the last fi ve and twenty years this was the opinion
1 of a writer of an obituary notice in one of the English magazines in 805 .
was Equally famous as an actress and as a singer, Anna Maria Phillips the “ Mr wh o m daughter of a Welsh solicitor, . Phillips , ixed with his professional
fi ne wh o was pursuits a regard for the arts, and the author of several pamphlets
n d was 1 6 which attracted considerable notice . His aughter born in 7 3 , and at an early age displayed such powers of voice and such a natural taste for music,
fi rst that her father placed her under the care of Mr. Linley . She appeared at
’ “ 1 8 Mandane Drury Lane in 7 0 as in Arne s Artaxerxes her appearance, says “ - was . o f the above quoted chronicler , that of a meteor It dazzled from excess
v . o f brilliancy e ery spectator Nothing was spoken , and nothing listened to, but the exquisitely beautiful Miss Phillips ; and certainly a more captivating form , f more simple and una fected manners , more graceful and yet timid deportment,
v ne er appeared on the stage . She possessed the most seductive expression
fi rmness without the consciousness of beauty, and with the most glowing and tone of health she blended the fi nest delicacy of action . Her success was u m
. m bounded She ade a sort of epoch in the theatre, and was pursued and idolised by the town .
Combining the two unusual qualities of being equally good as a singer and an
’
. C was actress, Mrs rouch s professional career, in the many parts she played , one
as long success . But this w marred somewhat by the early and unhappy marriage
Mr W . C hich she contracted With a rouch , a lieutenant in the Navy, perhaps the
W. C E s r rouch q whose death in Tavistock Place, London , was announced in
63 1 8 1 . H e March 9 was described as of showyperson and address . The marriage
took place in Twickenham Church in 1 7 85 ; the pair separated in 1 1 but she 79 , “ made him a provision to which he was not entitled by his conduct . Short as
w as fi rst the marriage , it was probably at one of genuine affection for in her , portrait Romney evidently intended to indicate her husband ’s calling by the view
of the sea and a boat , and one of her most popular renderings was a sea - song
. 1 80 1 entitled Breezes After retiring , from the stage in she devoted herself to
t . . C eaching, her pupils including Mrs Liston and Mrs harles Mathews . For some
2 1 80 was - years before her death on October 5 , she in ill health and lived a retired C “ life . Mrs . rouch , writes William Robson , was one of those lovely women
of whom lovers and poets often rave and write , but such as people in sober earnest
” seldom see .
was She painted by most of the leading artists of the day , Barry Condé , ,
d e S . Wilde, Lawrence , Ramberg, and Reynolds , and these With others are familiar
to collectors of engravings ; but none of these portraits can compare with that
1 8 2 which Romney painted in 7 7 , between 7 February and 9 April . In February of
” Mr C . . C that year Romney received from rouch in part for Mrs rouch 5 5 s .
No further payment is recorded , and the picture could not have been claimed for ,
’ i was it remained in Romney s stud o until after his death , and bought at his sale in
’ Wesh o 1 s 6 a v 1 8 . . . 0 by a Dr for 5 5 , 7 p In the inter al however, it had been
F 1 88 engraved in stipple by . Bartolozzi , and published in 7 . It is especially inter
v re esting to note that the engra ing was dedicated to Mrs . C s i n whose ortra t p g y , p i
’
r Mc F adden s . also by Romney is in M . collection
1 80 . The history of the picture from 7 is not very clear Half a century later,
’
2 0 1 8 8 C was M r. on February 5 , it came up at hristie s and bought by Smith ,
0 — a the Bond Street dealer, for 7 guineas high price for a Romney in those days ;
’ 1 8 r McF add n s 8 M . e it reappeared there again on 7 May 9 , and passed thence into
T h e z 1 8 1 collection . Bartoloz i engraving has frequently been copied , notably in 5
’
T h e T . H . for H o garth s M emo irs of the Opera . picture is reproduced in Ward and
’ R n a . r s s W Ro b e t om ey . She is seen seated in a rocky cavern bythe shore, in white
dress with short sleeves and a red sash ; in her left hand is a piece of music, her
right hand is lifting a gold neck - chain from which suspends a miniature of a
m - gentle an , probably intended to represent her sailor husband ; in the distance is
- the sea With a sailing boat . 64
GEORGE ROMNEY
D E R E S PI N Y M R S . C G
her children sat to the artist for a group which has so far remained untraced . H e married his fourth wife , Dorothy , onlydaughter of Richard Scott, Esq . of Betton , ,
2 0 1 8 fi ne - Salop , on February 7 3 , and she began to sit for this half length portrait
2 0 1 86 . 2 on March 7 , but only three sittings are recorded The husband paid £ 4 in “
1 8 1 1 0 . . August 7 9 , but the portrait was not sent home till 4 April 79 Mrs de
C res i n 1 80 . p g y again married in 4 , as his second wife , Sir John Keane , Bart , and
1 8 died on 5 July 37 .
The portrait was one of the many fi n e pictures brought to light by the Romney
x 1 00- 1 r e hibitions at the Grafton Galleries in 9 , where it was exhibited by M .
H . res i n H . C G . . C . de p g y , andwhere it attracted considerable notice Itwassent to
’ ’
1 0 1 Mr. Mc F adden s Christie s in April 9 , and passed thence to collection . It was
’ C C M a az in e o A rt 1 0 1 illustrated in hristie s atalogue, in the g f of October 9 , in
’
W . Ro b r s s R o n 1 0 H . e t m e T . Ward and y , 9 4 ; was engraved in mezzotint by
1 0 . W. Henderson in June 9 3 , and has frequently been reproduced elsewhere i . C res n Mrs de p g y was a beautiful woman , and clearly insisted upon being painted
’ in a black dress, for Romney s distinct preference was to paint his sitters in white , but the black is relieved by white lace at the neck and wrists . She is seated in a
- well wooded park which converges to a valley, and may have been intended to
’ represent her husband s early home at Camberwell ; her left elbow rests on a
fi n ers balustrade, the g of the hand touching the chin ; the gloved right hand holds
f rms a mo st the other glove . The picture o interesting pendant to that of her friend
i n C . res . Mrs . rouch , of which the engraving was dedicated to Mrs de C p g y
66
GEORGE ROMN — 1 7 34 1 8 0 2
RS F H M . INC
a v s ih . b 2 8 ih . C n a , 35 y HERE can be no reasonable question about the identity of the lady in
this beautiful portrait, although a large number of sittings recorded in
’ “ — r u k r Romney s diaries 1 78 2 1 7 89 are of Miss B o nc e . They refer to
’ Mr McF adden s more than one portrait , and probably to more than one person . .
w as B ro u ncker Mrs . Finch Mary, daughter of Lewis William , of the island of
Ad e Ad e S t . Christopher (her elder sister, Mrs . y , wife of John Willett y , also of
S t. th e island of Christopher, sat to Romney in whose London address
M . P A . was . No 4 Queen nne Street, Westminster, the residence ofJohn Stanley, ,
- Attorney General of the Leeward Islands .
Hon B ro uncker fi rstl 2 1 8 . Miss married , y , on August 7 9 , the William Clement
F c H enea e in h , admiral in the Roy al Navy, the thirdson of g , third Earl ofAylesford ,
1 . by whom she had several children ; he died in 794 She married , secondly, d U William Strode, Esq . , of Northaw, Hertfor shire, and died in pper Harley
- 6 1 8 1 Street, London , at the age of forty seven , on October 3 , her second husband being described in the brief obituary notice of his widow as the late benevolent
William Strode . It is clear that this portrait was commenced before and fi n ish ed
rs On 1 1 1 8 1 8 B r after her fi t marriage . and June 7 9 she sa as Miss o u ncker and t ,
on 6 and 1 3 April 1 79 0 as Mrs . Finch . Romney probably painted an entirely new
’ r M a M . c F dd n s picture when she appeared under her married name , or e may be the
’ B ro u ncker 1 80 portrait of Miss which was in Romney s sale in 7 after his death .
’ v M r McF adden s Less well known than se eral other of . Romneys, this one is
v of exceedingly rich quality, and perhaps all the more attracti e because it is not entirely fi nish ed . It represents a charming woman in the full flush of her beauty ; 6 7 seated in a landscape , she is wearing a white dress with short sleeves and a light
flo win blue sash ; her long , fair, curly hair over her shoulders , her fresh coloured cheeks and rosy lips suggesting the impregssion that she has only just attained to womanhood .
’ T . H . W. Ro berts s Romn e 1 0 This portrait is recorded in Ward and y , 9 4 ,
The A merican M a az in e . . it was reproduced in January vol ii , p 54 ; g
1 9 1 7 .
68
GEORGE ROMNEY
LADY GRAN T H AM
1 8 3 , and his eldest daughter, Baroness Lucas , on her marriage with Earl Cowper 3 , b rought the estate and collection of family and other pictures into that Earl ’s
On 1 0 C possession . the death in 9 5 of Earl owper without issue , this and other
’ estates were inherited by Baron Lucas , the earl s nephew , who sold this portrait
6 1 b . 1 y Romney In 7 , nearly twenty years before she sat to Romney, Lady Mary
Jemima Yorke and her elder sister, Lady Annabel Yorke, were painted on one can vas as young children in a landscape , each holding a dove , by Sir Joshua Reynolds a picture familiar to collectors through Fisher ’s engraving published in ,
1 76 2 .
us Romney shows Lady Grantham seated in an open , autumnal landscape , by
ff s n . the trunk ofa ree, with the e ects ofthe setting u She s in a creamy satin dress t i , with short sleeves edged with white , a rich scarlet satin overdress , with pearl drop jewels at the breast and sleeve, and gold earrings . The dark hair is dressed
moderately high and is bound with pearls . Her right hand rests against her face .
- fi n e Romney received thirty six guineas for painting this picture, which has never
éxh ibited been in England , and of which there is a copy at Newby Hall , Ripon ,
Mr R . C . . the property of . de Grey Vyner
’
T H . W. Ro b r This portrait is recorded and described in . Ward and e ts s
Mr. R omn e 1 0 . . 6 . . y , 9 4, vol ii , p 4 A mezzotint by Norman Hirst is in preparation
G E O R G E R O M N E Y
1 7 34— 1 8 0 2
HEAD OF LADY HAMILTON
1 b 1 ih . n va 1 ih . Ca s, 73, y 5
’ HIS lovely head of Romney s most famous sitter the work of an hour
’ v or a couple of hours concentrated study, was one of the se eral studies
’ in oils which remained in the artist s family for over a century after it was
I fi n ish ed painted . The face S completely , and the abundant natural luxuriance of the hair is indicated by a few rapid strokes of the brush . It is one of the 1 ’ 8 . many studies for the subject of Miranda , and dates from about 7 3 Romney s simple, solid technique was conducive to great durability, as is evidenced in this — head , which is as fresh and brilliant as when it left his studio indeed it has
mellowed and impro ved with time .
wh o The story of this fascinating and remarkable woman , graduated from a
v servant girl to an ambassadress , and who exercised a singular spell o er all with
whom she came in contact, has been told many times and in many volumes , so
w suffi i n that e need not dwell upon it at length here . It will be c e t to state that
1 6 fi rst 1 8 2 she was born in 7 5 , that she sat to Romney in 7 , and that, after an
1 1 8 1 . extraordinary career, she died in poverty at Calais on 5 January 5
GEORGE ROMNEY
M I L R S . T CK E L
T i k ll C Richard c e , one of the ommissioners of Stamps , a minor poet and play
fi rs . R . B . . T ick ell wright , whose t wife was Mary Linley , sister of Mrs Sheridan ll 1 . 1 6 T icke committed suicide by jumping from a window in 79 3 In 79 Mrs . C married at Newton Bushel , Major John otton Worthington , by whom she had ,
Newsto ne seven children and was left a widow at his death at his seat at , Tunbridge i k . T c ell 1 8 2 6 . Wells in September A notice of Mrs , with a reproduction of one , ’ h of Romney s numerous portraits of her appeared , w en she was Mrs . Cotton
’ The Lad s M o n thl M useum 1 80 Worthington , in y y of December 3, so that, though far removed from London society, the fame of her beauty was still fresh in the
metropolis .
’ R s in T H . W . o bert s This portrait is recorded and described . Ward and
fi nel B 1 8 . . . R o mne 1 0 , vol . ii , . 5 It was y engraved in mezzotint by J Pratt y , 9 4 p
1 2 fi rst in 1 900 ; and a photogravure of it faces p . 0 of the volume of the above
mentioned work .
74
GEORGE ROMNEY
— 1 7 34 1 80 2
REV J OHN W S Y . E LE
n v s ih . b 2 ih . Ca a , 30 y 4
HIS portrait of one of the most remarkable figures in the religious life
was and activities of England during the eighteenth century , painted in
’ 1 88 - was D ia r . 7 9 , and four sittings are duly recorded in Romney s y It a commission from an Irish admirer of John Wesley, Mrs . Tighe of Rossana,
0 c 0 whose agent paid the artist 3 , which in luded the cost of the frame , on 3 March , a 1 8 . t 1 8 1 7 9 It remained Rossana until about 5 , when the contents of the house were dispersed , and this Romney portrait was then purchased by a member of H 0 . v H . . the Wesleyan community for about £ 4 It belonged to the Re . J .
’ C 1 8 Butterworth When it was sold at hristie s in March 7 3, its new owner being R M r. W . . . Mr C . as th e the late assells Cassells w not a collector in usual sense,
- a - H e for he only had about half dozen pictures . had lived in India and had
H e written much on theological and technical subjects . told the present writer that he had no particular interest either in John Wesley or George Romney, but
’
C . 1 8 w as he happened to be in hristie s rooms in 7 3 when this portrait on the easel ,
it was and , thinking it a splendid portrait , he purchased ; and it not until the
Romney Exhibition at the Grafton Galleries in 1 900 that the whereabouts of the
’
v Mr. C portrait was re ealed . It remained in assell s possession until shortly before
- 1 his death at the age ofeighty one in 9 07 . — It is a singularly refi ned and beautiful portraitof an elderly man Wesley was — eighty- fi ve years ofage When he S at whose stormy and active life has left none of
H e the usual traces on the serene face . was one of the most frequently painted
— and caricatured men of his age ; and it is especially interesting to know what
H D ia r . e Wesley himself thought of the artist has left such a record in his y , and
7 5 1 8 : A t under date 5 January 7 9 , he writes the earnest request of Mrs . T[ighe] I M r. once more sat for my picture . Romney is a painter indeed ! H e struck o ff an
exact likeness at once , and did more in an hour than Sir Joshua did in ten .
A fi ne mezzotint ofthe portraitwas engraved by J o h n S p ilsb ury and published
1 1 8 on June 7 9 , and in connection with which a letter is quoted at length in
’ R be r s m W . o ts R o n 1 T H e 0 . . 1 6 . i . Ward and y , 9 4 , vol ii , p 9 ( n which work the
portrait is reproduced) , from Wesley to Mrs . Tighe . It is so interesting that it
. 1 will bear reprinting It is dated London , 7 February, 789 :
Dear Madam ,
It could not easily be that I should refuse anything which ou desired y ,
v M r. fi nish ed therefore I ha e sat four times to Romney, and he has the Picture .
It is thought to be a good likeness , and many of my friends have desired that I
v it. would ha e an engraving taken from But I answer, The Picture is not mine
’
o u rs . C but y Therefore , I can do nothing without your onsent . But if you have
am no objection , then I will employ an engraver that I well assured will do it justice .
Wishing every Blessing to you and all your Family, I remain , f Dear Madam, your a fectionate servant,
John Wesley .
T v o f here are other ersions of this portrait, all varying somewhat, and most these have been reproduced in various forms , but this is the original picture
ilsbur engraved by S p y .
1 1 0 o f John Wesley, the founder of Methodism , was born on 7 June 7 3 , son the Rev . Samuel Wesley, Rector of Epworth , Lincolnshire ; he was educated at C C C C harterhouse, and hrist hurch ollege , Oxford , where he graduated , taking his 6 C . . 1 2 . 1 0 degree of M A in 7 About 7 3 he joined , with his brother harles , a society
1 h which had recently been established under the name of Methodists . In 735 t e
' 1 two Wesleys accompanied several Moravians to America ; John returned in 7 37 ,
2 1 1 and from that time until his death on March 79 , travelled and preached in all
l ramifi catio ns parts of Great Britain , founding a re igious societywhich has now its
in all parts of the globe .
GEORGE ROMNEY
LITTL E B O- PEE P
JAMES STARK
— I 7 94 1 8 5 9
LANDSCAPE WITH CATTLE
ih . an v 1 6 ih . b 2 2 C as , y
C TARK was perhaps , next to rome his master, the most brilliant member
of the Norwich School . Many of his better pictures have passed as the
works of Crome, and this rich and luscious early summer scene is worthy to rank with those of the founder of the N o rwich cycle of landscape painters . It is a fi nely - wooded group of ancient oak trees on the borders of a shallow stream spanned by a bridge with a rustic fence . A peasant is driving four cows to the l stream , and a hurd e fence is seen on a slight elevation to the left and passes
e through the group of trees to the road over the stream in the centr of the picture .
This may be the Lane Scene which Stark exhibited at the British I nstitu
1 8 1 tion in 7 , the dimensions of which very closely agree with this picture . It is
” the woody landscape , with a peasant and four cows going to the water, which
- 1 belonged to the late Onley Savill Onley, of Stisted Hall , Essex , until 8 when 94,
Mr was . . . as it acquired by Messrs Agnew Onley, it may be mentioned, w born in
1 1 8 1 8 7 5 , and in married his cousin , the daughter of John Harvey Esq . of 9 , ,
’ o rfo lk - o rwich Mr Thorpe Lodge , N , a member of a well known N family , . Onley s
C v father, harles Har ey, having been Recorder of the city for Which he sat in
H e - . 2 2 Parliament took the surname of Savill Onley in 1 8 .
79
SIR J OHN WATSON GORDON A R. . ,
— 1 7 8 8 1 864
IR W S E S O B . ALT R C TT , ART
2 ih . b 2 ih 9 5 y 4% .
HIS portrait of the author of the Waverley and other romances and
the most successful novelist of his day is of special interest, inasmuch
ar Li e as the tist and his sitter were related . Lockhart, in the f of his “ f - in - u s 1 8 0 an amous father law, tells that in 3 John Watson Gordon painted
”
- excellent half length portrait of Scott for Cadell the publisher . In this he is f represented seated , with both hands resting on his sta f ; but, as Lockhart points “ o ut . , a little too late But ten years earlier and before he had added Gordon to his name, John Watson had painted a portrait of Scott for the Marchioness of
1 8 2 0 two Abercorn , to whom , in July and August of , Scott wrote letters with d etails concerning the picture .
1 8 resum Watson Gordon painted a number of replicas of the 30 portrait, all p
a unfi nish ed G . bly from an study which he retained , and which his brother Henry
Watson inherited . These replicas varied in size , but they were generally of the
’
Mr. Mc F adden s head and shoulders only on canvas of the same Size as , which is d istinctly a far more pleasing picture than the original sketch . A list ofsome of
' ' the versions is given in the D esen fi tzve A ccoun t of the exhibits at the Scott
d 1 8 1 Centenary held at E inburgh in 7 , and some other details will be found in
’ ’ u m a l 1 1 r Mc F adden s fi ne hambers o 0 M . w C j of December 9 . version , in hich Scott
is represented wearing a dark coat, yellow waistcoat, black stock and white collar,
- a nd Mr. with slight side whiskers and scant grey hair, once belonged to James
83 T h Duncan of Benmore , Scotland , and was painted from life . e original
Watson Gordon sketch is now in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, to which C ’ it was presented by Henry G . Watson . adell s version was engraved on a small
’ u r scale by H o rsb g for some of the editions of Scott s works , and is by no means a pleasing likeness .
Concerning Sir Walter Scott , it is only necessary to mention here that he was
1 1 1 i born at Edinburgh on 5 August 7 7 , his father being a Writer to the Signet ( h other words a Scotch attorney of the highest class) , that he began to publish
1 6 La o th e Last M instrel 1 80 translations in 79 , the y f appeared in 5 , and that
1 8 1 Waverle his long series of romances began in 4 with y , still regarded by many
fi io n H good judges as his masterpiece in prose ct . e was created a baronet in 1 8 2 0 and died on 2 1 September 1 83 2 .
’ L zf e that among the spec ators were John Constable and his son wh o viewed the t , co nfla ratio n g from a hackney coach on Westminster Bridge .
fi re Turner painted more than one large picture of the , of which he made
- M r. A . many pencil drawings and water colour sketches , as may be seen from . J
’ F in b er s n t 0 g I n ve o ry of the Turner Bequest (pp . 9 9 There are two large
v pictures , ery nearly of the same size and almost identical in scheme . Both were
e 1 8 . 2 xhibited in 35 , one at the Royal Academy, No 94 , and the other at the
8 z British Institution , No . 5 (the si e of the latter is given in the catalogue as
in in . 66 . 5 4 by , which dimensions probably include the frame) . It may possibly be that these two exhibits are of one and the same picture , as in several instances Turner exhibited at the British Institution pictures which had previously been
u 1 6 hung at the Academy . But in the British Instit tion of the following year ( 83 ) 6 f he exhibited , No . 9 , another of the same subject with a slightly di ferent title ,
v 1 in 2 in Fire of the House of Lords , with the size gi en as 5 . by 7 . , which is probably a misprint . Only two of these three exhibits have been traced : ( 1 ) the picture here described and ( 2 ) the picture said to have been bought from Turner
Mr. C 1 868 by John Marshall of oniston , and lent by his descendant to Leeds in
1 88 and to the Old Masters , Burlington House, in 3 , and of which the size is
} 41 8 in . 367 r in . by 4 . There is another version which we need not now discuss 2
It is impossible now to decide which of the two larger versions was the
Academy picture , though Messrs . Christie claim this distinction for our version .
The catastrophe was still fresh in the minds of the public at the opening of the
’ 1 8 Royal Academy of 35 , and seen through Turner s eyes it would have a fresh
lease of life . The view is taken from the Surrey side of the Thames , near
Westminster Bridge , which towers on the right of the picture in subdued grey
r s tones and is crowded with fi u e . In the distance through the clouds of flame , g a n d s moke appear the towers of Westminster Abbey ; on the river are numerous
. boats and rafts with people , and all along the foreshore are crowds of spectators
Li e an d Corres on den ce o Tu m er one volume edition , p . Thornbury , f p f ( “ uoting Ruskin tells u s that it was almost entirely painted on the walls of the q ,
Academy to which he frequently sent his canvas imperfect and sketchy, trusting ,
was entirely to varnishing days for the completion of his picture . It astonishing
” H e fi rst what he accomplished on those days . was always the to arrive at the
’ A cademy on those occasions arriving there frequently as early as four o clock, , 86 and never later than six ; and he was invariably the last to quit in the evening .
We have an independent evidence of Turner fi n ish ing his Academy pictures on the
- walls in a letter from John Scarlett Davis , a well known artist of the period , and C ’ an occasional exhibitor at the Academy , to David ox s pupil Ince (quoted by “ 2 Thornbury , . I have no artistical chat for you , further than that Turner has ppapint4e5d a large picture of the Burning of the Two Houses of Parlia
— H e ment ; but I have heard it spoken of as a failure a devil of a lot of chrome .
fi n ish ed it on the walls the last two days before the Gallery the Academy]
am opened to the public. I told it was good fun to see the great man whacking
fi ft w as away with about y stupid apes standing round him , and I understand he — cursedly annoyed the fools kept peeping ihto his colour box and examining all
” his brush es and colours .
The history of this picture so far as can now be ascertained is as follows : Its
fi rst Mr Wes fi . C t eld recorded owner was harles Birch , of House , Edgbaston ,
“ ” whose cabinet of British art has justly obtained a more than local celebrity .
M r . 1 8 2 . 1 1 Birch exhibited it at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists , 5 , No 4 ;
’ t 1 and as it was not included in his sale a Foster s , in Pall Mall , on 5 February
1 8 5 5 , he must have disposed of it privately, for in the same year it was sent by
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Co . Lloy d , Brothers and , the city art dealers, to Foster s , where it was sold on
1 1 8 8 1 0 . n ext 3 June 5 5 , lot 5 9 , for guineas, and was purchased by Wallis It was y
Mr . C . . in the collection of , J Palmer of Portland Place, London , was sold at
’ C 1 86 8 was hristie s in May , and bought by Messrs . Agnew for guineas . It was sold to Mr. . fo r J Graham , from whom it was acquired privately or by
Mr. wh th e Holbrook Gaskell , of Woolton , near Liverpool , by om it was lent to
1 88 Old Masters Exhibition at Burlington House in , No . 1 and again at th e 5 9 7 ,
’ 1 0 . 1 1 A Mr . t Gask same place in 9 7 , No 3 . ell s sale in June 1 0 this splendid picture fetched the highest price but one up to that time paid 9fo9r a picture by
' . A fi Turner photogravure of it appeared in the Gaskell catalogue . Its rst
’ public appearance in the New World was at Messrs . K n o edler s Exhibition o f ” M 1 1 1 Old asters, New York, January 9 , in the catalogue ofwhich it is illustrated . It is recorded and described in all the books on Turner notably Sir Walter ,
’ ’ 1 02 . 1 1 2 6 Armstrong s monograph , 9 , pp 7 and 3 , and C . F . Bell s E xhibited
'
W rhs o T - o u rn er 1 0 1 . 1 2 8 1 2 f , 9 , pp 9 .
87
’ B edfo rd s his only son , Richard Palmer (who died in who were the Duke of
London stewards for manyyears , and whowere patrons ofGainsborough Romney , , and other artists . There were three examples of Wilson in this collection , all of
1 8 which were lent to the British Institution in 47 , this one of Westminster
1 00 Bridge being No . , and was stated in the catalogue to be the property of the
Rev . H wh o . Palmer (the younger son of the Richard Palmer died in This
1 1 6 picture remained in the same family until 9 , when it was acquired by the present owner .
90 N D CHISWI CK PRE S S CHARLE S WHITTIN GHAM A CO.
TOOKS COU RT CH N CE RY L N E LONDON . , A A ,