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CLASS

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BRITISH ART
REFERENCE

ART IN DEVONSHIRE

Cije 2$iOjsrap5it£;

ARTISTS BORN IN THAT COUNTY.

GEORGE PYCROFT.

[Reprinted, with additions, from the Transactions of the Devonshire Association
for the Advancement of Science, Literature, and Art. Read at
Dawlisk and at Crediton, 1 88 1 and 1882,]

EXETER: HENRY S, ELAND.
HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO., PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
M.DCCC, LXXXIII.

MY TRUSTY FRIEND,
GEORGE HENRY HAYDON,
TO WHOM I AM INDEBTED
FOR MUCH HELP IN THE WAY OF ART,
AND IN MANY OTHER WAYS,
AND TO WHOM EXETER IS INDEBTED
FOR THE BRONZE STATUE OF
"THE DEER STALKER,"
BY E. B, STEPHENS, A,R,A,,
THIS ATTEMPT TO KEEP GREEN
THE MEMORY OF THE
GOOD ARTLSTS
BORN IN HIS NATIVE COUNTY,

ART IN DEVONSHIRE.

Inquiry leads men to doubt. To hold
fast our belief in any historical fact we
should ask no questions about it. If
there is a well-grounded faith, say our
fellow -countymen, it is, first, that Devonshire has
produced more artists than any other county in
England ; secondly, that the inspiration proceeds
from the ever-changing atmospheric effects, and the
inexhaustible variety of the Devonshire climate and
scenery. It is so pleasant a faith that I approached
the inquiry into the subject with something like
dread, lest the belief should prove to be the product
of the warping effect of a patriotic bias.
I find that it is true that more artists can claim
Devonshire for their birthplace than any other
county, but that it is not true that this fact is due to
the inspiriting effects of the climate and scenery.
There are thirty-three Devonshire artists who have
died and left a name behind them. This seems a
very small number for so large a county, and for a

Art in Devonshire.

period ranging from Henry VIII. to Queen Victoria;
but we must remember that there was hardly any
art in England before the days of the great Sir
Joshua. In carefully analyzing Redgrave's English School
of Painting, I find that there have been 1,127
painters whose names have been preserved. Of
these he has been able to trace the birthplaces of
only 438, leaving 689 unaccounted for. These 438
have been distributed among the English counties
in the following manner :

Middlesex

. 166

Cornwall

7

Devon

33

Kent

5

York

22

Hertford

4

Somerset

22

Cheshire

4

Lancashire

17

Lincoln

2

Norfolk

27

Surrey

7

Cumberland

9

Derby

8

Northumberland

II

Dorset

3

Stafford

9

Suffolk

5

Essex

7

Leicester

2

Shropshire

7

Wilts

5

Westmoreland ,

5

Berks

3

Sussex

6

Nottingham

4

Hants

5

Cambridge

2

Durham

5

Worcester

6

Northampton ,

I

Gloucester

I

Hereford

5

Isle of Wight ,

I

Thus, leaving London-bearing Middlesex out of
the question, we find that our county really heads
the list as an art-producing land.
Of all English provincial cities, Plymouth with its
neighbourhood stands first, as the parent of six

Art in Devonshire. 3
painters of the highest order, whose works have
been held worthy of a place in our National Gallery ;
viz.. Sir Joshua Reynolds, Prout, Easdake, Haydon,
Northcote, and Solomon Hart, and also of Rogers
and Johns, the landscape painters.
In the first class of painters may be ranked fifteen
out of our thirty-three artists ; viz., W. Brockedon,
R. Cosway, John Cross, Sir Charles Eastlake, James
Gandy, John Ge;ndall, B. R. Haydon, S. Hart, N.
Hilliard, J. Northcote, S. Prout, Sir Joshua Reynolds,
F. R. Lee, R. Crosse, and A. B. Johns ; a goodly
band, of whom any country might be proud.
Our historical painters are eight in number —
W. Brockedon, John Cross, Sir Charles Eastlake,
B. R. Haydon, S. Hart, T. Jenkins, J. King, and
James Northcote.
Of portrait painters we have many examples, no
less than sixteen out of the thirty-three who have
been deemed worthy of a place in our published
biographies. This preponderance of portrait painters
is easily accounted for. The greater number of
persons would prefer their own or their relatives'
likenesses to a painting by Raphael himself; and
artists, even when their proclivities were in another
direction, have been driven to portrait painting for a
livelihood. The first Devonshire portrait painter was a native
of Cullompton, named John Shute, and he worked
in miniature. None of his productions can be re
cognized, as far as I am aware ; at all events, they

4 Art in Devonshire.
do not appear in any of the great catalogues ; but
Richard Haydock, of New College, Oxford, in his
translation of Lomazzo on Painting, done in 159^'
speaks of him as having brought " the art of drawing
from the life in small models to rare perfection,"
He is termed by Walpole, the father of English
miniature painting. He studied in Italy in 155°'
and died in 1563.
Then we have, second in point of time, but in
merit second to none, old Nicholas Hilliard, an
Exeter man, the fashionable portrait and miniature
painter of Queen Elizabeth's time. He took
Holbein for his model, as he stated in a MS. :
" Holbein's manner of limning I have ever imitated,
and hold it for the best." An admirable artist, who
has handed down to us the exact presentment of
the distinguished men and women of his age. A
number of his works still remain in good condition,
and are eagerly sought for by connoisseurs, and fetch
high prices. He died in 16 19.
Next in order appears another Exeter native
named James Gandy, born in 1619. From the
unfortunate habit of our early painters of omitting
to sign their productions, few of his can be traced,
although there must be many remaining in our
Devonshire country houses. Sir Joshua Reynolds
thought so highly of him that he used to visit
one of his portraits, that of Tobias Langdon, in
the Exeter Choral Vicars' Hall, as a study for
colour. There is much confusion in the works of some

Art in Devonshire. 5
writers on art between James Gandy and his son
William ; and Northcote, in his Life of Sir Joshua,
says that it was William whose pictures made such
an effect on the portrait painter, and not James ;
but Northcote did not receive the information first
hand, but through remembered conversations with
his father. William Jackson, the eminent musical
composer, who was an intimate friend of the great
painter, writes in his Essays, " I heard Sir Joshua say
that on his return from Italy he again looked at the
works of Gandy, and that they had lost nothing in
his estimation, and the portrait he most admired
was that of Tobias Langdon, in the College of
Vicars," which was the work of James Gandy.
James Gandy arrived at eminence at a time when
the country was at its lowest ebb with regard to art,
and when the post of portrait painter was generally
filled by foreigners.
It is true that there lived Dobson, Riley, Green-
hill, and Michael Wright, Englishmen, portrait
painters, but to not one of their works would Sir
Joshua have ever paid frequent visits to refresh his
eye with the beauty of colour, as he did to the
Tobias Langdon of James Gandy; and all these
died early. Then there came Sir Peter Lely, from
Westphalia, with his meretricious portraits, and Sir
Godfrey Kneller, from Lubeck, the State painter of
five sovereigns, who did nothing to elevate the art
of portraiture, but the reverse ; and then came
Michael Dahl, the Swede ; Sir John de Medina, the
Fleming ; John Vanderbank, English born, but of

6 Art in Devonshire.
Dutch extraction ; Vanloo, the Frenchman ; and
Joseph Vanakin, whose chief employment lay in
painting drapery, and who was so useful to the
other artists that Hogarth satirised them by repre
senting them all attending Vanakin's funeral in a
body. The next portrait painter in Devonshire was
William Gandy, son of James. Hundreds of his
productions must be scattered about Devon and
Cornwall, but as he did not sign his pictures few
are known. The portrait in the board-room of the
Exeter Workhouse of Sir Edward Seaward, and in
the board-room of the Exeter Hospital of John
Patch, senior, were by his hand. He was very un
certain in his work, and careless; but some paintings,
it is said, show great force and power, although this
cannot be said of either of those just mentioned.
He died in 1729.
And after their day, when the taste for art in
England was so rare that Hudson ruled the fashion
as a portrait painter, although there was a Hogarth
and a Ramsay, and when the other popular painters
were George Knapton {1698- 17 79), Francis Cotes
( 1 726-1 770), and John Russell (i 774-1806), all
artists in crayons, our own great Sir Joshua arose.
He was almost as great in portraiture as Turner
was in landscape painting. He first taught us the
great lesson, that to produce a likeness it is not
enough to copy the features, and make a hard
resemblance ; any painter could do that — it is not
more difificult to copy a nose and an eye than it is

Art in Devonshire. 7
to delineate the tracery of a gothic window — but
that it is imperative to make the man appear before
you as he moved in life, with mind in his face, and
his peculiar cast of mind ; with his temper, his habits,
his degree of refinement, his place in society all
portrayed ; so that when the spectator has once
seen the image he knows the sitter himself, and
going away forgets the painting, but remembers the
man. If you cast one brief glance at his portrait of
Lord Heathfield, with the keys of Gibraltar in his
hand, in the National Gallery, you recognise the
genial character of the old man — the soldier, the
commander, the man of invincible determination ; of
Garrick, you see the quickness and versatility of
the man, who was equally famous in tragedy and
comedy, portrayed, rather than the features by
which they are exhibited ; of Johnson, and you know
him as well as if you had sat at dinner with him at
Boswell's — there is the ponderous thinker, the auto
crat of the dinner- table, and the scholar. It was
Reynolds who taught us that if the soul of the sitter
did not appear on the canvas the portrait was dead
and lifeless. So Turner taught us in landscape that
it is not enough to paint what you see before you,
but you must suit your sky and your climate to the
nature of the scene ; that a landscape does not
consist merely of earth and air and water, but that
you must show that it is a part of a vast and living
world, by flickering light, by rising mists, by passing
cloud shadows, all softening away into space and
mystery; and, lastly, you must show the mood

8 Art in Devonshire.
nature was in when you took your sketch, or ought
to have been in when you made your composition.
Contemporary with Sir Joshua we have the ec
centric, vain, but talented Cosway of Tiverton, with his
unrivalled miniatures, his pictorial records of the most
distinguished men and beautiful women of his time,
portraits which are still much sought after, and for
which prices are always high. He painted life-size
portraits in oil too, but not so well. He was most
highly thought of in his lifetime, and by no one so
much as by himself, and the little man left the
request in his will that his remains should be taken
to Antwerp, and buried by the side of the Giant
Rubens. And about the same time Downman drew the
portraits of our grandmothers in their prime very
modestly and very delicately, and James Northcote,
R.A,, went up from his father's shop in Plymouth to
be the second leading portrait painter of the Metro
polis ; and Leakey stood by his native county and
drew our fathers' miniatures in oil on ivory, and
landscapes too, sometimes very beautifully ; and
William Mineard Bennett, R. A. Clack, Richard
Cross, and John King, practised their art ; and, last
of all, William Sharland and Thomas Mogford, who
were cut off too early in life for their fame.
Among our thirty-three artists it is remarkable that
only seven practised landscape, and among these but
six can be said to have drawn their inspiration from
Devonshire scenery; viz,, John Gendall, Thomas

Art in Devonshire. g
Mogford, Fred. R. Lee, W. Traies, J. Leakey, and
A. B. Johns. It is also worthy of note that all
these practised their art within the last fifty years,
and that previous to this time the seasons might
change, the clouds and haze might give their beau
tiful atmospheric effects, the granite lichen-covered
boulders might break the glistening moor streams
into cascades ; it was all lost upon the Devonshire
men, who slept like the inhabitants of the Lotos
islands, unmoved by the surrounding loveliness,
never dreaming of fixing it on canvas. This is the
more remarkable, because at the same period, in
flat unpicturesque Holland, and in that English
Holland, Norfolk, landscape painters abounded and
formed a school.
It must be remembered, however, that landscape
painting in England is of comparatively recent date,
and it is only within the life-time of living men that
it can really be said to have been practised, except
by a few. The so-called landscape painters drew
upon their imagination, not upon their sight ; and a
number of canvases were produced representing
worthless ideal subjects, weak repetitions of the
works of the old masters.
We have changed all this now. We shall have
composition landscapes no more. We can now no
longer foretell of any man's intended picture that it
will consist of a lake or pond in the centre, with a
low cascade running into its placid waters ; that
there will be a clump of trees on the left, a fountain,
with figures, indistinctly seen on the right ; a round

IO Art in Devonshire.
tower in the middle ; a mountain rising out of the
plain in the extreme distance ; and a shepherd blow
ing a clarionette to two dancing girls and a goat in
the foreground. It would be hard, no doubt, to
part with Claude's, or Both's, or Berghem's, or
Wilson's, or Turner's ; but, with a few exceptions
spared from the general massacre, the world would
not be much the poorer if all the composed land
scapes that ever were painted met the sad fate of
Titian's " Peter Martyr." The classical school is
dead, let us hope, for ever. Roman temples, bald-
pated philosophers, and tambourine-playing nymphs
have passed off the stage. Our artists no longer
evolve a landscape out of their inner consciousness,
but they give us a true transcript from nature. They
no longer work in garrets, like Wilson, but in day
light, face to face with nature, Hke Old Crome. You
come upon them unexpectedly in your walks, sitting
by the moor streams and among the granite boulders ;
you find them sketching painstakingly, giving the
correct form and substance of the "bit" before
them, catching the tints as they fly, and giving to
their work an air of reality, and a degree of daylight,
that is not to be found among the works of men of
old time. On our Devonshire painters' canvasses
the sunlight now dances upon the broken stream ;
the moss, lichen, and ivy grow on the rock, and you
can tell what rock it is ; the anatomy of trees is
correctly given ; the season of the year is depicted,
with its delicate greens or its golden russets ; the
very time of day is seen at a glance. And instead

Art in Devonshire. 1 1
of figures from the heathen mythology in the fore
grounds, we find sleek cattle knee-deep in ferns and
wild flowers, seeking the water or the shade. More
over, our eyes are charmed with that endless variety
of hue which always exists in nature, but which is
seldom, if ever, found in the work of the old masters;
because our artists endeavour to hold a true mirror
up to nature, and not to that gloomy substitute, the
" Claude Lorraine."
Our artists now well know that shadow does not
mean simply the darkening of a colour, but that
each tint has its peculiar modification in shade, that
the shadow of green is not black, that there is a
loveliness in the subdued and altered tints of parts
in shadow, as well as a use in throwing up the
brighter bits of a picture. They know this pardy
from their own observation ; for artists now claim
the right of private judgment, observe for themselves,
and refuse to see nature through the spectacles of
the old painters ; and partly from the teaching and
example of that great master of his art, Joseph
William Mallard Turner.
So work the two Widgerys, of Exeter, the two
Dingles, father and son, of Plymouth, Pike, of the
same town, Philip Mitchell, W. S. Morrish, of
Chagford, Mary Isabella Grant, of Hillersden, Cull
ompton, an accomplished amateur, and some others.
We may therefore reasonably hope that we shall
ere long possess a school of landscape painters of
our own, owing their inspiration to that loveliness
of the earth, the air, and the water, with which

12 Art in Devonshire.
Devonshire is endowed before all the counties of
our land.
In the statuary's art we have four examples —
Nicholas Stone, a native of Woodbury, near Exeter,
who was master mason and sculptor to James I.,
and designed and executed all the principal monu
ments of his time ; Samuel James Bouverie Haydon,
whose talents ought to have made him more known ;
Edward Bowring Stephens, and William John Seward
Webber, all natives of Exeter — -and the last is
happily still to be found in his studio.
Nicholas Stone did a great deal of work in his
day, and has left an interesting list of monuments
executed by him, with the prices paid.
In one instance, for a monument to Sir Charles
M orison, he received "£260, and four pieces given
me to drink ;" and on another occasion he received
"^450, and ^50 given me to drink," ^20 of which
were by the king's command. When next you pass
by Inigo Jones's great work, the banquetting-house
at Whitehall, you will not look upon it with less
interest when you remember that the master mason
of the building was a man who came up to
London as a raw lad from the very rural village
of Woodbury.
Edward Bowring Stephens's work is well known
in his native city. The statues of Prince Albert,
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart, the Earl Fortescue,
K,G,, the Earl of Devon, and John Dinham, together
with the bronze statue of " The Deer Stalker," the

Art in Devonshire. 13
ornament of Northernhay, will long preserve his
memory in the place which knew him, and which
he honoured.
William John Seward Webber has already done
good work, an earnest I hope of much more to follow.
He has great ability, amounting to genius, and it is
pleasant to remember that he was originally a pupil
in the school of John Gendall, of Exeter — a good
school it was, with a good man and a kind friend as
master ; and also to remember that he is a native of
Exeter, from which city three out of our four statu
aries sprang, and the fourth from its immediate
neighbourhood. There is one branch of art not yet referred to,
which is at present represented in our county by one
man — I mean mezzotint engraving. It is one of
those branches of the art that has flourished most
in England during the last hu,ndred years, and our
island can boast of many excellent professors, notably
Lupton and C. Turner, in pure mezzotint, and T.
Landseer, and our countyman, Samuel Cousins, in
a mixed style. There is no man of whom his native
city is more proud than of Samuel Cousins, who has
added a lustre to the county of Devon by his un
rivalled works. He stands without cavil the greatest
engraver in his style and in his age.
But before his day there had lived E. A. Ezekiel,
an Exeter man, who engraved a few portraits in
mezzotint, and Thomas Patch, also a native of
Exeter, who went to Italy with Sir Joshua Reynolds,

14 Art in Devonshire.
and engraved the frescoes of Masaccio and other
works of the old masters.

There have been certain painters who, though
they did not enjoy the good fortune to be born in
Devonshire, yet practised chiefly in our county.
There was Samuel Cook, the Cornishman, who
lived and painted in Plymouth, and who was one of
the best painters of landscape that ever lived in any
country. He was born in Camelford in 1806, and
died in 1859, Then there was Luny, the marine
painter. He practised chiefly at Teignmouth, and
there he has left his honoured bones. As a marine
painter he would bear comparison with any, and
there is no painter that the men of Devon covet
more, and would more readily kidnap if they could.
They regret that they cannot claim him as a native.
He died in 1837. Then there still lives John Colley,
who practised, chiefly in Plymouth, as a portrait
painter, and came of a Devonshire family ; but we
cannot quite claim him ; for he first saw the light in
London, more than eighty years ago. And there is
still to be met in the fields William Williams, the
landscape painter, born in Penryn, in Cornwall, but
who worked so much in Plymouth that he is always
known by the name of Plymouth Williams. Neither
must we forget Keenan, the portrait painter, whose
canvasses we frequently meet with — a very good
painter he was, and much identified with Devon
shire. And lastly, Carter, the animal painter, Devon
shire nurtured, but London born.

Art in Devonshire. 15
It may be objected that some of the artists whose
biography is here given were hardly worthy of
being chronicled ; but my intention, as that of
Samuel Redgrave, in his Dictionary of the English
School of Painters, has been " to include the name
of every artist whose works may give interest to
his memory, whether to the lover of art, the art
collector, the local historian, or the antiquary, re
membering that it is not the great artist alone, of
whose works there are ample records, so much as
the obscure and forgotten, whose works are rarely
met with, of whom information is desired and fre
quently sought in vain."
The information contained in the following bio
graphies I have gathered from WaX^ole!?, Anecdotes of
Painters, Ottley's Dictionary of Painters, Bryant's
Dictionary of Painters, Redgrave's English School
of Painters, Northcote's fife of Sir Joshua Reynolds;
obituaries in the Times, Art Journal, and local
papers ; reminiscences of A. S. Hart, r.a, ; enquiries
among surviving relatives ; and from notes of my
own which I have made during many years. I also
wish to express my indebtedness to Mr. Robert
Dymond and Mr. George Townsend, of Exeter, who
have most readily given me the benefit of their local
historical knowledge; to Mr. S. C. Hall, Mr. G. H,
Haydon, Mr. Philip Mitchell, and Mr. W, Luscombe,
of Clarham, Plymouth — the last of whom has been
of the greatest service to me by his valuable and
most readily-given information about the artists of
the Plymouth school.

1 6 Art in Devonshii^e.

BIOGRAPHIES OF DEVONSHIRE ARTISTS.
AsHWORTH, Edward, architect, born at Colleton,
near Chumleigh, Devon, in 1814. His father, the
son of a barrister, followed agricultural pursuits ;
but from failing health left that part of the country
in 1822. Turning his attention to architecture,
Edward Ashworth was first articled to Mr. Cornish,
of Exeter, and afterwards became a pupil of Mr.
Charles Fowler, of i, Gordon Square, London.
After passing some time in other London offices,
he went, in 1842, to New Zealand, then in a
languishing state. From thence he proceeded to
Hong Kong, where he was employed in carrying
out works in that rising place in 1844 s^^^d 1845.
Returning to England in 1846, he wrote for the
Architectural Publication Society an essay on
Chinese Architecture, also from time to time,
between 1847 and 1877, papers on Church Archi
tecture, which were read before the Exeter Diocesan
Architectural Society. He rebuilt the churches of
Dulverton, Tiverton, Bideford, Lympstone, Romans-
leigh, and East Anstey. He built the new churches
at Withecombe, Exmouth, Topsham, and St. Mary
Major, Exeter, and partially restored the churches
of Seaton, Axminster, Shute, Wooton Courtney,
Selworthy, and of Cheriton Fitzpaine, Somerset.
Bennett, Mary Louisa, daughter of J. N. Bennett,
a highly-respected solicitor of Plymouth, in which

Art in Devonshire. 17
town she was born in 1848. At an early age she
displayed marked aptitude in drawing, and gave
promise of success in the use of oil for landscape
and compositions with figures. Her attention was
a little later on directed to the plastic art, and there
exist in London and in her native town many proofs
of her skill in modelling from the life. Some of her
busts have been exhibited at the Royal Academy,
notably those of Lady Charles Trevelyan and of a
daughter of Lady Holland, which were well thought
of for the faithfulness of portraiture and the display
of intellectual refinement. Among other works she
produced a bust, large-size, of Mr. W. Luscombe, at
that time Mayor of Plymouth. This accomplished
lady has recently varied her occupation in art by the
practice of engraving, and the specimens of her work
afford promise of future excellence.
Bennett, William Mineard, born in Exeter,
studied art under Sir Thomas Lawrence, and attained
reputation in London as a miniature and portrait
painter. He exhibited at the Academy in 18 12, 18 13,
1815, 1816, and again in 1834 and 1835. About the
year 18 14 he settled in Paris, where he was decorated
by Louis XVIII. He attained also proficiency in
music, and cultivated a taste for literature. In 1844
he returned to Exeter, after thirty years' absence, and
pursued art only as an amusement. He died in his na
tive city, Oct. 17, 1858, aged 80. Mr. Pike, manager
of the Exeter Savings Bank, married his niece, and
possesses several portraits and landscapes by him.

1 8 Art in Devonshire.
Brockedon, William, subject and history painter,
born at Totnes, October 13, 1787. He was the son
of a watchmaker, and on the death of his father he
carried on the business for five years. His love of
art prevailing, he went to London to study, and was
admitted as a student of the Royal Academy in
1809. Mr. E. Windeatt, in his biographical sketch
of Brockedon in the Transactions' of the Devonshire
Association, vol. ix. page 245, states that " from the
position his friends occupied it was impossible for
him to raise himself to the high place he attained
in after-life, without a helping hand to assist him to
the foot of the ladder of fortune. In this respect
William Brockedon was fortunate, his chief patrons
being the Venerable Robert Hurrell Froude, m,a.,
Archdeacon of Totnes, and Rector of Dartington,
and Governor Holdsworth, of Dartmouth, and the
Champernowne family of Dartington." In three
years (181 2) we find him already an exhibitor of
two portraits ; and in 1 8 1 3 of the portrait of Miss
Booth, the actress, as Juliet; while in 1814 he ex
hibited a painting, and sent a model of Adam and
Eve in plaster, in competition for the Academy
medal. In 181 5 he repaired to Paris for the
purposes of study, and on his return at the age of
2 1 years he painted the very large historical picture
which hangs in the Exeter assize court, entitled the
" Acquittal of Susannah."
In 18 1 8 he again competed in sculpture for the
Academy medal, and painted " The Resurrection of
the Widow's Son," now at the parish church, St.

Art in Devonshire. 19
Saviour's, Dartmouth. In the ancient Guildhall of
Totnes is a large picture by him from a scene
taken from Ossian's poems, another in Dartington
parish church of a scene in the life of St. Peter, and
a Crucifixion in the parish church of Cornworthy.
From the number of very large canvases he pre
sented to churches and public institutions, it is
perhaps fair to conclude that, like B. R. Haydon, he
lived to find that such works are not marketable.
In 1822, after spending a winter in Rome, he settled
in London, and painted more saleable pictures of
popular subjects and of smaller size, " Pifferari,"
" Psyche borne by Zephyrs," " L' Allegro," " Galileo
Visited by Milton in Prison," " Burial of Sir John
Moore," " Raphael and the Fornarina." Between
1828-30 he published Illustratio7is of the Passes of
the Alps ; Journals of Excursions on the Alps;
wrote the literary part of Finden's fllustrations of
the Life of Byron in 1833-4 ; the Road Book from
London to Naples in 1835 ; Ltaly, Classical and
Picturesque, 1842-3 ; Egypt and Nubia, from draw
ings by David Roberts, r,a., 1846-9; a series of
papers on "Alpine Travels," in Blackwood's
Magazine, and the Savoy and Alpine portion of
Murray's Hand-book for Switzerland.
William Brockedon was a man of science, or
applied science, as well as of literature and art. The
supply of that particular vein of plumbago from
which our best drawing pencils were made, and
which caused English drawing pencils to be prized
all over the Continent, had failed, and good pencils
c 2

20 Art in Devonshire.
were no longer to be had. Brockedon turned his
attention to the remedy for this great loss to artists,
and hit upon a plan of compressing the small pieces
and the waste of blacklead into tablets of sufificient
consistency to allow of being cut into pieces for lead
pencils. He effected this by powerful compression
in vacuo. He also invented a method of compressing
soda and potash into tablets for medicinal purposes,
a process which has lately been made use of very
extensively, as the advertisements for compressed
tablets of many drugs will testify.
Brockedon was the founder of the Graphic Society,
a member of the Royal Literary Fund, a Fellow of
the Royal Society, and a member of the Academy
of Fine Arts at Florence and Rome. For a more
detailed account of the life of this highly-gifted man
the reader is referred to Mr. E. Windeatt's bioera-
phical sketch in the Transactions of the Devonshire
Association, vol, ix. p. 243, He died in London,
August 29th, 1854, in his 67th year, and was buried in
the cemetery of St. George-the- Martyr, Bloomsbury.
Clack, Richard Augustus, portrait painter, the
son of a Devonshire clergyman. He studied at the
Royal Academy, and exhibited from 1830 to 1845.
He practised portrait painting in Exeter for many
years, and died in 1881.
Cole, Abram, landscape painter, born in Plymouth
in 1830. Although engaged in tuition, he has pro
duced, in his few leisure hours, many excellent

Art in Devonshire. 21
drawings, in which will be found accuracy of outline
and perspective, united to a fine appreciation of
breadth and colour. His skies are clear and sunny,
and he is especially happy in the movement of the
advancing tide and its breaking on the coast.
Collier, The Right Hon. Sir Robert, amateur
landscape painter, born in 18 17. He is the son of
John Collier, Esq., of Grimstone, m.p. for Plymouth
from 1832 to 1 84 1. He was educated at Trinity
College, Cambridge (b.a, 1841), was called to the
Bar at the Inner Temple in 1843, and was made Q.c.
in 1854. He was some time Recorder of Penzance;
was Judge- Advocate for the Fleet, and Counsel to
the Admiralty, from 1859 to 1863 ; appointed
Solicitor-General in 1863, and as Attorney-General
served from 1868 to 1871. He was appointed a
Justice of Common Pleas in November, 1871, and
a few days subsequently a Judge of the Judicial
Committee of Privy Council. He represented
Plymouth in Parliament from 1852 to 187 1 ; was
created k.b. in 1863, p.c. in 1871. Sir Robert is a
devoted lover of art, and has practised it with so
much success that it is fair to say of him, that had
he followed painting as a profession he would prob
ably have attained as great eminence in it as he has
in the law. He was President of the Devonshire
Association in 1879, at the Ilfracombe meeting, and
delivered an address on art, than which no better
essay on the subject has appeared since the publica
tion of the Modern Painters. An excellent and

2 2 Art in Devonshire.
representative specimen of his work — in his case
holiday work — may be seen in the Alpine landscape
presented by him to the Plymouth Athenaeum.
CoNDY, Nicholas, marine and genre painter in
oils, born near Plymouth in 1 799. He came of
an old Cornish family. He entered the army at an
early age, and served in the 43rd Regiment through
the greater part of the Peninsular War ; was in
valided from Salamanca, but was able to be present
with his regiment at Quatre Bras. He marched
with the victorious army into Paris, and during his
stay there he took the greatest delight in studying
the great paintings which Napoleon had gathered
from despoiled Europe. Condy made sketches while
on the march, whenever he had the opportunity. He
made sketches also in Dover, when quartered there;
and the most interesting of these is a slight pencil
drawing of the first picture he ever sold — a picture
of Dover, painted for the Mayor of that town, and
purchased by him for ;^io. This is dated 1818.
At the peace, the battalion to which he was attached
was disbanded, and his wife — -who had tastes similar
to his own, and sketched with him — encouraged him
in his love of art, and induced him to turn his hobby
into a source of profit ; for which purpose he took up
his residence at Plymouth, and became a professional
painter. He lived with his son, a promising artist,
and did not mix much with the other painters of
Plymouth. Both are described as most gentlemanly
and courteous men, who mingled in the best society.

Art in Devonshire. 23
He excelled in his pictures of interiors of cottages
with well-painted figures of old and young. All his
work is most elaborately finished in detail, and painted
from the object. His pictures were thoroughly
arranged in his painting-room, and his wife generally
stood as his model.
The late Earl of Mount Edgcumbe was a great
patron of both Condys, and at Mount Edgcumbe is
one of the elder's finest works — " The Old Hall at
Cotehele on a Rent-day."
The son died before his father, very suddenly —
died whilst taking a foot-bath in his bedroom, with
his father sitting by showing him a folio of fresh
sketches. The father felt his boy's loss bitterly, and
never recovered the shock. He had several seizures,
and used to be wheeled about in a Bath-chair ; and
the meeting any one whose presence brought back
to him more vividly the recollection of his son
affected him deeply.
He exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1842-4.
Some views on the Thames by him were published.
At the exhibition of Devonshire and Cornwall
pictures, held at Plymouth on the occasion of the
visit of the British Association in 1877, the follow
ing pictures by Nicholas Condy were shown :
The Barbican (in oils). The property of J. A, Page, Esq.
Hamoaze, with Shipping (in oils) „ Capt, T, Hunt,
The Barbican, Plymouth (in oils) „ Mrs, Yonge.
Cottage Interior (in oils) . „ C. F. Tanner, Esq.
Sea Piece (in oils) . . „ Mrs. Triscott.
Sea Piece (in oils) . . „
Austrian Frigate in Hamoaze (in oils) „ „
The Barbican, Plymouth (in oils) „ „

24 Art in Devonshire.
His wife was the daughter of Captain Oates, of
Falmouth, a portrait painter, and was a proficient in
flower painting.
He died at Plymouth, May 20th, 185 1, aged 52
years. Condy, Nicholas Matthews, marine painter, son
of Nicholas Condy, born in Union Street, Plymouth,
in 1 8 16. He was educated at Mount Radford
School, in Exeter ; was afterwards a pupil of the
Rev. C. Thomas, of Lew Trenchard, and became a
good classical scholar and linguist. He was originally
intended by his father for one of the services, army
or navy ; but his talent as a marine painter asserted
itself so early, that the thought was abandoned.
The cause of his deciding to follow the career of an
artist was as follows : The Earl of Egremont, with
whom young Condy's father was on very friendly
terms, was a great lover of art ; and one day, hap
pening to cast his eyes on a sketch of a yacht (the
Kestrel) at Condy's house, he asked who had drawn
it. On being informed, he at once gave ten guineas
for the boy's performance, and — what was more
valuable — some encouraging words inspiriting him
to persevere with his brush. Subsequently Condy
was often the Earl's companion when afloat in his
yacht; and, assisted by his father's instruction and
his patron's encouragement, he became a painter.
He married Flora Ross, third- daughter of Major
John Lockhart Gallic, 38th Regiment.
He died suddenly in 185 1, aged 35 years.

Art in Devonshire. 25
The writer of his obituary in the Plymouth Journal
of May 22nd, 1 85 1, says of his work: "His skill as a
naval painter was highly and universally appreciated,
and many productions, exquisite for their minute
finish and their great accuracy of detail, remain in
the hands of connoisseurs, and will be more highly
prized than ever, now that the hand that gave them
existence has ceased to work."
He was buried in Westwell Cemetery, Plymouth.
Cosway, Richard, r,a., portrait and miniature
painter, born at Tiverton, where his family had
been long settled, and where his father was master
of the public school. To any one at all familiar
with the history of art in the reign of George III.
the career of Cosway is well known. He was so
prominent a figure, from his amusing vanity, self-
conceit, and eccentricity, that he kept himself much
before the public. He was a little man in person,
and gave himself the greatest airs. His portrait
may be seen in Zoffany's portraits of the Royal
Academicians. He married, at St. George's, Han
over Square, in 1781, Maria Hadfield, a handsome,
clever woman, and an artist, and set up house on
the verge of Carlton Gardens, and afterwards in
Stratford Place. Here they lived sumptuously. The
Prince was their visitor, and they made themselves
the mark for satirists and caricaturists, Cosway
believed in Swedenborgianism, in animal magnetism,
professed to be able to raise the dead, and declared
that the Virgin Mary had sat to him several times

26 Art in Devonshire.
for the half-length portrait of the Virgin which he
had just finished. He felt himself greater than he
was, and he left a request that his remains should
be carried to Antwerp, and deposited near the bones
of Rubens ; the vaults of Marylebone Church had,
however, to serve his turn.
With all his foppery and eccentricity, which
amused him and injured no man, he had great
talent. He was an admirable draughtsman. Two
large oil paintings by him are to be seen at Powder-
ham Castle, and an altarpiece in a church at
Tiverton. He is chiefly esteemed as a miniature
painter, an art in which he had no rival. His works
are eagerly sought for at the present day, and com
mand large prices. The lovely Mrs. Fitzherbert,
and the beauties of the court, sat to him, and he
sailed along in the full tide of courtly favour. Ivory
was the medium on which he generally worked ; but
he sometimes drew whole lengths in blacklead
pencil, and painted the faces in miniature, somewhat
after the manner of Downman.
Among forty-one miniatures by him, exhibited at
Burlington House in 1879, were portraits of —
Miss Farren, afterwards Countess of Derby,
Duchess of Devonshire,
Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire.
Mrs, Robinson, " Perdita."
The Princess Amelia, youngest daughter of George III.
Lady Elizabeth Forster.
Hon. Mrs. J. Stuart Wortley Mackenzie.
Miss Francellon.
Lady Hamilton,
Lady Hampson,

Art in Devonshire. 27
Charles, Earl of Dalkeith, and Lord Henry, afterwards
Lord Montagu.
Major Peirson,
Mrs. Anstey Calvert.
Mrs. Metealf Marwood.
Mrs, Webber,
Earl of Elgin.
Countess of Westmoreland,
J ohn. Earl of Westmoreland.
Lady Harriett Cunningham,
Daughter of Henry, third Duke of Buccleuch.
Mrs. Tinling.
Miss Gunning,
John, tenth Earl of Westmoreland.
George Colman the younger.
Hon, George de Grey.
Among his miniatures, the property of Edward
Joseph, Esq,, are portraits of —
Lady Elizabeth Forster, daughter ot the fourth Earl of
Bristol.
Georgina, daughter of John, first Earl Spencer, called the
"Beautiful Duchess,"
Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales.
Mrs, Robinson, "Perdita."
Mrs, Cosway.
Elizabeth Farren, Countess of Derby.
Mrs, Nixon, of Jamaica,
Mrs, Dawson Damer.
Sophia, wife of C, A. Pelham (Lord Yarborough).
Lady Eglinton.
Sir W, Twysdon.
At the loan collection at the South Kensington
Museum in 1862 were the following:
Richard Colley, Marquis of Wellesley.
Mrs. Fitzherbert,
Sir Francis Burdett.

28 Art in Devonshire.
The Lady Hester Seymour.
Miss Eliza Cotton,
Mrs, W, Assheton.
Mrs, Ross,
Georgina Seymour, Countess de Dufort,
H,R,H, George, Prince of Wales,
Fanny Sage.
Mrs, Siddons, before 1786,
Robert, fourth Duke of Ancaster.
The Duchess of Ancaster,
Baroness Willoughby de Eresby,
Peter Robert, second Lord Gwydyr,
Admiral Viscount Keith,
Hon, Esther Curzon,
Hon. Mary Curzon.
Duchess of Devonshire and the Countess of Bessborough.
While employed in painting portraits at Powder-
ham Castle he painted for and presented an altar-
piece to Powderham Church, It was in monochrome,
larger than life-size, and represented the Saviour at
his last supper. The little man did not think it
complete till he had painted " R. Cosway " on the
breast. This picture was removed about ten or
fifteen years ago, and ofifered to the neighbouring
church at Kenton, and refused. It is still, I believe,
in want of a place.
In 1755 he gained the premium for drawing at
the Society of Arts ; in 1 766 became a member of
the Incorporated Society of Artists; in 1769 was
admitted as student of the Academy; in 1770 as
associate, and 1771 as full member of that body.
He died July 4th, 182 1. In him, and in Hilliard,
Devonshire may boast of two of the best miniature
painters our island has produced.

Art in Devonshire. 29
Cousins, Samuel, r,a,, the greatest mezzotint
engraver of our time, born at Exeter, May 9th,
1 80 1. He showed a talent for drawing at a very
early age, and at the age of eleven he gained in
competition the silver palette given by the Society
of Arts for a copy in pencil of Heath's engraving
of the " Good Shepherd," after Murillo, and in the
following year received the silver medal of the same
Society for a drawing in black and white.
Mr. Cousins was taken notice of by that generous
patron of struggling or youthful talent, the late Sir
Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart,, and was sent to
London, and articled to S. W. Reynolds, the best
mezzotint engraver of the day. With him he served
his apprenticeship, and remained as his assistant for
three years after, and during this time Mr, Cousins's
name appears upon many plates in conjunction with
that of Reynolds. He started in business on his
own account late in 1828.
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland gave him his first
commission, to engrave the picture by Sir Thomas
Lawrence, of Lady Acland and her sons, and this
plate is the first upon which Mr. Cousins's name
appears alone. Sir Thomas Lawrence was so
pleased with his work that he wished to engage him
to engrave in future for him alone ; but this he
would not agree to. Mr. Cousins tells me as an
anecdote, at which he can now afford to smile, that
when a boy, under fourteen years of age, he drew
many portraits in pencil from nature, for which his
charge was five shillings each, I possess, through

30

Art in Devonshire.

his kindness, a series of photographs taken from
these early portraits. On examining the faces, and
especially that of the old man in the wig, who was a
builder employed by the Earl Ashburnham, I am of
opinion that no artist of any age, or at any age, could
have modelled faces better.

Subjoined is a chronological list of his works

Engraved.

1826,

Lady Acland and her sons

. Sir T, Lawrence, p,r,a.

Master Lambton

ditto

Prince Metternich

ditto

Doctor Brown
... ...
1827,
La Surprise
, Dubuffe,
Sir Stamford Raffles
Sir F, Chantrey, r.a.
Vice-Admiral Lord CoUingwood
F, Howard.
Miss Croker
Sir T, Lawrence, p.r,a.
Sir M, Shaw Stewart, Bart,
Sir H. Raeburn.
Earl Grey
Sir T. Lawrence, p. r.a.
Pope Pius the Seventh .
ditto
1828,
Duke of Wellington
Sir T. Lawrence, p,r,a.
Rt, Hon, J, Wilson Croker
ditto
Davies Gilbert, p,r,s.
H, Howard, r,a.
Rev, Mr, Cogan
T, Phillips, R.A,
Sir Joseph Banks (statue)
Sir F, Chantrey, r.a.
Michael Faraday
W, H. Pickersgill, m,a.
Mr, John Bell
Thos, Stewardson,
Sir James Moncrieff
ditto
Bishop Heber
T, Phillips, r,a.
Lord Jeffrey
, , , .. ,
1830,
Sir Thomas Munro
Sir M, Shee, p,r,a.
Mrs, Woolff
Sir T. Lawrence, p,r,a.
Lady Grey and Children
ditto
Sir Thomas Lawrence, p,r,a.
ditto
Lady Dover
ditto
Miss Macdonald
ditto
1831,
Lady Gower and Child .
ditto
Lady Peel
ditto
Art in Devonshire,
Engraved. 1 83 1. The Earl of Aberdeen
Robert Burns
Dr, Croft
1832, Dr, Buckland
Dr. Sedgwick
Miss Peel
Lady Grosvenor
Thomas Campbell
Mr, Vaughan
Mr, Grenfell
Miss Juliana Homfray
1833, The Rev, James Tate
William Wilberforce, m,p.
Rt, Hon. George Canning (marble
statue)
Christ in the Garden
1834, Dr, Sumner
Lord Canterbury
Mrs. Lister
Duchess of Rutland
Mr. Bridge
William Pitt (statue)
1835, Dr, Jones
Beatrice Cenci
NatureMaster Hope
Dr, Gilbert
The Rev, Edward Bather
The Orphan
The Visionary
Pet Rabbits
Lady Ravensworth and Daughte:
Rev, Wm, Stanley Goddard, d,d,
John Milford, Esq,
Mr, Biddie
1836, The Maid of Saragossa
Lady Rolle
Lady Lyndhurst
Earl of Durham
" The Letter "

31
Sir T, Lawrence, p,r,a.
Alex, Nasmyth,
Mrs, Carpenter,
T. PhilHps, R,A,
ditto
Sir T. Lawrence, p,r,a.
dittoditto
ditto
Sir M, Shee, p,r,a,
Sam, Lane,
G. Richmond, r,a.
Sir F, Chantrey, r,a.
Correggio,
Sir M, Shee, p,r,a,
W, Pickersgill, r.a.
G. S, Newton, r,a.
G, Sanders,
John Jackson, r,a.
Sir, F, Chantrey, r,a,
T. PhilHps, R,A.
Guido,
Sir T, Lawrence, p,r,a,
ditto
T, Phillips, R,A.
W. Etty, R,A,
H, Leversedge, ditto
Miss Corbaux,

W, Owen, R,A,
Thos, Sully,
Sir D. Wilkie, r,a.
Mrs, Robertson,
Sir T, Lawrence, p,r,a.
ditto
Raoux,

32

Art in Devonshire.

Engraved, 1836. Mr, Hallam (bust)
Mr, Mclean, m,p.
Interior of the old House of
Commons
1837, Bolton Abbey in the Olden Time
Lady Blessington
The Abercorn Family .
Sir Wm, Knighton
Sir J, T, Coleridge
Mr, Justice Patteson
J, Andrew Knight
1838, Queen Victoria
Return from Hawking ,
Mr, Joseph Neeld, m,p, ,
Mr, Earl (bust)
Dr, Copplestone
1839, Lady Clive
Sir John Malcolm (statue)
Dr, Sumner
1840, Duke of Wellington
Lady Eveline Gower and Marquis
of Stafford
Queen Victoria receiving the Sac
rament at her Coronation
(commenced this year)
1 84 1, Dr, Selwyn
Earl Brownlow
1842, Queen Victoria receiving the Sac
rament at her Coronation
(finished)
1843, Lady Durham
Sir Charles Forbes (statue)
1844, The Queen and two Children
Early Dawn
Head of Napoleon I,
Dr, Blackall
1845, Mr, Keble
Mr, Robert Bateson
1846, Christ Weeping over Jerusalem
Beauty's Bath

Sir F, Chantrey, r,a,
John Bridges,

Sir E, Landseer, r,a.
Sir T, Lawrence, p,r,a.
Sir E, Landseer, r,a.
Sir T. Lawrence, p,r.a.
Mrs, Carpenter, ditto
S, Cole.
Alfred Chalon, r,a.
Sir E, Landseer, r,a.
Sir M, Shee, p,r,a.

Sir T, Lawrence, p.r,a.
Sir F, Chantrey, r,a.
Mrs, Carpenter,
J, Lucas,
Sir E, Landseer, r,a.

C, R, Leslie, r,a,
G, Richmond, r,a.
Sir M, Shee, p. r.a.

C. R, I,eslie, r.a.
Sir T, Lawrence, p,r,a.
Sir F, Chantrey, r.a.
Sir E, Landseer, r,a,
Christal, Mansion.R, R, Reinagle, r,a.
G, Richmond, r,a.
Sir C. Eastlake, p.r.a.
Sir E. Landseer, r.a.

Art in Devonshire. ^1

Engraved.

1847.

Duke of Wellington

Sir T. Lawrence, p.r.a.

Mrs. Braddyl

Sir J, Reynolds, p.r,a.

The Prince of Wales as a Sailor
Boy
F, Winterhalter.
1848.
Group of Royal Family (com
menced this year) . ,
ditto
Rev, Mr. Marker
J, P. Knight, R,A.
1849,
Shakespeare
Unknown.
Mrs, Elizabeth Fry
G, Richmond, r,a.
1850.
Dr, Pindar
Sir Wm. Boxall, r,a.
Mr, Hodgson
Partridge,
1851,
Rt. Hon. Sir Robert Peel, Bart. ,
Sir T, Lawrence, p.r,a.
Viscount Palmerston
Jno, Partridge,
Mr. Adams
T. Mogford,
" The first of May "
F. Winterhalter
1852.
Bishop of Moray and Ross
G, Richmond, r,a.
Peter Barlow
Sir Wm, Boxall, r,a.
Dugald Stewart
Sir David Wilkie, r,a.
1853-
Mr, Ledsham
E, U, Edis.
The Infant Samuel
J, Sant, R,A.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Alston,
1854,
The Emperor of the French
F, Winterhalter,
The Order of Release .
J. E, Millais, r.a.
The Infant Timothy
J. Sant, r,a.
1855-
" Comedy "
ditto
"Tragedy"
ditto
Rev. Mr. Griffiths
G, F, Watts, R,A.
1856.
Empress of the French .
F, Winterhalter.
Princess Royal of England
ditto
1857-
A Midsummer Night's Dream .
Sir E. Landseer, r,a.
1858.
Rosa Bonheur
Dubuffe.
Sir Bartle Frere
W, Phillips.
Saved
Sir E. Landseer, r,a.
1859,
Mrs, Naylor
Sir F. Grant, p.r.a.
The Mitherless Bairn .
T. Faed, r.a.
Mr, Frederick Huth
Sir Wm. Boxall, r.a.
i860.
Duke of Northumberland
Sir F. Grant, p.r.a.
Sir Henry Rawlinson
W. Phillips.
Dr. Beasley
H. T. Wells.
Abel Smith
F. R, Say
D
Art in Devonshire.

34
Engraved, i860. Lord Winmarleigh
Marie Antoinette
Lord Clyde
The Maid and Magpie ,
H.R,H, the Princess of Wales
From Dawn to Sunset .
The Rev. J, C, Woodhouse
" Whittington "
W, Gibbs, Esq.
Duchess of Northumberland
Piper and Pair of Nutcrackers
Lady Mary Hamilton
" My First Minuet "
" The Connoisseurs "
Earl Spencer, K.G.
Mater Dolorosa
Sir Thos. Watson
Mater Purissima
J. Pemberton Heywood, Esq.
"The Queen"
The Strawberry Girl
"Yes or No"
The Age of Innocence .
New-laid Eggs
Penelope Boothby
Simplicity Miss Bowles
Picture of Health
Lady Caroline Montague
" Winter ''
Lady Ann Fitzpatrick as "Sylvia'
"No"Moretta, a Venetian Girl
The Countess Spencer .
The Hon. Ann Bingham
Lavinia Countess Spencer
PlaymatesLady Spencer and her Son, Lord
Althorp
The Dauphin, son of Louis XVI

1861.

1863.

1864.

1865.

1867.

1868.

1870,1873-1874,

1875-

1876.

1877,

G. Richmond, a,r,a.
E, M. Ward, r,a.
Sir F, Grant, p,r,a.
Sir E, Landseer, r,a,
T, Faed, r,a,
Wyndham Phillips.
J. Sant, r,a.
Sir W, Boxall, r.a.
Weigall. Sir E. Landseer, r.a.
F. Winterhalter.
J. E. Millais, r.a.
Sir E. Landseer, r.a.
H. T. Wells, R.A.
F. Goodall, R.A.
G. Richmond, r.a.
F. Goodall, R.A.
G. Richmond, r.a.
Lowes Dickenson.
Sir J. Reynolds, p.r.a.
J. E. Millais, r.a.
Sir J. Reynolds, p.r.a.
J. E. Millais, r.a.
Sir J. Reynolds, p.r.a.
ditto
ditto
J. E. Millais, r.a.
Sir J. Reynolds, p.r.a.
ditto
J. E, Millais, r a,
F, Leighton, p.r,a.
Sir J, Reynolds, p.r.a,
ditto
Sir J, Reynolds, p,r,a,
H, Merle,
Sir J. Reynolds, p,r,a.
Greuze,

Art in Devonshire.
Engraved.
1877. Miss Rich
Duchess of Rutland
"Yes"

35

Since 1877,

Duchess of Devonshire .
The Princes in the Tower
The Princess Sophia of Gloucester
"Muscipula"Mrs, Brown
" Imprisoned "
Cardinal Newman
Ninette Benedicta Head of Italian Girl
Cherry Ripe
Pomona

W. Hogarth.
Sir J, Reynolds, p.r.a,
J. E. Millais, r,a.

Sir J. Reynolds, P.R.A,
J, E, Millais, r,a.
Sir J, Reynolds, p,r,a.
ditto
Edwin Long, r,a,
Briton Rivifere, r,a.
Lady Coleridge.
Greuze.Frank Dicksee, a.r.a.
Sir F. Leighton, p.r.a.
J. E. Millais, r.a.
ditto

Mr. Cousins is still working on, more to the
advantage of the public than of himself. His eye
has not grown dim, nor his hand unsteady. His
heart is kind and generous as ever, and many
persons who have no personal claim on him can
show precious gifts from him of his handicraft,
kindly and thoughtfully presented, solely because
he has observed that they love and appreciate
them. He was elected by the Royal Academy an asso
ciate engraver in 1835, was transferred to the new
class of associate engravers in 1854, and was the
first to receive (1855) the honours of the newly-
created rank of academician engraver.

Cranch, John, born at Kingsbridge, Devon,
October 12th, 1757. Self-taught as a boy, he made
progress in drawing, then went to London, where

D 2

36 Art in Devonshire.
he was befriended by Sir Joshua Reynolds, but he
never gained excellence. His best picture was a
" Death of Chatterton." He excelled in what are
called Poker pictures. He died at Bath in February,
1 8 2 1 . H e published two works, one on The Economy
of Testaments, and the other, fnducements to Promote
the Fine Arts of Great Britain.
Cross, John, historical painter, a native of
Tiverton, born in 18 19. His father, who was
superintendent of the lace factory at that place,
removed to St. Quentin, to become foreman of the
English factory established there. Here young
John Cross worked at the factory in the machinery
department ; but as he showed a strong disposition
for art, he was admitted into the School of Design,
founded by Delatour. Here he worked so well that
at the end of the lagt year but one he was presented
with a medal. From this place he removed to Paris,
and entered the studio of M. Picot, a painter of the
classical school, and acquitted himself so well that
he was appointed treasurer and director of the
studio, and won several medals. At the time of the
completion of his studies at M. Picot's, the British
Government offered prizes for the best cartoons
portraying subjects from English history or poetry,
the competing cartoons to be exhibited in Westmin
ster Hall. To this Cross sent a cartoon, the subject
of which was " The Assassination of Thomas a
Becket;" but owing to certain conditions not having
been complied with, he did not obtain a prize. The

Art in Devonshire. 37
picture, however, was very highly approved, and
had been much admired when previously exhibited
at the hall at Fervaques. A second competition,
two years later, opened by the same authority, took
place at Westminster Hall, and to this Cross sent a
picture, representing "Richard Coeur de Lion, at
the Siege of Chaluz, pardoning the archer who had
wounded him." This painting obtained the first
premium of ^300, and it was thought so highly of
that it was purchased by the Government at _^ 1,000,
and placed in the hall of the Fine Arts Commis
sioners in the Palace of Westminster. He had now
gained early in life the summit of his reputation.
Everything looked well with him, and for a time he
was sought after and looked upon as the rising
historical painter of the day. The Fine Arts Com
missioners engraved the picture at their own
expense, and he received a commission to repeat it
in reduced size for Mr. Heath cot, of Tiverton,
together with an order for a new picture, " Lucy
Preston, imploring the pardon of her father from
Queen Mary II." His health unfortunately began
to fail, and to this circumstance must be attributed
the fact that he did nothing after to sustain his repu
tation. He painted pictures certainly which showed
great talent, but nothing which took with the public
as his early ones did. He received commissions to
paint two pictures, " Edward the Confessor naming
Harold his successor," and "William of Normandy
swearing Harold on the reliques." These have been
well spoken of. He next took to portrait painting

o

8 Art in Devonshire.

and teaching drawing for a livelihood. His paintings
became weak and feeble, and in i860 two pictures
which he sent to the Academy were actually rejected.
His last works of any note were a picture from his
prize cartoon, " The Assassination of a Becket,"
and " The Coronation of William the Conqueror,"
which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1858.
Both remained unsold at the time of the artist's
death, which took place on the 26th February, 186 1.
The paintings he left were exhibited at the Society
of Arts, and a subscription was raised to a small
amount for his family. His friends purchased his
" Murder of d Becket," and placed it in Canterbury
Cathedral ; and " The Burial of the two Princes in
the Tower," which they presented to the Albert
Memorial Museum at Exeter.
Crosse, Richard, miniature painter, born near
Cullompton, at Knowle, the old family residence
of the Crosses, in 1745. He was unfortunately a
deaf mute, and as the education of persons so
afflicted was not well understood in those days, he
was of course not brought up to any profession.
His love of art stood him in good stead, and
although he received no art education, he gained
considerable repute as a miniature painter. Indeed
had it not been for a most unhappy disappointment
in love, which clouded all his days, and caused him
to retire from the practice of his profession, his
name would have been better known.
We first hear of him as gaining a premium at the

Art in Devonshire. 39
Society of Arts when a mere boy, and of his being
a member of the Free Society of Artists in 1763.
From 1 76 1 to 1769 he exhibited in this Society,
and from 1770 to 1795 at the Royal Academy. His
works were miniatures, and occasionally a small
whole-length in water-colours, as in a portrait of
Mrs. Billington in 1788. He was appointed painter
in enamel to King George III. in 1790. He painted
very little in the latter part of his practice, having
retired from society on the marriage of B. R.
Haydon's mother, to whom he was a disappointed
suitor, and he lived for many years in Wells. The
touching historj'^ of his sorrow, with the graphic
account of his unexpectedly meeting his old and
only love, after more than thirty years, when she
passed through Wells on her way home to die, is
told by her son in his Autobiography of Benjamin
R. Haydon, Historical Painter, vol. i. p. 74.
He died in his paternal home at Knowle in
1 8 10, aged 65. Mr. R. R. Crosse, of Cullompton
(his great nephew), Mr. William Upcott, of
Bolealler, Cullompton, and the Rev. R. B. Carew,
of CoUipriest, Tiverton, possess many of his
works. Davey, Robert, portrait painter, born at Cul
lompton, Devon. He commenced as a portrait
painter, and studied at Rome. On his return he
setded in London, but met with little success. He
taught drawing at Woolwich and other schools. He
died September 28th, 1793.

40 Art in Devonshire.
Davis, J. P,, born at Ashburton about 1800, drew
portraits in oils, and occasionally historical and
ideal subjects. He was known as " Pope Davis,"
from the fact that he drew a large picture, now
at Alton Towers, " The Talbot Family Receiving
the Benediction of the Pope." This he painted
at Rome, to which place he went in 1824, and where
he spent two years in study. In 1825 he received
an award of ;^50 from the British Institution. He
was a friend of Canova and Thorwaldsen in Rome,
and a strong ally in England of B. R. Haydon, and
joined with him in hatred of the Royal Academy.
In 1826 he exhibited at the Academy "Canova
Crowned by the Genius of Sculpture " and a
" Trasteverina Pandora," a portrait in 1827 and in
1830, and an " Infant Bacchus" in 1842, and in the
following year his last contribution — a portrait. A
very famous picture of his was " The Maniac," the
sight of which induced L. E. L, (Miss L. E. Landon)
to write her poem, " The Maniac." This he after
wards destroyed. He also painted an ideal picture
of " The Meeting of Scott, Byron, and Napoleon in
the Shades." He published in 1858 The Royal
Academy and the National Gallery : What is the
State of these Lnstitutions ? After his death his
friends published, in 1866, his Thoughts on Great
Painters. He died about the year 1862.
Downman, John, a,r.a,, portrait and subject
painter, born in Devonshire, was a student of the
Royal Academy in 1769, and an associate in 1795.

Art in Devonshire. 41
He studied under Benjamin West, p.r.a. His
portraits, almost of a miniature size, may be found
not unfrequently in the country houses of Devon.
They are in pencil, generally in profile, and slightly
coloured. Two or three good specimens are at
Sir John Duntze's house, Exeleigh, Starcross, and
an excellent example of full-length portraiture at
the mansion of Mr. Henn Gennys, Plymouth. He
exhibited at the Academy a kitcat portrait of "A
Lady at Work" in 1770, and in the following year
a painting of "The Death of Lucretia." In 1777
he practised portrait painting at Cambridge, visited
Plymouth in 1806, and in 1807-8 set up at
Exeter. He then returned to London, and after
some years' residence, during which time he con
tinued to exhibit, he removed to Chester ; and died
at Wrexham, in Denbighshire, on Christmas -eve,
1824. One of his best works was "Rosalind,"
which he painted for the Shakespeare Gallery. He
worked chiefly in water-colour, and his pictures,
though low in tone, were gracefully designed and
delicately painted.
Eastlake, Sir Charles Lock, p.r.a., born at
Plymouth on the 17th November, 1793. He was
the youngest son of Mr. George Eastlake, solicitor
to the Admiralty, and Judge Advocate General. He
began his education at the Borough School, but was
soon moved to the Charterhouse. Here, stimulated
by the example of Haydon, who in 1807 exhibited
his first picture, " Riposo," he begged his father to

42 Art in Devonshire.
allow him to follow painting as a profession. He
was then 15 years old.
He became a student of the Royal Academy in
1809. Mr. Jeremiah Harman, a connoisseur, gave
him the commission for his first picture, " The
Raising of Jairus's Daughter ;" and after he had
painted several others, generously sent him to Paris,
where he studied till compelled to leave on the return
of Napoleon from Elba.
Young Eastlake now returned to his native town,
and painted some portraits. It so happened that
the Bellerophon put into Plymouth with Napoleon
on board. Eastlake was fortunate enough to get a
sight of him, and painted the well-known picture of
" Napoleon at the Gangway of the Bellerophon."
This picture gained him much reputation, and the
sale of it assisted him in his tour to Italy and Greece.
Returning home, after a brief visit to Plymouth, he
visited the Netherlands, Germany, and then repaired
to Rome, where he remained twelve years, and where
he must have acquired that knowledge of Italian art
for which in after-life he was so esteemed.
In 1823 he exhibited at the Academy his first
contribution, consisting of three views of Rome.
In 1825 he sent from Rome "A Girl of Albano
leading a Blind Woman to Mass."
In 1827 he exhibited " The Spartan Isadas rushing
undraped from the Bath to meet the Enemy," and
was elected associate.
1828, " Pilgrims in Sight of Rome."
In 1829, "Byron's Dream."

Art in Devonshire. 43
In 1830, " Una delivering the Red Cross Knight,"
and was elected a full member of the Academy.
Eastlake now returned to England, and in 1831
exhibited two Italian subjects, with "Haid^e, a Greek
Girl." In 1833 his famous "Greek Fugitives."
In 1834, "The Escape of Francesco da Carrara"
and the " Martyr."
In 1839 his picture, "Christ Blessing Little
Children." In 1 84 1, "Christ Weeping over Jerusalem,"
These comprise his best works, and the greater
number of them have been engraved.
In the same year his knowledge of art and his
attainments in letters, combined with great aptitude
for business, caused him to be selected for the
honourable post of Secretary to the Commission,
presided over by Prince Albert, for the decoration
of the new Palace of Westminster.
In 1842 he was appointed the Librarian of the
Royal Academy; in 1843 Keeper of the National
Gallery; and in 1850 was elected President of the
Royal Academy, and received the honour of knight
hood. In 1855 he received the appointment of Director
to the National Gallery. It was his duty now to
travel year by year on the Continent in quest of
pictures for that institution, and it is universally
acknowledged that, from his taste and knowledge of
the Italian school, he added greatly to our national
collection. He had therefore little leisure for the

44 Art in Devonshire.
practice of his art, and having exhibited a replica of
the " Escape of Francesco da Carrara," which is now
in the National Gallery, he did not again exhibit.
He wrote Materials for a History of Painting,
1847 ; The Schools of Painting in ftaly, translated
from. Kugler, 185 1 ; Kugler's Handbook of Painting,
1855 ; and some treatises and addresses of his
own. The University of Oxford conferred on him the
degree of d.c.l., and he was decorated with the
Cross of the Legion of Honour. Sir Charles
married, in 1849, Miss Rigby, authoress of the
Baltic Letters, and other works.
He died at Pisa, of a malady from which he had
long suffered, on December 23rd, 1865,
Mr. S. C. Hall, writing to the Exeter Gazette in
1 88 1 upon "Devonshire Art Worthies," says of
Eastlake :
" Sir Charles Eastlake was essentially a gentleman ; in all ways
a good and estimable man. A little more of the self-esteem of
Haydon would have not ill become him, and would surely have
made him a greater man than he was : he seemed so perpetually
afraid of doing wrong that he omitted many opportunities of
doing right. The most common-place letter he usually prefaced
by the word ' private,' as if he dreaded the publicity that was,
after all, the breath of his life. Among the worthiest of Devon
shire Worthies let his name be classed ; for he is in all ways an
honour to his native county, although it may be less as an artist
than as a learned author of research who was for many years the
chief ruler of the Royal Academy, over which he presided with
grace and dignity, if he lacked the courage to make attempts to
remodel, or at all events invigorate, that most useful and most
admirable institution. I may make another remark en passant.
I was not well enough to attend the last private view of the Royal

Art in Devonshire. 45
Academy in May, 1881. But I had been present at 54 private
views ; never missing a single one — either from illness or any other
cause — of all the 54 previously. The person of Sir Charles was
much in his favour. He had fine, though not expressive, features;
tinged, tainted I will say, by what I think was constitutional
timidity. His manners were remarkably courteous. They could
not have put him out of place among the great men and women
with whom his position often brought him into contact. They
were the very opposite of presuming or overbearing ; and if the
younger members of his profession did not owe him much, there
was certainly nothing due from them to him on the score of
neglect or indifference."
Ezekiel, E. A., mezzotinto engraver. He lived
in Exeter, at No. 180, Fore Street, the house now
occupied by Messrs. Goff and Gully. He was jeweller,
optician, and general engraver, and worked at shop-
cards, billheads, or any other branch of trade en
graving. He is only known to the writer by three
mezzotint engravings — one of John Patch, jun.,
surgeon to the Exeter Hospital, another of the
grand portrait of Dr. Thomas Glass — both by Opie,
and the third of General Stringer Lawrence after
Sir Joshua Reynolds. The first of these was en
graved in 1788, and the second in 1789. He is
said to have engraved portraits of other Devonshire
Worthies. He died in December, 1806.
Fowler, Charles, architect, born at Collumpton,
May, 1800, served his apprenticeship with a builder
and surveyor at Exeter. His first work was the
Court of Bankruptcy, in Basinghall Street. He
competed successfully for the design of London
Bridge, and gained the first premium, although the

46 Art in Devonshire.
design was not carried out. He built Covent
Garden Market, Hungerford Market, Exeter Lower
Market, restored and built additions to Powderham
Castle, built churches at Charmouth, Buckley, and
Honiton, and the Devon County Lunatic Asylum.
He died at Great Marlow, September 26th, 1867,
in his 67th year.
Gandy, James, portrait painter, born in Exeter in
1 6 1 9. His fame as an excellent painter and colourist
has been handed down to us by no less a judge than
Sir Joshua Reynolds. Living at a time when art
was dead in England, and when the places of
portrait painters were supplied by foreigners, he
stands out as the sole representative of English art.
Sir Joshua Reynolds admired his painting, and he
never passed through Exeter without wending his
way to a certain old Gothic hall called the Vicars'
College, and refreshing himself by the sight of the
rich colouring in a portrait of Tobias Langdon
preserved there. In Jackson's Essays (by William
Jackson, of Exeter, an organist and amateur artist
of merit), published In 1 798 by Cadell and Davies,
the author says (p, 1 73) :
" In the beginning of this century was a painter in Exeter
called Gandy, of whose colouring Sir Joshua thought highly, I
heard Sir Joshua say, that on his return from Italy, when he was
fresh from seeing the pictures of the Venetian school, he again
looked at the works of Gandy, and that they had lost nothing in
his estimation. There are many pictures by this artist in Exeter
and its neighbourhood. The portrait Sir Joshua seemed most to
value is in the hall belonging to the College of Vicars in that
city, but I have seen some superior to it,"

Art in Devonshire. 47
This painting is, alas ! no longer to be found. In
its place hangs an admirable copy by the very clever
Exeter artist Sharland ; but where the original is
gone no one at the present time knows. The picture
was long ago entrusted to a varnlsher, cleaner, and
restorer of paintings, who kept It so long on his
hands that Its owners were tired of asking for it.
He then caused a copy to be made, and this he sent
to the Vicars' Hall, and sold the original to a
Mr. Kendall, an Exeter lawyer and picture collector.
Kendall met his death by drowning, and when his
goods were sold the portrait passed into the hands
of a Mr. BIrt, a picture dealer, who had a shop near
the old Grammar School, and he sold it to the late
Charles Brutton, of Exeter. At his death it was
sold, and up to the present time has not been traced.
When in the hands of the Vicars Choral it was an
oval, but the fraudulent restorer altered it to a
square, or rather the copy to a square, to match
other paintings in the hall.
The greater part of Gaudy's works remain in
Ireland, whither he went with the Duke of Ormond,
and his paintings are rare in this country. He was
a pupil of Vandyke. He is sometimes credited, to
his disadvantage, with works performed by his son
William, a good artist, but inferior to himself. He
died in Ireland in 1689.
Gandy, William, son of the foregoing, painted
portraits in oil. Of him there Is litde record. The
greater part that is known of him is derived from

48 Art in Devonshire.
a memoir by Northcote, appended to his Life of
Sir Joshua Reynolds. As he, like too many of his
countrymen, did not sign his pictures, there are very
few that can be recognized as his work, although
he must have painted a large number. He was an
itinerant portrait painter, and wandered about Devon
and Cornwall picking up a livelihood by his pencil ;
but during a great portion of his time he was in a
most pitiable state of indigence, the result of his
faults more than his misfortunes. He was little
known beyond the county In which he lived and
died. He was said to be a man of most intractable
disposition, very resentful, of unbounded pride, and
in the latter part of his life both luxurious and idle,
" of which," says Northcote, " I remember to have
heard many instances from my father, who knew
him, and whose portrait he painted when a child."
He was at all times perfectly careless of his
reputation as a painter, and more particularly so if
anything happened in the course of his business to
displease him. Thus on one occasion he visited
the house of Mr. John Vallack, an apothecary of
Plymouth, with the intention of painting his portrait.
Gandy looked forward to dinner-time with some
impatience, as his tastes lay very much in the line
of creature comforts, and he liked the best of every
thing. But it appears Mr. Vallack was a man of
simpler tastes, who had a set dinner for each day of
the week, and the menu for this especial day
(Saturday) consisted of pork and peas. Gandy

Art in Devonshire. 49
returned to his lodgings and cursed his entertainer
by his gods as a mean, paltry fellow, never would
be endrely reconciled to him, and totally neglected
his portrait.
His portraits were slight and sketchy, and show
more of genius than of labour ; they demonstrate
facility, feeling, and nice observation, as far as con
cerns the head, but he was so idle that the remainder
of the picture, except sometimes the hands, is com
monly copied from some print after Sir Godfrey
Kneller. In the latter part of his life he could
never be induced to paint at all unless driven to it
by mere want ; and he had no sooner acquired a
little money than it was as quickly gone in luxurious
feeding, which seemed to be his great passion.
He went to Plymouth about the year 17 14, when
he was advanced in years. He painted a portrait
of the Rev. John Gilbert, Canon of the Cathedral
of Exeter, and Vicar of St. Andrew's, Plymouth ; of
the Rev. Nathaniel Harding, a famous Dissenting
minister of the same town; also of James Northcote's
father when a child of four years old, and of his
mother — " extremely fine," says Northcote, although
from his illnature he was quarrelling with her the
whole time he was painting it.
There are many pictures by him scattered about
Devon and Cornwall, some very good, and many
good for nothing. He never thought of fame, but
only how to get rid of his work, that he might the
sooner receive the price, which was not above two
guineas a head.

50 Art in Devonshire.
For further particulars of his life the reader is
referred to Northcote's memoir before mentioned,
from which this brief biography has mainly been
taken. He died in July, 1 729, and was buried at St. Paul's,
Exeter. The portrait of Sir Edward Seward, Knight, at
the Exeter Workhouse, and that of John Patch,
senior, at the Hospital, are by him ; and Lieut.-Col.
Henry Russell, of Barnstaple, possesses two by his
hand — one of Mr. Denis Russell, aged 63 years,
third time Mayor of Falmouth, and the other of
Mrs. B. Russell, aged 69 years, both dated 171 1.
K\sf^- iSf^"*
Gendall, John, landscape painter, born on Exe
Island, in Exeter, in 1790. In early life he lived
as a servant with a Mr. White, a gentleman living
at the Friars, Exeter. John Gendall was in his
boyhood fond of trying his hand at drawing, and he
used to show his youthful productions to Mr. Cole,
of the Cathedral Yard, Exeter. One day a traveller
from Ackermann's, the print publisher, was shown
some of these drawings, and admired them much.
He mentioned the boy to the head of his firm, and
shortly after John Gendall was sent to London by
Mr. White with a letter of recommendation to Sir
John Soane. Having shown Sir John some draw
ings, he was much pleased, and gave him his first
commission — a drawing of one of the windows of
Westminster Abbey. He next introduced him to
the house of Ackermann, the well-known print-seller

Art in Devonshire. 51
and publisher in the Strand. Here, while im
proving himself in art, he made himself useful in
many ways to his employer. At one time he had
the management of the materiel in the house ; at
another he was employed in carrying out and per
fecting the new art of lithography, which had just
then made its appearance. He was sent on a
sketching tour through Normandy, to illustrate the
river scenery of that country, and the water-colour
drawings he then made gained him great credit
when exhibited very many years after. Indeed one
of them was shown by a friend, at a meetingof the
Society of Arts, as a genuine " Turner," and it
passed as such till the critics were undeceived. He
also illustrated views of country seats, with Westall
and T. H. Shepherd. After leaving Mr. Acker
mann's house, Mr. Gendall resided in Exeter, joining
business with Mr. Cole ; and in the picturesque
timber-built house in the Cathedral Close, formerly
known as Moll's Coffee-house, a true artist's home,
he continued to carry on his business till his death,
in March, 1865. Mr. Gendall possessed a great
knowledge of pictures, and his opinion on works of
the old masters was much prized.
He lived in the age when modern pictures were
scarcely considered worth owning, and his long
experience and great natural taste made his estimate
of old works exceedingly valuable and much en
quired after. He had a thorough acquaintance with
all collections in this district, and by noblemen and
gendemen possessing galleries his judgment was
E 2

52 Art in Devonshire.
frequently solicited, and greatly prized. Of Mr.
Gendall's own works the chief thing to regret is
that they are too rare. In earlier life he painted
principally in water-colours, contenting himself
generally with a sketch rather than a finished
picture, and whoever has seen "Gendall's Sketches"
must be aware how seldom they have been equalled.
Those who have sketched by his side know, too,
how soon he could seize upon the great features of
the scene, and by a few magic lines transfer them to
his folio. The rapidity with which he sketched has
been often noticed, but this was not more remarkable
than were the effects which he got into all his
sketches, his great knowledge of composition
enabling him at once to see the light and shade
best fitted for his subject. It was later in life that
he devoted himself to oil, and his works In that
medium are of an excellence that justifies the wish
that he had not so long confined himself to water-
colours, and that his whole time, instead of merely
small portions of it, had not been devoted to the
art. His oil paintings are all of Devonshire scenery,
that of the Avon and Teign more particularly. He
delighted in the calm and quiet repose of nature — •
the still pool and moss-covered boulder, the rippling
streamlet and the dewy weeds growing by its banks.
With what grace and poetry he could invest such
themes those acquainted with his works can best
appreciate. He never attempted the high tone of
colour, or the minute manipulation, exhibited in
some schools of our day ; indeed he believed them to

Art in Devonshire. 53
be only a fashion of the times, and, like many other
fashions, bad and untrue. Possessors of his paint
ings value them, and as they can no longer be
added to, they will become still more valuable. In
the various relations of life Mr. Gendall was an
example worthy of all respect — a kind and con
siderate husband, a warm and generous friend. His
conversation was agreeable, full of anecdote, and
frequently pervaded by a quiet and rich humour.
Temperate in his habits even to abstemiousness, he
was yet not the less fond of playful mirth, and his
little practical jokes and amusing stories will not
soon be forgotten by friends who spent with him
now and then a " day in the woods" — alas ! to be
spent no more.
He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1846
to 1863. He was much honoured in Exeter, not
only as an artist of whom the citizens were proud,
but because in everything where taste was required
he was at hand to lend his aid, not only to objects
of public interest, but also to such private individuals
as might seek his help. There were few men em
ployed in carrying out works of decorative art who
have not had his refined taste to assist them ; and
most of the young artists of the neighbourhood
sought, and never sought in vain, his friendly
guidance. There was one thing Gendall would never
do — he would never say or hint in the slightest
degree any adverse opinion he might hold of another
artist. The writer has tried him upon this point
many times, having been for several years connected

54 Art in Devonshire.
with him in a society which held an annual exhibi
tion of pictures. It was almost impossible to avoid
asking him his opinion of certain drawings ; but if
he could not praise nor admire them, Gendall would
say in his way, " Yes, yes," and look at them kindly,
then pass on without saying another word. One
day the writer spoke to him upon this point. "Why,"
said he, " think what harm a single word from me
might do to a young artist !"
Gendall worked to the last. Even while suffering
from the illness which brought him to the grave, he
struggled on till his strength failed him, and he
could do no more. A lady sent him a commission
to illustrate a little work of her own. Gendall
looked at it, took his small bit of pencil, which he
always carried in his waistcoat pocket, and thought
a few minutes ; then lifting it up in the air, he
opened his hand and let it fall. "It Is all over,"
said he, and he never used pencil more. To stamp
for ever the name of John Gendall as a true artist,
it is only necessary to say that his paintings were
highly esteemed by that greatest of all landscape
painters, living or dead, J. W. M. Turner. He
died March ist, 1865, aged 75 years.
Hainsselin, Henry, portrait and historical painter,
born at No. i, St. Aubyn Street, Devonport, the
house in which Phelps, the tragedian, also first
saw the light. His father was an auctioneer. He
studied art under the tuition of Pleneman, chief
director of the academy at Amsterdam, and early in

Art in Devonshire. 55
his career caused some stir in his native town by
sending home a picture, " A Dutch Fair." He was
a clever book illustrator, and executed the designs
for G. H. Haydon's Five Years in Australia Felix,
and many other works.
He exhibited for twelve years at the Royal Aca
demy, and about the year 1852 he left his native land
for Australia, and is at present practising his art at
Melbourne. He painted the portrait of Mr. Samuel
Barnes, the eminent surgeon of Exeter, now pre
served in the Philosophical Institution of that city.
Hart, Alexander Solomon, r.a., historical
painter, born in Plymouth in 1806. His father,
Samuel Hart, was apprenticed to Mr. Abraham
Daniel, a native of Bath, a jeweller, engraver, and
miniature painter, and is described in Bromley's
History of Engravers as a mezzotinto engraver.
A. S. Hart was sent to school at Exeter, and
afterwards placed with the Rev. Israel Worsley, a
Unitarian minister of Plymouth, being debarred
from the Grammar School of his native town by
his Israelitish faith.
Like all other artists, he took to drawing and
scribbling, and his father showed some of these
juvenile productions to his friend, James Northcote,
who "gave him encouragement, provided he had
enthusiasm." His father wished to make him an
engraver, but could not afford the premium. Mr.
Screven, an engraver, however, offered to take the
lad without premium, on condition that he served

56 Art in Devonshire.
seven years, and worked from 7 a.m, to 7 p.m.
Our youth was not tempted by this offer, and so he
tried what he could do on his own account. He
bought a few casts, and having made some chalk
studies, he went to the British Museum in 1821,
and there, in company with J. P. Knight, George
Richmond, F. Sidney Cooper, and George Lance, a
goodly company, he worked away at the Elgin
marbles. A drawing he made of Theseus, and also
of the Farneslan Hercules, procured his admission
as a student of the Royal Academy in 1823, He
was so poor in these struggling times that he devoted
his days to colouring theatrical prints and making
miniature copies of the old masters on ivory, and a
few miniature portraits, while his time for actual
study was limited to the evenings.
He first exhibited at the Royal Academy a
portrait of his father, and he sent a small picture
in oils, called " Instruction," an usher with pupils, to
the British Institution, which to his surprise brought
him twelve guineas. Next year he exhibited five
pictures, but did not sell one. The year after, 1830,
when he was twenty-four years of age, he exhibited
the "Polish Synagogue" at the Suff"olk Gallery. This
was purchased by Mr. Vernon for ^70, and it Is
now preserved in the National Gallery.
This picture was so popular that it brought him
numerous commissions. One was a companion
picture for Mr. Vernon — English Roman Catholic
nobility taking the Sacrament in the time of Queen
Elizabeth; for Mr. Wills, of Belfast, a synagogue

Art in Devonshire. 57
picture ; and for the Marquis of Lansdowne a lady
taking the veil. His next picture, the "Quarrel Scene"
between Wolsey and Buckingham, from Shakspere,
was bought by Lord North wick, and placed in his
gallery at Thorlestone House, Cheltenham.
In 1835 he exhibited "Richard Cceur-de-Lion
receiving the Cup of Medicated Water from
Saladin," bought by Lady Montefiore for 150
guineas, and he was elected A.R,A,
In 1839 he exhibited a large picture of "Lady
Jane Gray at the place of Execution," which
secured his election to the full membership, and
which, after having remained unsold and rolled up
for forty years, he presented to the guildhall of his
native town. Still he painted very slowly, and his
receipts barely provided him with the necessaries of
life, when he was employed by Mr. Charles Knight
to make drawings on the wood for his Entertaining
Knowledge, By help of this he was enabled to
pursue his painting during the day, and to gain
enough by his drawing on the wood In the evening
to keep him going.
Besides those pictures mentioned, he painted
" Isaac of York in the Donjon of Front-de-Bceuf,"
1 830 ; " Giacopo Guerini refusing to enter into the
compact with Boemondo Theopolo to put to death the
Doge Gradenigo," 1832; " Milton visiting Galileo in
Prison," 1847; the "Three Inventors of Printing,"
1852 ; and many interiors of cathedrals and ecclesi
astical buildings. Of still later works, " Manasseh
ben Israel pleading with Oliver Cromwell for the

58 Art in Devonshire.
admission of the Jews," was the most successful.
Great pains were taken with this work, which was
designed by the artist as an offering to the memory
of the great Protector, by whose wise statesmanship
the ancestors of the painter had been permitted to
settle in England. The head of the Lord Protector
was copied from a photograph of the portrait in
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. The picture was
hung in the Academy, and purchased by the late Sir
Francis Goldsmid. Mr. Hart also painted landscapes
and portraits, and contributed to the Athenceum, the
Jewish Chronicle, and other periodicals. He served
repeatedly on the Hanging Committee of the Royal
Academy. In 1857 he succeeded Mr. Leslie as
Professor of Painting in the Royal Academy, and
in 1865 was appointed by the Queen Librarian of
that body, in which capacity he took part in the
Librarians' Conference in London in 1877.
He failed sadly In his later pictures, and was the
subject of much ridicule and facile criticism ; but
the members of the Academy, says a critic in the
Magazine of Ai't, were never blinded to the utility
and worth of a painter whose scholarship, intel
lectual capacity, and theoretical knowledge were as
fine, as his later pictures were utterly unworthy of
his earlier powers. He was a lecturer on art of
uncommon ability.
He died in London in June, 1881, aged seventy-
five years.*
* The greater part of this biography is taken from Reminiscences of
A. S. Hart, R.A. Edited by Alexander Brodie, Printed for private
circulation, 1882,

Art in Devonshire. 59
Haydon, Samuel James Bouverie, sculptor, was
born at Heavitree, near Exeter, April 29th, 181 5 ;
was educated at Mount Radford School, served his
articles in an attorney's ofifice, and commenced
practice as a solicitor in Exeter on his own account.
The love of art proved too strong for the young
solicitor, and he soon deserted the law, shut up the
ofifice in which he had drawn many sketches and
few deeds, followed the bent of his mind, and
started in life as a sculptor. For a few years he
studied under E. B. Bally, r,a., who thought
highly of his abilities. B. R. Haydon, the historical
painter, wrote of him as one capable of taking the
place of Chantrey, and all promised well with the
young sculptor. For many years he exhibited
regularly at the Royal Academy. His works have
been good, so good that it is more the pity they are
so few. It was not from want of genius, power, or
personal merit that he has failed to make for himself
a far greater name among the artists of his native
county. He exhibited in —
1842. Bust of Major-Gen. Goldfinch, k.cb.
Marble Bust of Edward Divett, Esq,, m,p, for Exeter.
1843, Marble Bust of Rev. W. Elliott.
1844. Boy Reading.
Lady at Window.
Marble Group of " Hermia and Helena.''
Bust in Bronze of " Cordelia,"
1845. " An Attempt at Harmony."
Bust in Ivory of a Lady.
Nell Asleep ; from the " Old Curiosity Shop."
Bust in Marble of J. Saywell, Esq,

6o Art in Devonshire.
1846, Marble Bust of Sir R, Newman, Bart, of Mamhead,
Marble Bust of Thos, Newman, Esq.
1847, "Perdita,"
Bust of a Lady,
Bust of G, Thompson, Esq,
1848, Sketch of a Monument,
Bust of Miss Deane.
Bronze MedaUion of Mrs. G. Reade,
1849. Marble Bust of the Earl of Radnor.
Girl at Confession (Marble Bas-rehef),
Marble Bust of Admiral the Hon, P. Bouverie,
1850. Marble Figure of " Perdita,"
1852, " The Rose" (Cowper),
1858, The Travellers' Club (Painting).
i860. Marble Bust of H, Bridges, Esq,, presented by his Masonic
Brethren,
1861, Marble Bust of the late Sir H, Goldfinch, k,c,b,
1862, Marble Bust of the Child of Rev, F, Fanshawe,
1863, " She dwelt among the untrodden ways " (Wordsworth),
1864, Marble Bust of Lady Mason.
1865, Marble Figure of " Ophelia,"
Marble Bust of Mrs, T. Sheffield.
Bust of Sir W. Symonds, k.c.b.. Surveyor of the Royal
Navy,
Marble Group of " Charity,"
Marble Bust of G, Boyer, Esq,
Bust of Rev, J, Gleadall,
Marble Bust of S, Barnes, Esq,
Haydon, Benjamin Robert, history painter, born
in Plymouth, January 26th, 1786. He was the
son of a bookseller, and educated at the Grammar
Schools at Plymouth and at Plympton. He soon
showed a taste for drawing and an equal dislike for
his father's trade, so he was sent to London and
entered as a student of the Royal Academy in
1804, Haydon through life was a very peculiar

Art in Devonshire. 6 1
character. He was proud, self-willed, thought more
highly of his own talent than his productions justified,
expected everything to converge to his advance
ment, looked upon himself as a prophet in art,
thought because the world did not care for his
pictures it was insensible to the charms of art, be
cause it did not admire his historical compositions
that it was not capable of appreciating the dignity
and grandeur of true historical painting. He was
in temper impetuous, ever in hot water with his
contemporaries, attributing his want of success to
their jealousies and prejudices, despising other
men's power of drawing, yet himself exaggerating
the muscular development of the human form to
such a degree that in his " Dentatus " impossible
muscles show through the coat of mail ; quarrelling
with his friends, struggling with debt, rolling up his
huge unsaleable pictures and storing them away
" in warehouses, upholsterers' shops, and hay-lofts."
Beaten when nearly sixty years of age In the public
competition at Westminster Hall by younger men,
such as Selous, Armitage, Cross, &c., and his own
cartoons not even mentioned, he passed through life a
disappointed man. Thirty-six years have elapsed since
his unhappy death, and posterity has not reversed
the judgment of his contemporaries ; both acknow
ledged his talent, his enthusiasm ; were ready enough
to admit his great merit ; but neither cared to possess
or took pleasure in his works. For years after his
death his great painting of "The Raising of Lazarus"
hung in that lumber-room of unsaleable pictures,

62 Art in Devonshire.
the Pantheon of Oxford Street, and now at last has
found a home in the National Gallery, but is hung
on the wall of the staircase. Mistaking largeness
of size for grandeur of manner, he persisted in pro
ducing pictures which would take up the whole side
of an ordinary room, forgetting that there were no
longer convent refectories nor cathedral walls to
receive them, and then he inveighed against the
hard, cold world, which was insensible to the claims
of his productions.
In 1807, when twenty-one years of age, he ex
hibited his first picture, "Joseph and Mary;" returned
to Plymouth for a time, and made a little money by
painting portraits of his friends. On his return to
London he set to work earnestly to study the Elgin
marbles, and inspired by them, it Is said, he produced
his " Dentatus," the drawing of which Is as unlike
the chaste, unexaggerated modelling of the marbles,
as a Flemish beauty by Rubens is like the Venus
de Medici. However, he himself thought very
highly of the picture, which showed great power
and vigour, and he quarrelled with the Academy on
account of the place assigned to it in the Exhibition.
The British Institution, however, voted him a prize of
one hundred guineas for this work, and another for
the "Judgment of Solomon," which he finished
when in the greatest pecuniary straits, and sold for
six hundred guineas.
In 1 8 14 he visited the Louvre, to study the great
works there, and on his return found no commissions
awaiting him. He had not hitherto painted to suit

Art iti Devonshire. 63
the market. However, he set to work in earnest,
bought an enormous canvas, and, still in pecuniary
difficulties, commenced his largest work — " Christ
entering into Jerusalem;" and painted on with a
brave heart till the work was finished. He proudly
exhibited it at the Egyptian Hall in 1820, and netted
no less than ;if 1,700 by one shilling admission
tickets. During the painting of this huge picture
he was pecuniarily assisted by his friends, and
although he did not find a purchaser for it, he,
nothing daunted, immediately bought another large
canvas, and in 1823 exhibited his great work, " The
Raising of Lazarus," containing twenty figures, to
the scale of nine feet high. But all the time this
picture was being exhibited, Haydon was barely
maintained in the necessaries of life by the receipts ;
indeed, he was arrested for debt during its progress.
Up to this time, when he was forty years of age,
his greatest works had failed to procure him either
fame or fortune. It will be unnecessary to enter
into all the history of his unhappy life, which is so
admirably told in Mr. Tom Taylor's biography, a
work most interesting as the true tale of a life of a
man, and valuable as a psychological study. It will
be only necessary here to give a list of his works.
His first picture was "Joseph and Mary." He
exhibited in 1809, "Dentatus;" 1810, "Lady
Macbeth;" also painted "Judgment of Solomon;"
1820, exhibited "Christ entering Jerusalem," at the
Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly; 1823, "Raising of
Lazarus;" 1826, "Venus appearing to Anchises."

64 Art in Devonshire.
He also painted at various times "Alexander Taming
Bucephalus," " Euclus," "Mock Elecdon," and
" Chairing the Member," " Waiting for the Times','
" The Reform Banquet," " The Retreat of the Ten
Thousand," "Napoleon at St. Helena," "Pharaoh
dismissing Moses," " Wellington at Waterloo,"
" Banishment of Aristides," " Nero playing on the
Lyre," "Curtius plunging Into the Gulf," "Alexander
the Great encountering a Lion," and at the time of
his death he was engaged on a large picture, "Alfred
the Great and the first English Jury."
Soured by a long series of disappointments,
suffering, as he believed, under a great wrong,
embittered by his failure at the open competition at
Westminster Hall in 1842, harassed by debtors,
pained beyond endurance by seeing one young
artist after another preferred before him, his nights
sleepless, and his days spent in working without
hope, his mind gave way, and on June 2nd, 1846,
after writing in his journal, " God forgive me. Amen.
Finis. B. R. Haydon. ' Stretch me no longer on
the rack of this rough world ' " (Lear), he fell dead
by his own hand, his grey head lying low at the foot
of his unfinished picture in the studio.
Hayman, Francis, historical painter, born in
Exeter in 1708, He was pupil of Robert Brown,
a portrait painter, went to London while young, and
was employed by Fleetwood, the manager of Drury
Lane, as scene painter. He also decorated the
alcoves of Vauxhall. The booksellers employed

Art in Devonshire. 65
him as an illustrator, and his very elegant designs
may be found in Hammer's editions of Shakespeare,
Milton, Pope, and Cervantes, He was considered
the first historical painter of his day, the best in
England before the arrival of Cipriani. He was
the first Librarian of the Royal Academy, a member
of the St. Martin's Lane Academy, and President
of the Incorporated Society of Artists, He was of
a very convivial turn, a member of the Beef-steak
and Old Slaughter, and several other clubs. A jolly
fellow, in fact — a friend of Hogarth, and fast men
about town. His picture, " The Poinding of Moses,"
he presented to the Foundling Hospital ; and there
is a portrait of himself in the National Portrait
Gallery. A painting by him of Garrick as Richard III. is
in the possession of Earl Howe, and " A Convivial
Party" in that of J. Howard Galton, Esq., both
exhibited at Manchester in 1857. A portrait of
himself and Sir Robert Walpole, and a second of
David Garrick and Col. Wyndham, were shown
at the exhibition of National Portraits on loan
at South Kensington in 1867, and the Royal
Academy possesses a portrait of him by Sir Joshua
Reynolds. He died February 2nd, 1776, in Dean Street,
Soho, London.
Hilliard, Nicholas, portrait and miniature
painter, and one of the first class ; also jeweller and
goldsmith to King James. He was the son of

66 Art in Devonshire.
Richard Hilliard, of Exeter, High Sheriff" of that
city and county in the year 1560. He was born in
1547, and brought up to the trade of a jeweller and
goldsmith, to which his inclination soon added that
of painting in miniature. He took for his model the
works of Holbein, as he says in a MS. " Holbein's
manner of limning I have ever imitated, and hold it
for the best."
But though Hilliard (says Walpole, from whom
this biography is taken) copied the neatness of his
model, he was far from attaining the nature and
force which that great master Impressed on his most
minute works. Hilliard arrived at no strength of
colouring. His faces are pale, and void of any
variety of tints ; the features, jewels, and orna
ments expressed by lines as slender as a hair. The
exact dress of the times he carefully delineated,
but he seldom attempted beyond a head ; yet his
performances are greatly valued. Dr. Donne, in
his poem on the storm in which the Earl of Essex
was surprised returning from the Island Voyage
says — " A hand or eye
By Hilliard drawn, is worth a history
By a worse painter made,"
And Peacham, on Limning, says : " Comparing
ancient and modern painters, brings the comparison
to our own time and country ; nor must I be un
gratefully unmindful of my own countrymen, who
have been and are able to equal the best, if occasion
served, as old Hilliard, Mr. Isaac Oliver, inferior to

Art in Devonshire. 67
none in Christendom for the countenance in small,"
&c. Richard Heydock, too, of New College, Oxon,
in his translation of Lomazzo on Painting, published
in 1598, says: " Limnlngs, much used in former
times in church books, and also in drawing by the
life in small models of late years by some of our
countrymen, as Shoote, Betts, &c., but brought to
the rare perfection we now see by the most in-
genius, painful, and skilful master, Nicholas Hilliard,
and his well-profiting scholar, whose further com
mendations I refer to the curiositie of his works."
The same author, in another place mentioning
" Mr. N. Hilliard, so much admired by strangers
as well as natives," adds, "to speak truth of his
ingenious limnlngs, the perfection of painting (in
them is) so extraordinary, that when I devised with
myself the best argument to set it forth, I found
none better than to persuade him to do it himself to
the view of all men by his pen, as he had before
unto very many by his learned pencil, which in the
end he assented to ; and by me promiseth a treatise
of his own practice that way, with all convenient
speed." This tract Hilliard wrote, but never pub
lished. Vertue met with a copy of it, which I have
among his MSS.
Blaise Vigenere mentions Hilliard and the neat
ness of his pencil very particularly : " Telle estolt
aussi I'ecriture et les traits d'un peintre Anglois
nome Oeillarde d'autant plus a emerveiller, que cela
se faesoit avec uh pinceau fait des polls de la
queue d'un escureuil, qui ne resiste ni ne soudent

F 2

68 Art in Devoushire.
pas comme feroit un plume de corbeau, qui est tres
ferme." Hilliard's portrait, done by himself at the age of
thirteen, was In the cabinet of the Earl of Oxford.
He was still young when he drew the Queen of
Scots. Queen Elizabeth sat to him often. Charles I.
had three portraits of her by him ; one, a side
face in the clouds ; another — one of his best per
formances — d. whole-length in her robes, sitting on
her throne. In the same collection were many
more of his works, particularly a view of the Spanish
Armada ; and a curious jewel, containing the por
traits of Henry VIL, Henry VIIL, Edward VI,,
and Queen Mary ; on the top was an enamelled
representation of the battle of Bosworth, and on
the reverse the red and white roses. This jewel
was purchased of Hilliard's son by the King.
In the essay upon an English school of painters
it is said that Mr. Fanshaw had the portraits of
Hilliard and his father finely executed, with inscrip
tions In gold letters.
On the former: " Nichola Hilliardus, aurlfaber,
sculptor et Celebris illuminator serenisslma; reginse
Ellzabethse, anno 1577 set suae 30,"
On the other : " RIcardus Hilliardus, quondam
vicecomes civltatis et comltatus Exoniae, anno 1560,
setates suae 58 annoque Domini 1577."
Hilliard continued in vogue during this reign,
and great numbers of portraits by his hand,
especially of ladies, are extant. He obtained still
greater favour from King James, drawing his

Art in Devonshire. 69
Majesty's and Prince Henry's pictures, and receiving
a patent, printed by Rymer, to this effect :
"Whereas our well-beloved servant Nicholas Hilliard, gentle
man, our principal drawer of small portraits, and embosser of our
medals in gold, in respect of his extraordinary skill in drawing,
graving, and printing, &c., we have granted unto him our special
license to invent, grave, and imprint any pictures of our image or
our royal family, &c,, and that no one do presume to do so with
out his license obtained, &c, &c,"
This grant was of great emolument to him, as
about that time he engraved many small plates, and
sold licenses for others, with the heads of the king
and royal family, which were used for counters.
Simon Pass, and other engravers, were employed
by him in these works.
In the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch are
miniatures by him of Edward, seventeenth Earl of
Oxford, a portrait of himself, of his wife Alicia
Brandon, of Robert, Earl of Southampton, four of
Lady Arabella Stuart, famous for her beauty and
misfortunes, seven of Queen Elizabeth, also of
George Clifford, third Earl of Cumberland, his
father Richard Hilliard, Sir Philip Sidney, Edward
Seymour, Duke of Somerset, and many others. Mr.
W. H. Pole Carew has a portrait of Sir Gawen
Carew, Kt.; Sir John Salusbury Trelawny, one of
Queen Elizabeth ; the Earl of Portsmouth has two
by his hand — Sir Henry Wallop, Kt., and Sir
Oliver Wallop, Kt; and the Marquis of Salisbury
has a portrait of Mary Queen of Scots.
He engraved the Great Seal of England in 1587.
At the Loan Collecdon at the South Kensington

70 Art in Devonshire.
Museum, in 1862, were the following portraits by
him : The Somerville Shakespeare, the Turkish
Ambassador to the Court of Elizabeth, James I.,
Lord Hunsdon, Master of the Horse to Queen
Elizabeth, Elizabeth Lady Hunsdon, General
PallavincI, Sir W. Raleigh, Henry Percy, Earl of
Northumberland, Elizabeth of Bohemia, Sir Francis
Drake, Edmund Spenser, Earl of Lenox, Lady
Arabella Stuart, Frances, daughter of Sir William
Kingsmill, Thomas Ratcliff, Earl of Sussex, Robert
Devereux, Earl of Essex.
The Duke of Portland had a portrait of the artist
by himself at the age of 13, and of Anne of Den
mark, Queen of James I.
There are also specimens of his portraits in the
collection of works of art at the South Kensington
Museum, bequeathed to the nation by Mr. Jones.
He died on the 7th day of January, 1619, and
was buried in St. Martin's Church -in -the- Fields,
Westminster. HosKiNG, William, architect, born at Buckfast-
leigh in 1808. In early life he was taken to New
South Wales, where he learned the elements of his
business at the hands of a builder. Later in life he
became Professor of Architecture at King's College.
He wrote many treadses on the principles and
practice of his profession, and the articles on archi
tecture, building, and masonry, in the Eneyclopcedia
Britannica. He died in London, August 2nd, 1861,
and was buried in Highgate Cemetery.

Art in Devonshire. 71
Hudson, Thomas, portrait painter, born in
Devonshire in 1701. He studied under Jonathan
Richardson, a leading portrait painter, and married
his daughter. He became a member of the In
corporated Society of Artists, and for many years
was the fashionable portrait painter of the day. He
is said to have merely painted the faces of his
sitters, and to have left the figure and drapery to an
assistant. It is impossible to class him among the
great painters. There certainly was considerable
grace in some of his figures. A portrait of a lady
in Powderham Castle is as dignified and as graceful
a figure as ever was drawn ; but taken as a whole
his pictures are we.ak, and not worthy of the fame
he enjoyed during his day of fashion. They are so
numerous as to be seen in the mansions of most
country families. His paintings are not valued at
the present day, and Hudson is chiefly spoken of as
the master of the great Sir Joshua Reynolds. He
died at Twickenham, January 26th, 1779.
Excellent specimens of his work are to be found
at Powderham Castle. In the board-room of the
Exeter Hospital are portraits of John Tuckfield,
Ralph Allen (whom Fielding copied for Squire
Allworthy), and William Lee Dicker; and in the
Exeter Guildhall are portraits of Sir Charles Pratt
and George II. One of his best paintings is pre
served at Blenheim, a large family picture of Charles
Duke of Marlborough.
Humphry, Ozias, r.a., painter of miniature and

72 Art in Devonshire.
crayon portraits, born at Honiton, September Sth,
1742, and educated at the Grammar School of that
town, of which the Rev. Richard Lewis, m.a., was
head master. His taste for and love of art were
developed early In life, and his parents, willing to
yield to his wishes, and to allow him to follow his
natural bent in the choice of a profession, sent him
to London to study art.
Sir Joshua Reynolds gave his advice to his young
fellow-countyman, and recommended him to study
at the Duke of Richmond's gallery. There was no
Kensington School of Art or Art Museum in those
days, no Elgin marbles to teach purity of design,
but the Duke of Richmond had collected from
abroad a number of plaster casts of the best speci
mens of statuary, and In this gallery young Humphry
learned the anatomy of the human figure. He also
attended the drawing school of Mr. William Shipley,
For nearly three years he steadily prosecuted his
studies, when the death of his father recalled him to
Devonshire. He was next sent to Bath, and placed
under the tuition of the celebrated miniature painter,
Samuel Collins ; and later on, when his master re
moved to Dublin, Humphry succeeded to his Bath
connection. In 1764, encouraged by Reynolds, he
started in London as a miniature painter, and exe
cuted a portrait which he exhibited at the Spring
Garden Rooms. This was bought by the King, who
also gave him a commission to paint the Queen and
the Royal children. The picture referred to was a
portrait of a well-known model of the Royal Academy,

Art in Devonshire. 73
named John Mealing. It was universally admired,
and the King as an encouragement presented the
artist with 100 guineas. He became a member of
the Incorporated Society of Artists, and all things
went well with him and his profession, till an un
lucky fall from a horse compelled him to retire from
active life for a time. During this period he re
paired to Italy, accompanied by his friend Romney,
the portrait painter ; and at Rome, Naples, and
Florence he spent four years endeavouring to im
prove himself in art and studying to acquire a
practical knowledge of painting in oils, with the
intention of producing life-size portraits. Having
hitherto devoted himself entirely to miniatures, he
had all to learn in this, to him, new branch of art.
He returned to London In 1777, took a house
in Newman Street, and attempted to gain his living
by life-size oil likenesses, but did not succeed so
well as in his old style. In 1779, 1780, and 1783
he exhibited at the Royal Academy, some of the
portraits being full-length. Probably from not meet
ing with the success he anticipated he embarked in
1785 for Calcutta, and in the Bengal Presidency he
practised miniature painting very successfully among
the native princes and nabobs. He also visited
Lucknow. At the end of three years, illness com
pelled his return to England, and he once more
commenced portrait painting, but this time In minia
ture, in St. James's Street, London.
He now met with great success, and commissions
came in fast, among which was one from the Duke

74 Art in Devonshire.
of Dorset, to ornament a cabinet with miniatures
from the portraits at Knowle. He had finished fifty
when his eyesight showed signs of failing. He
then gave up the minute and eye-trying work of
miniature painting, and turned his attention to crayon
drawing. In this he also succeeded, and exhibited
at the Academy. In 1791 he painted his last por
traits, among which were those of the Prince and
Princess of Orange. His sight now suddenly failed,
and he retired to Knightsbrldge, He died at
Thornhaugh Street, Bedford Square, March 9th,
1 8 10, aged 67 years.
He was made Portrait Painter in Crayon to the
king in 1792, an a,r.a, in 1779, and r,a, in 1791.
His signature was a Roman capital H within the O.
At Greenwich Hospital there is a portrait by him
of Baron Mulgrave ; one at the Royal College of
Surgeons of John Belcher, the eminent surgeon ;
and a portrait by him of his friend George Romney,
the property of the Countess Delaware, was exhibited
at the Loan Collection at Kensington, 1867. Mr.
R. S. Holford had a portrait by his hand of Sir
Sampson Wright, a magistrate of Bow Street during
the Lord George Gordon riots.
Jackson, William, amateur, was born In Exeter
in 1730. He was an intense lover and admirer of
nature, and of all the varying effects of mist and
light and shade on a landscape, a faculty rare in his
day. He loved art, too, passionately, and said of
Charles I., half jocosely, that, whatever his faults

Art in Devonshire. 75
may have been, "it is impossible for me not to
esteem a monarch who had the finest collection of
pictures in the world." His grandfather, Richard
Jackson, was a serge-maker of Exeter, and made a
fortune, which his father, William, rather more
rapidly dissipated, so our friend had to make his
own way in the world, and it was a triumph to him
to find himself, at twenty-fiye years of age, the
most popular musical composer of the day. For
many long years his songs, " Love in thine eyes for
ever strays," " Time hath not thinned my flowing
locks," and others, were the rage of the drawing-
rooms ; while his " Te Deum in F " echoed through
every cathedral in England. It is unnecessary to
speak of his musical powers ; they are known to
every musician in the land ; but it is of him as
an amateur painter that we have to write. He
was the bosom friend of Gainsborough, a constant
guest of Sir Joshua, and the intimate of Gold
smith. Probably his deep love of nature may have
been the characteristic that specially endeared him
to Gainsborough. Jackson's remembrances of Sir
Joshua and Gainsborough were published in a
volume by him, entitled the Four Ages, which had a
considerable sale. Jackson wrote of Gainsborough,
" His profession was painting, music was his amuse
ment," and the reverse might have been said with
equal truth of Jackson. Each undertook to instruct
the other in his own art, and the lover of genuine
English art will find something to interest him

76 Art in Devonshire.
in the record of the friendship between Thomas
Gainsborough and William Jackson.
He published also a volume of essays.
It was about the year 1757 that he first attempted
landscapes. " I lately saw," he says In his auto
biography, "one In the possession of Leakey, the
miniature painter, who said it had belonged to Sir
George Yonge. This gentleman had three other
pictures of mine, which, when his house at Escott,
in Devonshire, was bought by Sir George Kenna-
way, became his property. Sir John Duntze, Mr.
Baring, and Mr. White, of Exeter, have also
some." Jackson's portrait at seventy years of age, by
Keenan, is preserved in the Devon and Exeter
Library. At twenty years of age he was painted
by Rennell, and by Gainsborough at forty. He
also sat for a miniature to Ozias Humphry, a
portrait in crayon to Morland, and two In oil to
Opie, He died July 12th, 1803.
His autobiography was published in the Leisure
Hour for May, 1882, part 365, page 273, from
which much of the above was taken ; and In the
Transactions of the Devonshire Association for 1882,
from the pen of Mr. George Townsend, of Exeter.
Jenkins, Thomas, historical painter, born in
Devonshire, a pupil of Hudson's. He went to
Rome, and studied historical subjects. He traded
in antiquities, and amassed a large fortune, becoming
the chief English banker at Rome. Through his

Art in Devonshire. 77
means many works of antique sculpture were
acquired by his countrymen. He died at Yarmouth
in 1798.
Johns, Ambrose Bowden, born in Plymouth In
1776. This excellent artist practised as a landscape
painter. He was originally a bookseller, carrying
on his trade in his native town ; but his Intelligence
and agreeable manners procured him the friendship
of the first gentlemen of Plymouth, among whom
several took great interest in the young bookseller's
progress in art. Johns employed all his leisure In
sketching, and In process of time he gave up
business, built a cottage close to Plymouth, and
started in life as a landscape painter. There he
was constantly encouraged by the society of his art
friends, among whom were Northcote, brother of
the portrait painter, Haydon, Bidlake, Rogers,
R. King, Ball, Sir Chas. Eastlake, early in his
career, and Prout, Opie, Mitchell, and Cook, some
what later.
The great Turner sketched by his side, and spent
a few days at the cottage. Indeed Turner and
Johns frequently worked together, and our artist
must have caught some of his fellow-student's style ;
for in after years one of his pictures was engraved
by Turner's favourite engraver, John Cousen, and
published with Turner's name to it in one of the
old " Annuals." The picture was an illustration of
the poem " Evening," and the name of Turner was
engraved in the corner.

78 Art in Devonshire.
Johns was very angry when informed of the
occurrence (a great mistake on his part, for a higher
compHment could not have been paid him), and he
wrote to the publisher, who behaved in a very
handsome manner,.
He Immediately inserted an advertisement in- the
London papers correcting the error, caused the
name of Turner to be removed from the plate,
and that of A. B, Johns to be inserted, and sent a
dozen copies of the amended engraving to Mr.
Johns, with apologies for his mistake.
This, however, gave rise to a coolness between
the two painters ; not an actual rupture, but a ces
sation of Intercourse. The engraving was taken
from a picture in the possession of Mr. S. C. Hall,
and after passing out of his hands was being offered
for sale at Christie's as a genuine Turner, when a
gentleman present stepped up to the auctioneer and
named Johns as the artist, Mr, Christie Im
mediately mentioned the fact to the audience, but
added, "Whether it be by Turner or not, I know
not ; one thing I do know, that I have not had a
sweeter thing pass through my hands for a long
time," This picture was sold by Mr. Palmer to
Dr, Yonge, at whose house it hangs, almost spoiled
(I am told) by cleaners or daubers. At another
time a large canvas was publicly exhibited in Ply
mouth as a Turner, which his family at once
recognized as the work of their father. After his
death a gentleman of York purchased a picture as
a Turner at Christie's for ;,^6oo, which the Johns'

Art in Devonshire. 79
family proved to be the work of their father, by
producing the original sketch.
Some of his pictures are at Sal tram ; many are in
the hands of the widow of Dr. Yonge, at Plymouth,
and of Mr. Fisher, of Taunton. One of his finest
works is in the gallery of Lord Darnley, of Cobham,
and this 'picture was singled out for high praise by
the art critic Waagen.
Unfortunately, from his great carelessness as to
medium, and from his having used asphalte too
freely, many of his pictures have blackened sadly.
Johns had no regular art education, but he lived
in the atmosphere of art, and with his natural talent
his art-work would, as a matter of course, come to
the surface.
He belonged to the Plymouth Society of Artists
and Amateurs, the members of whom met alternately
at each others' houses once a fortnight, drew from
eight to ten, and then, having presented all their
drawings to their host, spent the rest of the evening,
as artists do, in artistic chat and anecdote. To this
Society belonged Colonel Hamilton Smith, William
Jacobson, Mr. Ball, George Wightwick, the archi
tect, Mr. Scanlan, Mr. Holmes, Mr. C. C. White-
ford, Mr. Norman, Mr. Hine, and Mr. J. L. Colley,
the last of whom has often talked to me of those
happy evenings, and shown me the drawings that
fell to his lot.
"This little society," says Mr. Hine, "from some
unknown cause, died out, and a considerable interval
elapsed, when about the year 1848 (by which time

8o Art in Devonshire.
Plymouth had acquired several new artists who were
residents, including Samuel Cook, Opie, Talfourd,
Mitchell, Penson, Lane, Luscombe, Giles, Williams,
and others) Colonel H. Smith, with Mr. Johns and
some others, set to work to reconstruct it.
Johns was a good fellow — a kind, generous-hearted
man, full of Information, and with great conver
sational powers. He had consequently many friends.
Mr. J. Hine mentions him in the Annual Report
and Transactions of the Plymouth fnstitution, vol.
vii, part Ii,, In the following words. Speaking of
Prout In his boyish days, he says: "One of the
young artist's best friends and counsellors was the
excellent and gentle Ambrose Bowden Johns, whom
many yet living remember. He was seven years
older than Prout, had been apprenticed when a boy
to the bookseller Haydon, and received his first
artistic inspirations at Port Eliot, where he had
been sent to arrange a collection of books. He was
a great authority on art at Plymouth, and through a
long life had become acquainted with many eminent
artists. Especially was he presumed to know some
thing about every artist who had ever sprung from
this neighbourhood, and to be a veritable link
between the present and the past.
" Now do tell us, Mr. Johns," said a visitor to him
one day, " what sort of looking person was Sir
Joshua? What was he like?" And the good old
gentleman could only protest, with every disposition
to oblige, " But, my dear sir, I never saw him."
He exhibited at the Academy, "Evening — Pirates

Art in Devonshire. 81
landing their Cargo and a Female Captive," and
views in the neighbourhood of Plymouth. He died
at Plymouth, December ioth, 1858.
King, John, history and portrait painter, born at
Dartmouth in 1 788. He studied at the Academy,
and first exhibited in 1817. He painted historical
subjects for several years, but obtained scant en
couragement. Latterly he tried portrait painting.
He continued to exhibit till 1845, and died at his
native town on the 12th July, 1847.
Knighton, Dorothea, the youngest daughter of
Capt, James Hawker, r.n,, was born in Plymouth
in 1 781, and married in 1800 to Mr, W. Knighton,
who In 181 2 was created a baronet, and subsequently
enjoyed an historical reputation as the Intimate
friend and privy purse-keeper of George IV. Lady
Knighton exhibited in early life considerable talent
in the execution of works representing the beauty of
Devonshire scenery, and a ready hand for grouping
figures in genre compositions. She was also success
ful in portraits, as evidenced by a painting, now In
the possession of a member of the Hawker family,
of Nickie Glubb, a famous pugilist, and leader in the
boisterous struggles for supremacy between the Old
Town boys and Burton boys — the rough Montagues
and Capulets of the past century.
It lingers still in the memory of old Plymothians
that there used to be a yearly fight at the steps of
the Guildhall (pulled down in 1800), the cause of
G

82 Art in Devonshire.
contention being a barrel of beer placed on the
upper step. It is long ago, and times have changed.
It was before the days of police and temperance
societies, and men were free, free to fight and to
drink in their own way, and to their own content.
Two noisy factions marshalled their forces — one from
the north, and the other from the quay side — on a
fixed day, to contend for the ale. Through the pluck
and strength of Nickie Glubb, the Ajax of the quay,
year after year the steps were cleared of the enemy,
the waterside faction were victorious, and the beer
was won ; till on one unlucky day an unfair fighter,
whose name shall only be handed down as Ulysses,
concealed a stone in his felon hand, and with it
destroyed the eyesight of this bold smiter for
ever. This champion, so popular in Plymouth,
found an artist in the daughter of an old post-
captain to perpetuate his marked features ; and
Dorothea Hawker has rescued them from oblivion.
The portrait was given by Lady Knighton to Mr.
W. Luscombe, of Plymouth, and is now in the
possession of the daughters of Mr. W. H. Hawker,
who reside near Reading.
Leakey, James, a miniature, landscape, and por
trait painter, who arrived at excellence in all these
branches of art. He was born in Exeter in 1775,
and resided there throughout the whole of his long
life, excepting a few years spent professionally in
London. When a boy his name was mentioned to
Sir Joshua Reynolds, with a view to his becoming

Art in Devonshire. 83
his pupil ; but the death of Sir Joshua, about 1791,
occurred to prevent It. In London Mr. Leakey
enjoyed the acquaintance of Sir Thomas Lawrence,
Constable, Wilkie, and other contemporary artists,
amongst whom he was known particularly for his
" interiors " and grouping of rustic figures. On one
occasion Sir Thomas Lawrence introduced him to a
select circle of celebrities as " the English Wouver-
mans," his fancy works being considered much in
the style of that great master, both in design and
colouring. Portrait and miniature painting, how
ever, were Mr. Leakey's chief pursuits. Original
letters from the then Sir Thomas Baring are still
extant, mentioning a commission to Mr. Leakey, in
the year 1809, to paint, at 500 guineas each, two
fancy pictures in the style of those he exhibited at
Somerset House. This commission the artist was
too occupied to execute, though a group of portraits
of the Baring family was painted at this date. The
deceased also painted the admirable portrait of
Henry Blackall, Esq., now in the Exeter Guildhall,
Mr. Leakey's excellence was seen in his miniatures,
respecting which it may be observed that the
peculiar characteristic was their being painted in oil
on ivory, and so beautifully fine and delicate as to
render it doubtful, even to the most practised eye,
whether they were executed in oil or water colour.
For example, the eminent artist. Sir Augustus Cal-
cott, called on Mr. Leakey, and seeing the minia
tures, questioned their being painted in oils, asking
humorously to test the fact by dipping one in water,
G 2

84 Art in Devonshire.
when to his amusement consent was readily given.
The following critique upon one of Mr. Leakey's
pictures was copied from a London paper fifty years
ago into a local periodical, with the editor's prefatory
remarks on the occasion : " The celebrity of Mr.
Leakey as an artist Is too well known in the
Western Counties to require praise from us — his
pictures speak his best panegyric. We have been
gratified in reading in a London paper a criticism on
one of his productions lately exhibited in Somerset
House, and we gladly avail ourselves of the present
opportunity to insert It, assured that our readers
will be pleased to hear that Mr. Leakey, who Is
now in London, is finding patronage equal to his
desert. 'No. 118, "The Marvellous Tale," by J,
Leakey, is an Interior of a village alehouse, with a
group of characteristic figures round the table.
Their countenances are particularly expressive of
the lively concern they are inspired with at the
wonderful story told by one of the party. This
litde picture is certainly not surpassed by anything
in the same line in this year's exhibition. It possesses
more refined taste and correcter drawing than the
" Drunken Smith " of Kidd, and the colouring Is far
more warm and natural than that of Wilkie. The
dog lying asleep beside the carpenter's basket of
tools, the jug, the lanthorn, and the bottie in the
window of the taproom, are In point of finish and
relief worthy of the best masters of the Dutch and
Flemish schools,' "
His landscapes were very carefully finished, and

Art in Devonshire. 85
were admirably composed ; while the colouring was
always true, and there was no hardness, but a beau
tiful softness, due to a pervading atmospheric effect.
The figures introduced were well and carefully drawn.
Besides " The Marvellous Tale," he exhibited at
the Academy " The Fortune-teller," and two Devon
shire landscapes. Judging from the number of
portraits by his hand to be found in Devonshire
houses, he must have had considerable practice.
For many years before his death he retired from
his professional pursuits, and resided in his native
town, where, on February i6th, 1865, at the ripe age
of ninety years, he died. His high character as a
citizen earned him general esteem and respect,
Mr. Reginald Hooper, Southbrook, Starcross, has
two landscapes ; and Mr. Hughes, Higher Summer-
lands, Exeter, has three — " Babbacombe," " Dart
mouth," and the " Baggage Wagon in time of War."
In the Exeter Guildhall is a copy by him of Sir
Joshua Reynolds' portrait of John Rolle Walter, Esq.
Lee, Frederick Richard, r.a., landscape painter,
born at Barnstaple in 1 799. He was in his day one
of the leading landscape painters of the English
school, with such eminent men as Linnell, Creswick,
Francis Danby, Sidney Cooper. His career is
especially interesting as showing the advance of a
genuine nature-taught painter, for he began as an
amateur, continued his study when he was serving
as a young officer in the 56th Regiment, and leaving
the army on account of weak health, entered as a

86 Art in Devonshire.
student at the Academy in 1818. He soon attracted
notice by his pictures contributed to the British
Institution, and the directors awarded jf^^o as a mark
of his merit. Born at Barnstaple, he was from his
boyhood to old age a lover of the sea, and he
painted almost as many sea pictures as landscapes.
His pictures were for many years taken from the
rich pastoral and river scenery of Devon, in several
of which the cattle were painted by his friend Sidney
Cooper, who survives him ; and in one, " The Cover
Side," painted in 1839, just after he was made a full
Academician, the dogs, figure, and game were painted
by Sir Edwin Landseer. This, with three other
works, is in the National Gallery, the bequest of
Mr. Vernon and Mr. Jacob Bell. During the next
decade of his work he was a constant contributor of
Devonshire landscapes, in which he distinguished
himself as a painter of trees in the rich, full foliage
of summer and autumn, bending over some shady
shallow of the river, where the cows come to enjoy
the cool stream, or some "silver pool," where the
trout lie watching for the fly, or hiding the old mill,
¦with its wheel and tumbling stream rushing among
the rocks. One of his largest and best works was
" A Summer Morning," with cattle by Sidney Cooper,
exhibited in 1848, which was recently sold at Christie's
for .^798. His passion for yachting led him to
paint sea subjects, and in these he was even more
happy than in his favourite Devonshire valleys. In
1859 he astonished his old admirers with a most
spirited sea piece, " The Coast of Cornwall near the

Art in Devonshire. 87
Land's End," with a dismasted ship tossed on a
wild sea under a stormy sky being rescued by a
steamer; and "The Bay of Biscay, March nth,
1857," his own little yacht struggling bravely with
the huge dark waves — a scene of danger which he
contrasted by a charming little picture of his "Cottage
by the Brook" in the same exhibition. Again, in
1 86 1, he had not only two remarkable views of
Gibraltar, but a fine sea piece of the Plymouth
Breakwater, which was compared favourably with
Stanfield's " Homeward Bound," in the same exhibi
tion. In the following year his large picture of
" The Pont du Gard," the ancient Roman aqueduct
near Nismes, another fine view of Gibraltar, and
two or three of his pastorals, showed what a true
artist he was in the versatility and vigorous exercise
of his pencil.
In the reminiscences of A. S. Hart, r.a., edited
for private circulation by Alexander Brodie, Hart
thus speaks of his friend Lee :
" Late in life Lee lived generally in his yacht ; for his charming
house at Pilton, on the shores of Barnstaple Bay, had but small
attractions for him. He seemed never to be happy but when afloat.
Having no taste for literature, and hardly patience to read the
daily papers, he found at sea a diversion from that which would
have been to him a terrible monotony. He offered me a berth,
which I refused, because I disliked being on the sea, and because
he did not have a medical man on board, Mr, Freeland, who
voyaged with him, asked him what he would do in case he was
taken ill, that he would be at the mercy of his crew for his treat
ment, and that in case of his death he would probably be thrown
overboard. He replied, ' Oh no ; I have provided for that. The
commodore would take certain wine out of a chest I have had
made, put my body into it, and convey me back to England.'

88 Art in Devonshire.
" I remember, on a varnishing day at the Royal Academy,
when Lee's ' Ploughed Field ' was an attractive object. Sir Francis
Chantrey, who had been bred to country life, called in question
the manner in which the chief figure sowing the grain in the
furrows was represented. He seized the first object at hand, and
put himself in an attitude to scatter the seed in a characteristic
way. He then drew his handsome but small person to its full
height, and attracted the attention of all in the room, who crowded
round him to see the way in which the seed should be cast right
and left. When Lee had corrected the figure all present agreed
that it was a just representation of the circumstances, Chantrey
was never ashamed to acknowledge his origin,
" In his intercourse with his fellow-men, Lee's conversation
was devoid of interest. His reserve, I always felt, arose from his
fear of committing himself. He appreciated good talk in others,
as he showed by being a good listener. In the literary study of
his art, either of biography or history, he took no interest. He
showed but little enthusiasm for his own or other departments
of art. He has said to me more than once, when a purchaser
of a picture has just left the room, ' I care not what becomes
of it. He may burn it if he likes, I have sold it, and there
is an end to it,' "
In 1864 he paid a visit to Garibaldi In his island
home at Caprera, and painted many sketches, from
which he did the picture of the General's house
looking across the Straits of Bonifacio towards
Corsica, exhibited next year along with one of his
yacht, Kingfisher, in a gale off" the coast of Malaga.
He was now, however, naturally losing his power
with advancing years, and though he contributed a
few more pictures to the Academy, and had no less
than six pictures in the first exhibition at Burlinoton
House, in 1869, he retired as Honorary Academician
In 1 87 1, and died at Vlees Farm, Cape Colony, aged
81 years.

Art in Devonshire. 89
Luscombe, Henry A,, marine painter in oil and
water-colour, born at Plymouth In May, 1820. Part
of his youthful life was passed most distastefully to
himself in Plough Court, London City, among the
drugs and chemicals of the well-known house of
Allen, Hanbury, and Barry, chemists. It is not
surprising that a young man from Devonshire, whose
whole soul was in the beautiful, should not give
entire satisfaction in the practical in the laboratory
of Plough Court. He devoted more of his time,
mind, and interest to art than he did to the dull
rudiments of pharmacy, and he returned to his
native town, and joined his father, who was a most
respected member of the Society of Friends, in the
business of coal merchant.
IJere, too, the love of painting came uppermost,
and his choice of marine subjects was doubtless
fixed by his residence at Plymouth. He soon
attained considerable success in delineating ships
of H.M. Navy under all vicissitudes of calm and
storm, or at their quiet moorings. His power of
defining the details of rigging and sails with extreme
nicety attracted the attention of many nautical critics,
who in these matters are critics indeed, and for
many years he has carried on the practice of his
art in his native town with success.
Mitchell, Philip, landscape painter in water-
colour, born In Devonport in 1814. He took to
art in early life, but had no art Instruction, except
a few hints from an elder brother, who painted

90 Art in Devonshire.
miniatures. At the age of fourteen years he went
to Falmouth, and there became acquainted with
Philp and Williams, and with them he used to go
a-sketching. At the second exhibition of the Corn
wall Polytechnic he sent in a drawing, " Pendennis
Castle," and by it gained a prize. About the year
1845 he settled at Plymouth, and since that time has
always practised there, and with success. In early
life he painted chiefly coast scenes, from his living
near the sea, but latterly has drawn inland land
scapes. He was a member of the Plymouth
Sketching Club, and a friend of Condy, Johns, S.
Cook, W. Eastlake, and others, and drew frequently
with the celebrated marine artist, Brierley. He is
an old member of the Institute of Painters in
Water-Colours, and has regularly exhibited at their
galleries for the last twenty years. His pictures
are to be seen at Mount Edgcumbe, and at most
Devonshire houses where water-colours are to be
found, as he has for many years been reputed one of
our leading Devonshire landscape painters.
Mogford, Thomas, portrait and landscape painter,
born in Exeter, May ist, 1809. He was the son
of a veterinary surgeon practising at Northlew,
In Devonshire, who was noted in his profession
for some valuable novelties and improvements in
veterinary surgery.
Thomas Mogford showed great talent for art at a
very early age by making portraits of his school
fellows, and this called the attention of his elders to

Art in Devonshire. 91
the natural bent of his mind. At the same time he
evinced a strong mechanical and chemical turn, and
any little pocket-money he could get by his drawings
he expended in the purchase of chemicals and car
penter's tools ; in the use of the latter, as an amateur,
he was unusually skilful. For some years of his
boyhood a doubt was entertained which taste should
prevail. Some friends advised that he should study
art for his livelihood ; others that, on account of his
predilection for engineering, and his great love for
and power of constructing, he should follow the
profession of a civil engineer. In this state of doubt
his father took upon himself the office of arbitrator,
and finished the discussion in a very simple and
summary manner ; namely, by holding in his hand
two straws of different lengths — one signifying art,
the other engineering, and bidding his son draw his
lot, when, lo ! the former was that selected. Thus
upon so little depended the fame of his life, and, as
it turned out, the length of his days.
Almost immediately after (the writer cannot state
at what age, but when very young) he was sent to
Exeter to study under an artist, and subsequently
he was articled to Messrs. Cole and Gendall, who
trained art students. His father in this case could
hardly have made a better selection ; for in John
Gendall he found, not only an excellent instructor,
but a kind man, who ever took the greatest interest
in his progress and welfare. On the expiration of
his term of pupilage, he was retained by the firm for
two or three years as portrait and animal painter on

92 Art in Devonshire.
salary. At the end of this time he married the
eldest daughter of his employer, Mr. Cole, and
started on his own account in Northernhay Place.
A few years later he took up his residence in Devon
shire Street, London, and for many years after he
was a yearly exhibitor at the Royal Academy.
During that period he was offered the member
ship of two water-colour societies, but declined
as disqualifying him from that of the Royal
Academy, Between the years 1848 and the time
of his death, in 1868, he visited Exeter in the
summer months, taking portraits "to keep the pot
boiling," as he used to say, and employing all his
spare time in an intense study of landscape painting.
To succeed in the latter branch was his most earnest
desire, and he used to betake himself to some humble
cottage-lodging, on. Dartmoor, or on the banks of
one of the beautiful streams which derive their
source from that highland, and there he worked
earnestly face to face with Nature. Whenever he
returned to Exeter he used to invite the writer and
a few other friends to see his sketches. He would
earnestly ask their opinions as to his improvement
and progress ; discuss the methods he was trying to
get brilliancy of tone, showing them how he at
tempted it, by laying pure colours side by side to
blend in the spectator's eye instead of on the artist's
palette ; talk of his experiment of painting by lay
ing his brightest tints over a white ground, and so
on, till the whole evening would pass pleasantly by
as they listened to his enthusiastic art chattings.

Art in Devonshire. 93
The first picture exhibited in the Royal Academy,
while he was still residing in Exeter, was a full-
length portrait of the late Earl of Devon in his
peer's robes ; a second, a full length of Sir Thomas
Lethbridge, Bart., with horse, dog, &c. ; and a third
an imaginary scene called the " Loves of the Angels."
He painted a full length of his intimate friend
E. H. Baily, r.a,, the eminent sculptor, and this, in
the opinion of many, was the best portrait he ever
painted, and no wonder, for it was a genuine labour
of love ; — it is now in the possession of the Royal
Academy. He also painted a full length of Mr.
Quartly, the noted breeder ; he painted one, bust
size, of Samuel Cousins, r,a,, his life-long friend,
and of Jane Cousins, his sister; one of the same
size of a friend, E, B. Stephens, a.r.a.; another of
the same size of Professor Adams, the discoverer
of the planet Neptune, by order of the Cambridge
University, as a pendant to one of Sir John Hers-
chell, by Mr. PickersgllJ, and this was engraved by
S. Cousins ; a full length of the Hon. and Rev.
Gerald Courtenay; of Mr. J. Sllllfant ; another of
Mrs. Wells, now in possession of Sir J. Duntze,
Bart., at Exeleigh, Starcross ; of the Hon. Mr.
Anson, private secretary to the Prince Consort ; of
Col. Napier, the historian of the Peninsular war; of
Elihu Burritt, whom he met at Exeter ; of Mr. Mark
Kennaway ; of Mrs. Emes, now in the possession
of Mrs. E. B. Stephens, and esteemed one of his
best works ; and of a large number of distinguished
Indian officers.

94 Art in Devonshire.
After practising a few years in London, he grew dis
heartened. Photography was making rapid progress,
and would, he thought, drive the portrait painters
out of the field altogether. He had, perhaps, a bad
year, as men will have in all trades and professions,
and he desponded. " He had saved money enough,"
he said, " to live in seclusion, and paint landscapes ;
he would go to Guernsey, a cheap and picturesque
island, and there he would devote himself to the
study of that branch of art which photography could
never supplant." Here he did work hard at land
scape painting, and produced many pictures of the
sea-coast, and of the umbrageous lanes peculiar to
that island, and in the summer time he would repair
to Exeter to see his friends, and paint portraits.
His last visit to his native town was In the summer
of 1864, and he as usual invited the writer to see
his work. The latter was startled and shocked by
his friend's appearance, and he saw at once that he
was labouring under the paralysing effects of lead-
poisoning to a fearful extent, caused, as the artist
believed, by his having painted his studio with white-
lead. The writer asked an eminent physician to visit
him, and subsequently he repaired to London for
further advice. He then returned to his home in
Guernsey, where he lived about three years, painting
chiefly in water-colour. In all probability he did
not dare to practise in oils, although he might have
done so in perfect safety by substituting white zinc
for white-lead. He died in 1868, after suffering
cruelly from the pain, spasm, and paralysing effects

Art in Devonshire. 95
of the poison. The immediate cause of his death
was disease of the heart. For a long time previous
to his decease he had been sadly crippled by
" dropped hands," and being a man of great me
chanical ingenuity as well as of indomitable pluck,
he devised a kind of glove for his right hand, which
enabled him to paint at Intervals every day to the
day of his death. It was a very ingenious con
trivance, and by its help he wrote a letter to his
brother describing the exploit.
Thomas Mogford was a man of singular capacity.
Even in early childhood he could draw with won
derful facility. He had not much imagination, and
was not very successful in the ideal ; but he painted
what he saw, or rather what he selected, with a
tender and truthful touch. Portraits he painted
with varying success. In some he succeeded ad
mirably, and in others he was not so happy. If his
sitter was a man of intelligence, if his cast of coun
tenance showed culture and intellectual powers, he
did justice to his subject. His brush never failed
to portray intellect where it existed ; his failures,
such as they were, happened uniformly with men of
a lower type ; his attempts to improve upon their
expression failed, as if his kindly nature resolved to
mitigate its austere contempt of mediocrity by a
compliment to mere prettiness and insipidity. He
was a man who believed in himself, as all men who
have turned out great artists have, and no ill advice
nor good advice from others could ever induce him
to depart in the slightest degree from what he

96 Art in Devonshire.
thought, or from truthful fidelity to nature. The
same feeling was the characteristic of his private
life. He held very liberal and free opinions, which
he would not disguise or conceal ; he had the
courage to declare, and the wit to defend them.
Amidst all his struggles he kept up his heart ; he
was morally a brave man. On one occasion, when
he was In a very dependent position, when he could
not afford to risk the loss of a single friend, he
published a letter In the Art Union for 1852, p. 69,
about the unfair action of the hanging committee of
the British Institution, and the influence particular
picture-framers had upon their selection, a letter
which might have called down the thunder and
lightning of the whole body.
The manner of his death proved that he kept his
nerve to the last, and that the slow advances of palsy
had not been able to shake it.
He had been informed by his physician that his
end was very near ; that he might live twenty-four
hours, and could not much longer, yet with the full
knowledge of this he worked at his easel on the
day of his death.
He died in Guernsey In 1868, aged 59 years,
Morrish, W. S,, water-colour landscape, born at
Chagford in March, 1844; paints river and moor
land subjects. He received some education at the
Exeter School of Art, and at Heatherleigh's School
in London, but his chief source of instruction was
the work and conversation of the artists -who in

Art in Devonshire. 97
summer visited his picturesque neighbourhood. He
paints with a bold, firm touch in the open air ; his
work is characterized by perfect fidelity and truth
fulness, and he is an admirable delineator of Dartmoor
scenery. Northcote, James, r.a., historical and portrait
painter, born at Plymouth, October 22nd, 1746.
He was the son of a watchmaker, and served his
full time (seven years) with his father as an appren
tice to the trade. During the whole of this period
he devoted his spare hours to drawing, and, as many
have done, gained a little money by taking portraits.
At the age of twenty-five he, like all other good
artists, found his way to the metropolis, and re
ceived the same welcome and assistance from Sir
Joshua Reynolds as did so many of his fellow-
Devonians. The great master took him Into his
house and allowed him to pick up all the knowledge
of art he could in his studio. So fair a chance
could not be lost upon a man of genius, and one so
devoted to art ; and as he remained with Sir Joshua
five years, he must have learned all the rudiments
and technicalities from him ; and it is strange that
he did not imbibe more of his master's manner.
Indeed it would be difificult, judging from his work,
to speak of Northcote as of the school of Sir Joshua.
He left London in 1775, and returned to Plymouth,
and set up at once as a portrait painter. In 1777
he went to Rome, and worked hard at studying and
making copies of the works of the great painters,
h

98 Art in Devonshire.
especially Titian. Of this master he had the highest
admiration, which continued during his long life ;
and his last literary work, or indeed work of any
kind, was the Life of Titian, published In his eighty-
fifth year. He became member of the Academies
of Florence and Cortona.
His biographer states that he went to Rome "to
judge for himself if fame reported truly of the prime
works of the chiefs of the calling. He found that
report had not reached to the whole of the truth,
and that the great and enduring works of the
Italians were founded alike on science and poetry ;
and that compared to the Scriptural and historic
epics of Angelo and Raphael, the finest portraits
were gross and unrefined."
He returned to England by way of Flanders at
the end of three years, not having gained much by
his study of the great masters, except that he
learned art history and knowledge, and was able
ever after to talk of Michael Angelo, Raphael, and
Titian, to hold his own in those art conversations In
which men of his calling delight.
On his return he again commenced portrait
painting at Plymouth, but soon removed to London,
where he continued to practise till his death.
During his long life (he lived to the age of
eighty-five years) he painted a large number of
portraits, and being a bachelor and a man of pru
dent habits, he amassed a large fortune. His
ambition was not satisfied with one branch of art ;
he wished to succeed as an historical painter. In

Art in Devonshire, 99
1786 he exhibited his first historical picture, "The
Young Princes Murdered in the Tower." He suc
ceeded so well that he received a commission to
paint " The Death of Wat Tyler " for the Corpora
tion of London. He also produced the same year
" The Burial of the Young Princes in the Tower,"
Several years previously he had connected himself
with the Boydell Shakespeare scheme, and after the
completion of his great picture, "Wat Tyler," he
continued to work for Boydell's Gallery, painting
portraits occasionally.
He also painted a series in imitation of, or rivalry
with, Hogarth's " Idle and Industrious Apprentice,"
entitled " The Diligent Servant and the Dissipated."
This was published in 1796, but did not produce
any great sensation, as it was very inferior in
humour or portraiture of character to Hogarth's
work. He painted " The entry of BoUngbroke and
Richard II. ," "Hubert and Arthur," "The Earl of
Argyll asleep," " Lady Jane Grey," " Prospero and
Miranda," " The Entombment of our Saviour," pur
chased by the British Institution for 150 guineas, and
presented to Chelsea New Church, the " Agony in
the Garden," presented to Hanover Chapel, Regent
Street, and "La Fayette in the Dungeon at Olmutz."
The contrivances to which Northcote resorted in
the execution of his works were peculiar. He seldom
made use of the human form, but when painting the
hands he would often set before him plaster casts ;
his lay figure taking the place of the living body.
Northcote was a man of very advanced opinions,
h 2

lOO Art in Devonshire.
in an age when the revolutions on the Continent
rendered all persons holding such views objects of
suspicion and aversion, and he one day complained
to Sir William Knighton that he had never enjoyed
royal favour, because he was unknown to the Court.
Sir William replied : " The King knows you very
well, and has heard of your sympathy with the cor
responding societies, and your political views." It Is
said that a royal duke once borrowed an umbrella of
him, which was returned in person the following day.
Northcote, notwithstanding his democratic opinions,
talked very much of the great condescension.
His conversation about Reynolds and his friends
was rich, and full of Interesting details, although it
was sententious and didactic. He used to defend
Reynolds from the Imputation of meanness at his
entertainments, made by Allan Cunningham, who
had been misinformed by a servant of Reynolds'
who had expected a legacy.
In his latter days Northcote was very garrulous,
and liked to have listeners. There is no doubt
that he had expressed his opinions to Hazlitt with
a knowledge that they would be published, although
when they were he affected to be annoyed. Being
infirm, he was unable to attend the meetings of the
Royal Academy, and was therefore ignorant of its
proceedings. When Leslie, upon being elected an
R.A,, called upon him to pay his respects, he said
" he knew nothing about it, and therefore he had
nothing to thank him for."
A story having got about that he was an un-

Art in Devonshire. loi
believer, a friend called upon him, and put the
question to him, to give him the opportunity of
setting himself right with the world. " What d'ye
mean by that ? " said he. " Why," said the friend,
" that you for instance do not believe in a future
state." Northcote looked at him for a minute, and
then burst out, "It's a lie! it's a lie ! I never
think of it but it puts me in a sweat !"
After the death of Reynolds, Sir Thomas Lawrence
became supreme, and the other portrait painters
found their commissions diminish. Northcote was
very bitter upon the subject. He disliked Lawrence,
and he gave way to violent fits of temper. Thus
when, on behalf of a friend who was about to buy
it, a picture, said to be by Sir Joshua, was shown to
him, he called his sister, and exclaimed, " Nancy !
look here what he hath brought me ; what they call
a Sir Joshuay! No Sir Joshuay at all, but a copy
by that baste Lawrence!" On another occasion,
when the " Calmady Children " were exhibited at
Somerset House, he asked A. S. Hart what he
thought remarkable there, and he replied the
above-named work, — now so well known by the
exquisite engravings by G. Doo and S. Cousins,
entitled "Nature" — "that he thought it a most
perfect picture." Northcote replied, "What d'ye
mane by a perfect picter ? I never saw a perfect
picter In my life, I 've been to Rome, to the
Vatican, and seen Raphel, and I've never seen a
perfect picter by Raphel ! You talk like a fule !
A perfect picter by Lawrence, good God !"

I02 Art in Devonshire.
Northcote was not content with devoting himself
entirely to art ; he determined to try his hand at
literature. His first venture in the world of letters
was in the Artist, a periodical which commenced in
1807. In this he wrote a series of papers entitled
"Originality of Painting," "Imitators and Col
lectors," " A Letter from a Discontented Genius,"
" Character of John Opie," " Second Letter of a
Discontented Genius," " On the Imitation of the
Stage in Painting," " The History of a Slighted
Beauty," and " The Dream of a Painter : an
Allegory." In 18 13 he published in quarto the life
of his friend and master. Sir Joshua Reynolds, " con
taining anecdotes of many distinguished persons,"
The long and intimate acquaintance he had with
Sir Joshua, and -the opportunities he enjoyed of
collecting facts and recording conversations, made
this a very valuable biographical work. Two years
later he published a supplement, and in 18 19 an
octavo edition with many additions. In 1828 he
published The Artist' s Book of Fables, illustrated
with cuts executed under the direction of Harvey,
the pupil of Thomas Bewick, and the most eminent
wood engraver of his day. In the preface to the
work the editor mentions the method In which
Northcote produced the pictures in his first book of
fables, and the way in which he amused himself in
his old age. It appears that, although an admirable
draughtsman of animals, he preferred to divert him
self by cutting out the figures of beasts from prints
and Illustrated publications, shufifling them about on

Art in Devonshire. 103
a blank piece of paper till the arrangement satisfied
him, and they represented the subject, and then he
filled up the space between and the background
with lead pencil. In the skilled and practised hand
of Harvey, himself an admirable draughtsman, they
were prepared for the wood engraver. Northcote,
as may be gathered from this brief biography, was
a man of undeniable mental power. He was also
gifted with great conversational ability, so much so
that his friend Hazlitt in 1826 published his con
versations in The New Monthly. Northcote's last
literary work was the Life of Titian, published In
1830, and after his death a second volume of The
Artist's Book of Fables was Issued.
Of him Redgrave says :
" His compositions were faulty and unstudied. His light and
shade conventional and frequently untrue. His processes of
painting careless. Yet his groups are often happily conceived,
bold and vigorous, free from affectation, and being largely
circulated by engraving, became popular. He fairly takes rank
with the eminent men of his day, who were following the same
art. In manner he was eccentric, and is charged with an habitual
cynicism which hardly belongs to him. He was prudent in his
habits, benevolent to those who asked his help, and courteous to
the young painter who sought his advice,''
His portrait, painted by himself at the age of
eighty-one, is preserved in the National Portrait
Gallery. He was made A.R.A. in 1786, and R.i\. in the
ensuing year. He lived a bachelor at No. 39,
Argyll Street, with his sister to keep house for him,
for nearly fifty years; and he died on July 13th,
183 I, aged 85 years.

I04 Art in Devonshire.
Patch, Thomas, an eminent painter and engraver,
born in Devonshire. He accompanied Sir Joshua
Reynolds to Italy in 1741, and engraved a series of
caricatures, dated 1768-70, twenty-six folio plates
after the frescoes of Massaccio, Ghiberti's Baptistry
Gates, studies from Era Bartolomeo (1771), and two
landscapes after Poussin. He also painted some
landscapes and figures, and there is a large plate of
Florence, well drawn and etched by him.
He engraved Giotto's works in the Church of
the Carmelites, since destroyed by fire ; of these
forty copies only were printed for private distribution.
They were bound up in a large volume, and dedi
cated to Horace Walpole. These are said to be
the only copies extant of Giotto's lost paintings.
One copy was bought, at the celebrated Strawberry
Hill sale, by Mr. Smith, of Bond Street ; another
was purchased for 100 guineas, a third is in the
British Museum, and a fourth Is in the possession of
Mr. T. L. Pridham, surgeon, Bideford. He was
the father of John Patch, senior, and grandfather of
John Patch, junior, the first surgeons of the Devon
and Exeter Hospital. He is supposed to have died
in Florence some time after 1772.
Penson, James, landscape painter in water-colour,
born in Devonport in 18 14. He is the son of a
skilled artizan in the Dockyard, and had little or
no encouragement to adopt art as a profession. He
however acquired sufificient of the rudiments of art
training to enable him to instruct, and throughout

Art in Devonshire. 105
the early part of his life he was a successful teacher.
Losing no opportunity of studying the methods of
the best contemporary painters, and working dili
gently for a time in Suss's Academy, in Bloomsbury,
he was enabled to devote the energy of his maturer
years to painting, principally in water colours, some
of the beautiful scenes of the western counties,
travelling occasionally on the continent. His works
have been much admired from their beauty of sub
ject and their harmony of colour.
Pike, W. H., landscape painter in oils and water-
colour, was born at Plymouth in March, 1846.
Opinion is fairly divided whether this esteemed
artist has succeeded best in oil or water-colour.
His just admiration for the wild north Cornish coast
has drawn him to pourtray the picturesque buildings,
rude hamlets, and the bays and headlands^ of the
thundering shore from Bude to Bos. In some of
these the grandeur of the Atlantic wave breaking
upon black rocks, in others the quiet of the summer's
sea reflecting upon its surface the light from the
great calm clouds, is admirably produced. He Is a
close observer of Nature, is happy in his choice of
subjects, is a truthful and conscientious painter, free
from trick and eccentricity, and draws with a free
and ready hand. There is no littleness nor prettiness
in his works, but they are especially characterised by
firmness and great breadth of treatment. He has
exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Water-
colour Exhibitions of the Metropolis.

io6 Art in Devonshire.
Ponsford, John, portrait painter in oils, born
at Modbury about the year 1 790. It is not known
by whom he was instructed ; but at an early age he
removed to Plymouth, where he began to paint
portraits with varying success. After a time he
established his fame, and for many years was re
garded as one of the best, if not the best, portrait
painter of his day in Devonshire. He had the
advantage of study in Rome in his early days, and
he died in London In the year 1870. Although he
flourished in the lifetime of many persons still living
in Plymouth and other parts of South Devon, so
fleeting is the remembrance of man's reputation,
that this scanty memoir contains all the information
the writer has been able to gather.
Prout, Samuel, water-colour painter of architec
ture and landscapes, born at Plymouth, September
17th, 1783, educated at Plymouth Grammar School,
of which Dr. Bidlake was master. At the same
school was his friend Benjamin Haydon, who was
the son of a Plymouth bookseller. Young Prout
received some lessons from Mr. S. Williams, the
drawing master of the town ; and one of his early
friends and advisers was the amiable Ambrose
Bowden Johns, the landscape painter. Dr. Bidlake,
the schoolmaster, had a taste for art, and he gave
him encouragement, and made many delightful
excursions with one who was a favourite pupil.
Benjamin Haydon, three years younger than him
self, used often to accompany him in his sketchino-

Art in Devonshire. 107
trips, and altogether it may be said that young
Front's early surroundings were favourable to the
advancement of his hopes. It does not appear that
he received much instruction from any master, and
he may fairly be said to be self-taught ; but with a
taste and an ardent love of art, these friends and
their conversation were amply sufificient for the
development of his genius.
His father wished to bring him to his own busi
ness : men who have trades or professions bringing
them in a regular income have ever the strongest
aversion to their sons taking up the uncertain pro
fession of an artist. Perhaps the fact of his son
being a very weakly boy may have determined him
to allow him to pursue his natural bent, and very
probably the following accident may have had its
effect. On one burning day in autumn he wandered
out alone in the fields a-nutting ; towards the close
of the day he was found by a farmer lying moaning
under a hedge, utterly prostrated by sunstroke, and
was carried home in a state of insensibility. From
that day forward he was subject to violent attacks
of headache, recurring at short intervals, and neces
sarily curtailing the hours of his labour ; indeed a
week seldom ever passed without finding him con
fined one or two days to his room. Speaking of his
life-long infirmity, he says, " Up to this hour I have
to endure a great fight of afflictions ; can I therefore
be sufificiendy thankful for the merciful gift of a
buoyant spirit ?" While a mere lad chance threw
him in the way of John Britton, who was travelling

io8 Art in Devonshire.
through Plymouth on his way to Cornwall, collecting
materials and sketches for his Beauties of England
and Wales. Immediately after Front's death Mr,
Britton printed the story of his first acquaintance
with him in the Art Journal for 1852, p. 188.
He states that he first met him at the Rev.
Doctor BIdlake's school, " a pretty timid boy," with
Howard and Benjamin Haydon, and that the three
were favourite pupils of the good doctor ; also that
Prout had occasionally accompanied his drawing
master, S, Williams, to the romantic Bickleigh Vale,
and had made sketches of the rude cottages and bits
of rock to be found there. These were shown to
Britton, and he, wishing to have drawings of build
ings and scenes in Cornwall for the Beauties of
England, offered to take Prout with him and to pay
his expenses. They started on foot for St. Germans
through a heavy fall of snow, and put up at a
miserable inn, " The object of visiting the place,"
says Britton, "was to draw and describe the old
parish church, which is within the grounds of the
seat of Port Eliot, belonging to Lord Eliot. Front's
first task was to make a sketch of the west end of
this building, which is of early Norman architecture,
with two towers, one of which is square, the other
octagonal. Between these is a large semicircular
doorway, with several receding arches, but there is
very little of other detail. My young artist was,
however, sadly embarrassed, not knowing where to
begin, how to settle the perspective, or determine
the relative proportions of the heights and widths

Art in Devonshire. 109
of parts. He continued before the building for four
or five hours, and at last his sketch was so inaccurate
in proportion and detail that It was unfit for engrav
ing." This was a mortifying beginning, both to
author and artist. He began another sketch the
next morning, and persevered in it nearly the whole
day, but still failed to obtain such a drawing as
Britton could have engraved.
His next attempt was the church tower of Probus,
an enriched and rather elaborate specimen of Cornish
architecture. It is built of the moorstone of the
county, and is adorned with quatrefoil panelling
between string courses in the different stories,
niches in the walls, pinnacled buttresses enriched
with crockets and finials, and with large blank
windows, having mullions and tracery. A sketch of
this was a long day's work, and, though afterwards
engraved, reflected no credit on the author or the
artist, " The poor fellow cried, and was really dis
tressed, and I felt as acutely as he possibly could,
for I had calculated on having a pleasing companion
upon such a dreary journey, and also to obtain some
correct and satisfactory sketches. On proceeding
further, we had occasion to visit certain Druidical
monuments, vast rocks, monastic wells, and stone
crosses, on the moors north of Liskeard, Some of
these objects my young friend delineated with
smartness and tolerable accuracy. We proceeded
on to St. Austell, and thence to Ruan-Lanyhorne,
where we found comfortable quarters in the house
of the Rev. John Whitaker, the historian of Man-

IIO Art in Devonshire.
Chester, and author of several other literary works.
Prout, during his stay at Ruan, made five or six
pleasing and truly picturesque sketches, one of
which included the church, the parsonage, some
cottages mixing with trees, the water of the river
Fal, the moors in the distance, and a fisherman's
rugged cot In the foreground, raised against and
mixing with a mass of rocks ; also a broken boat,
with nets, sails, &c., in the foreground." This sketch,
with others then made, was presented to the "agree
able and kind Miss Whitaker" as tokens of remem
brance. The next halting-place was Truro, the
principal town of the county, where Prout made a
sketch of the church, a large building in an open
place surrounded by houses. Here again he was
embarrassed with the mullioned windows and other
architectural parts, and also with a large extent of
iron railing that surrounded the building. At this
place they parted — Britton to proceed on foot west
ward towards the Land's End, &c., and Prout to
proceed by coach to Plymouth, This parting was
on perfectly good terms, though exceedingly morti
fying to both parties ; for Front's skill as an artist
had been impeached, and Britton had to pay a few
pounds for a speculation which completely failed. It
will be found in the sequel that this connection and
these adventures led to events which ultimately
crowned the artist with fame and fortune.
In the month of May, 1802, he sent Britton
several sketches of Launceston, Tavistock, Oke-
hampton Castle, and other places, manifesting very

Art in Devonshire. 1 1 1
considerable improvement in perspective lines, pro
portions, and architectural details. A few of these
were engraved for the Beauties of England, and
others for a small publication called The Antiquarian
and Topographical Cabinet. After some little nego
tiation, it was agreed that he should visit London to
prosecute his studies as an artist ; and he came to
reside, board, and lodge with Britton, in Wilderness
Row, Clerkenwell, where he remained about two
years. During that time he was employed in copy
ing some of the best sketches by Turner, Hearne,
Alexander, Mackenzie, Cotman, and others. His
friend introduced him to Northcote and to Benjamin
West, the latter of whom gave him most valuable
and practical advice on the principles of light and
shadow. It was a most valuable lesson, given in a
few minutes, and Prout often referred to this im
portant Interview with gratitude and delight. In
1803 and 1804 Britton employed his young protdgS
to visit the counties of Cambridge, Essex, and Wilts,
to make sketches and studies of buildings, monu
ments, and scenery. Some of the subjects have
been engraved for the Beauties, and others for the
Architectural Antiquities. In the year 1805 he
returned home, chiefly on account of his health, as
frequent attacks of bilious headache rendered him
unfitted to prosecute his studies with ease and any
degree of energy.
He had the previous year sent his first picture to
the Royal Academy, and he was for the next ten
years an occasional exhibitor, his subjects being

112 Art in Devonshire.
chiefly views of Devonshire and coast scenes. His
first sketches were, like those of most boys, especially
of those inhabiting seaport towns, of ships and
marine views ; and those who have seen the glorious
picture of the Indiaman ashore of his mature years
will recognize that he never forgot his first love.
However, he wished to be a landscape painter;
and Mr. J, Hine, in the Journal of the Plymouth
Institution, vol, vii. part ii. p. 270, tells the following
anecdote of the gentle, sensitive boy :
" On returning from one of these tours, he called on Mr, Johns
with his portfolio in his hand, Johns asked him how many
sketches he had made, and what success he had met with, Prout,
bursting into tears, and wringing his hands with grief, replied, 'Oh,
Mr, Johns, I shall never make a painter as long as I live !' Johns
then examined his sketches, and noticing the power shown in
the drawing of old cottages and mills," said, 'If you won't make
a landscape painter you will make a painter of architecture, and
I would advise you to keep to that.^ Encouraged by this, he went
away, rejoicing that there was still a field open to him in art,''
After about six years of earnest work in the field
he returned to London, and took up his abode in
Stockwell, and three years after he married. In
1815 he was an exhibitor, and in 1820 was elected
a member of the Water-Colour Society. In these
early days he had to struggle hard to maintain his
position, and to this end he gave lessons in drawing,
Ackermann, in 18 16, published his Studies In parts,
executed In the then new art of lithography, followed
by Progressive Fragmetits, Rudijjtents of Landscape,
Views in the North and West of England, and other
works of instructive drawing. In these early days

Art in Devonshire. 113
Prout painted more marine subjects than anything
else ; but the influence of Mr. Britton, and the
change that was now to come over his mode of life,
probably determined his adhesion to architecture.
His health, always bad at the best of times, grew
worse ; he became much weaker, and a trip to the
Continent was recommended him. " The route by
Havre and Rouen," writes Ruskin, "was chosen,
and Prout found himself for the first time in the
grotesque labyrinths of the Norman streets. There
are few minds so apathetic as to receive no impulse
of new delight from their first acquaintance with
Continental scenery and architecture ; and Rouen
was, of all the cities of France, the richest in those
objects with which the painter's mind had the pro
foundest sympathy. The facade of the Cathedral
was yet unencumbered by the blocks of new stone
work never to be carved, by which it is now defaced ;
the Church of St. Nicholas existed; the Gothic
turret had not vanished from the angle of the Place
le Pucelle ; the Palais de Justice remained in its
grey antiquity, and the Norman houses still lifted
their fantastic ridges of gable along the busy quay.
All was at unity with itself, and the city lay under
its guarding hills one labyrinth of delight — its grey
and fretted towers, misty in their magnificence of
height, letting the sky like blue enamel through the
foiled spaces of their crowns of open work ; the
walls and gates of its countless churches wardered
by saintly groups of solemn statuary, clasped about
by wandering stems of sculptured leafage, and

114 ^^^ ^^^ Devonshire.
crowned by fretted niche and fairy pediment,
meshed, like gossamer, with inextricable tracery ;
many a quaint monument of past times standing to
tell its far-off" tale in the place from which it has since
perished — in the midst of the throng and murmur
of those shadowy streets — all grim with jutting
props of ebon woodwork, lightened only here and
there by a sunbeam glancing down from the scaly
backs and points of pyramids of the Norman roofs,
or carried out of its narrow range by the gay pro
gress of some snowy cap or scarlet camisole. The
painter's vocation was fixed from that hour ; the first
effect upon his mind was irrepressible enthusiasm,
with a strong feeling of a new-born attachment to
art. In a new world of exceeding interest.
" From this time excursions were continually made
to the Continent, and every corner of France, Ger
many, the Netherlands, and Italy, ransacked for its
fragments of carved stone. The enthusiasm of the
painter was greater than his ambition, and the strict
limitation of his aim to the rendering of architectural
character permitted him to adopt a simple and con
sistent method of execution from which he has rarely
departed. It was adapted in the first instance to the
necessities of the mouldering and mystic character of
Northern Gothic; and though impressions received
afterwards in Italy, more especially at Venice, have
retained as strong a hold upon the painter's mind as
those of his earlier excursions, his methods of art
have always been influenced by the predilections
first awakened. How far his love of the picturesque.

Art in Devonshire. 115
already alluded to, was reconcilable with an entire
appreciation of the highest characters of Italian
architecture, we do not pause to enquire ; but this
we may assert without hesitation, that the picturesque
elements of that architecture were unknown until
he developed them, and that since Gentile Bellini
no one had regarded the palaces of Venice with so
affectionate an understanding of the purpose and
expression of their wealth of detail. In this respect
the City of the Sea has been, and remains, peculiarly
his own. There is probably no single piazza nor
sea-paved street from St. Georgio in Allga to the
Arsenal, of which Prout has not in order drawn
every fragment of pictorial material. Probably not
a pillar in Venice but occurs in some one of his
innumerable studies ; while the peculiar and varied
arrangements under which he has treated the angle
formed by St. Mark's Church with the Doge's palace,
have not only made every successful drawing of
those buildings by any other hand look like plagiar
ism, but have added (and what Is this Indeed but to
paint the lily !) another charm to the spot Itself.
" This exquisite dexterity of arrangement has
always been one of his leading characteristics as an
artist. Notwithstanding the deserved popularity of
his works, his greatness in composition remains
altogether unappreciated. Many modern works
exhibit greater pretence at arrangement, and a more
palpable system — -masses of well-concentrated light
or points of sudden and dexterous colour are expe
dients in the works of our second-rate artists as
I 2

II 6 Art in Devonshire.
attractive as they are commonplace. But the moving
and natural crowd, the decomposing composition,
the frank and unforced, but marvellously intricate
grouping, the breadth of inartificial and unexagger
ated shadow, these are merits of an order only the
more elevated because unobtrusive. Nor is his
system of colour less admirable. It is a quality
from which the character of his subjects naturally
withdraws much of his attention, and of which
sometimes that character precludes any high attain
ment ; but nevertheless the truest and happiest
association of hues in sun and shade to be found in
modern water-colour art (excepting only the studies
of Hunt and De Wint) will be found In portions of
Prout's more important works,"
In addition to his very numerous drawings Prout
published in lithography facsimiles of sketches
made In Flanders and Germany, In France, Switzer
land, and Italy ; also a series of drawings from
antiquarian remains, etched by himself. Several of
his works have been engraved on steel in line or
mezzotinto, as the City of Venice, Chartres Cathedral,
&c. His prices were very moderate — six guineas
for a small drawing, and sixty for those of the
largest size. The latter have been sold at Christie's
for two thousand guineas,
Mr, S, C, Hall, writing of his personal qualities,
says :
" No member of the profession has ever lived to be more
thoroughly respected, we may add beloved, by his fellow-artists ;
no man has ever given more unquestionable evidence of a gentle

Art in Devonshire. 1 1 7
and generous spirit, or more truly deserved the esteem in which
he is so universally held. His always delicate health instead of
souring the temper made him more thoughtful of the trials of
others; ever ready to assist the young by the counsels of ex
perience, he is a fine example of perseverance and industry,
combined with suavity of manner and those endearing attributes
which invariably blend with admiration of the artist, affection for
the man. During the last six or seven years we have sometimes
found our way into his quiet studio, where, like a delicate exotic
requiring the most careful treatment to retain life within it, he
could keep himself warm and snug, as he expressed it; there he
might be seen at his easel, throwing his rich and beautiful colour
ing over a sketch of some old palace in Venice or time-worn
cathedral of Flanders ; and though suffering much from pain and
weakness, ever cheerful, ever thankful that he had still strength
enough to carry on his work. He rose late, and could seldom
begin his labours before the middle of the day, when, if tolerably
free from pain, he would paint till the night was advanced. No
man ever bore suffering more meekly. Essentially religious, he
submitted with patience and resignation to the divine will. All
the home affections were warm and strong in him. He was of a
tender, loving, and truly upright nature,"
He died suddenly of apoplexy on the 9th of
February, 1852, at his residence in Camberwell,
aged 68 years.
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, Knight, p.r,a,, portrait
painter, born July i6th, 1723, at Plympton, where
his father, the Rev. Samuel Reynolds, was master
of the Grammar School.
At the period of his birth art in England was at
its lowest ebb, James Gandy, the Devonian painter
and pupil of Vandyke, was dead, Dobson, Riley,
Greenhlll, and Joseph Michael Wright, English
painters of some merit, had passed away. In the

Ii8 Art in Devonshire.
absence of native talent foreigners again were patron
ised by the court and the nobility. Michael Dahl, a
Swede (born 1656, died 1743), Sir John de Medina,
a Fleming (born 1660, died 1743), John Vanderbank,
who flourished about 1740-50, John Baptist Vanloo
(born 1684, died 1746), executed most of the por
traiture of the country. Then certain English
painters came on the scene, but most of them did
not rise above mediocrity. Charles Jervas (born
1675, died 1739), Jonathan Richardson (born 1665,
died 1745), and Sir James Thornhill (born 1676,
died 1 734). There was certainly one painter whose
works have added a glory to his country ; viz.,
William Hogarth (born 1697, died 1764), and it is
not to the credit of the national taste that Hudson
should have been overwhelmed with commissions
and have become the rage and the fashion of the
day, with William Hogarth for a contemporary.
There was a vacancy In England with regard to
art when Reynolds appeared.
He was educated at his father's school, and in
tended for the medical profession, and in early life
he went through the same experience as all other
great artists. He would draw instead of work, he
would copy prints, make sketches of houses, take
his schoolfellows' likenesses ; then, of course, he was
thought a prodigy, and talked of, and at last his
father' let him have his own way, follow his own
bent, and sent him to London in 1 740 to learn art of
the fashionable painter, Thomas Hudson, who could
not teach him. It was a happy day for Hudson

Art in Devonshire. 119
when Reynolds came under his roof; for he has
become immortalised thereby as the master of the
great Sir Joshua,
Here he remained three years, and here he must
have picked up the mechanical part of his art. But
his master soon found that he was in danger of
being surpassed or supplanted by his pupil. A
portrait young Reynolds had made of an elderly
female servant of the family was so much admired
and talked of that things no longer remained pleasant
In Hudson's house, and Reynolds returned to Devon
shire (1743), and set up at Plymouth Dock as a
portrait painter.
During three years he enjoyed a fair share of
patronage, and was very proud of having painted so
great a man as " the Commissioner of the Plymouth
Dockyard !" He improved greatly with practice, and
was already superior to the other artists of the day.
He was very weak, however, In drawing. At
Hudson's he had no opportunity of working out
this Important branch; there was as yet no Royal
Academy ; and although he afterwards enjoyed
superior opportunities of study, he never really
acquired a fair power of drawing. He devoted
himself to the study of Nature, and emancipated
himself from the thraldom of the traditions and
teachings of Hudson, His own original genius
enabled him to see Nature in her most graceful
forms, and in her most delicate and harmonious
colour. He copied no man's works, followed no
man's lead, can be classed in no man's school, but

I20 Art in Devonshire.
stood out by the strength of his own power a master.
In the matter of colours he could have learned little
from Hudson, for he was ever experimenting with
new sources of colour, and he was ever keenly
endeavouring to fix the beauties he saw in tints too
delicate to live. Many of his pictures are therefore
so sadly faded, are such mere wrecks, as to give to
the uninitiated but a very faint idea of their original
splendour. At Plymouth he became acquainted with and was
employed by Lord Mount Edgcumbe, who recom
mended him to Captain, afterwards Lord, Keppel,
and at his invitation he took a cruise in the Mediter
ranean. Reynolds landed at Leghorn in 1 749 ; and
for three years he studied at Rome, Florence,
Venice, and other art cities of Italy.
In 1 752 he returned home, and after a few months'
stay with his friends In Devonshire, started as a
portrait painter in St. Martin's Lane, London, On
his return to Exeter he remembered a painting in the
Choral Vicars' Hall, by James Gandy, that he had so
often visited and examined on account of his high
admiration for it as a work of art, but more especially
as a lesson to him in the beauty, depth, and richness
of its colour. For three years had his eyes been
habituated to the golden colouring of Paul Veronese,
and the warm tints of Titian, Tintoretto, and other
great Italian masters, and he was anxious to return
to his first love to see If he had overestimated her
beauty, and if his early admiration for her was due
merely to his youthful inexperience ; but he found

Art in Devonshire. 121
she would stand the test well, and was as lovely in
his eyes as ever. The painting referred to is the
portrait of Tobias Langton, a priest vicar, a copy of
which now hangs In the Vicars' Hall ; and my
authority for this anecdote is to be found in the
essays of William Jackson, organist, musical com
poser, and amateur artist, whose portrait by Keenan
is preserved in the Devon and Exeter Library in
the Cathedral Close,
From St, Martin's Lane he soon removed to
Great Newport Street, and in 1761 to the well-
known house on the west side of Leicester Square.
His talents were soon recognised, his old artistic
friends rallied round him, Hudson renewed his
acquaintance. Lord Mount Edgcumbe recommended
him to his friends, he received commissions abun
dantly, and from this time to the day of his death
he pursued one unvaried course of success. In the
year 1755 Reynolds had one hundred and twenty
sitters. In 1757, in the month of March alone, he
had twenty-eight persons to paint, and gave one
hundred and six sittings, and, according to North
cote, the next year was more busy still. In 1758 he
painted one hundred and fifty persons, among whom
was the Prince of Wales,
It was about the year 1752, soon after his return
from Italy, that he made the acquaintance of Dr.
Johnson, and a friendship was soon formed which
continued without interruption till his death ; and it
was in the Doctor's fdler that Reynolds first broke
ground in literature by writing three essays on paint-

122 Art in Devonshire.
ing for that periodical. In 1768 the Royal Academy
was founded, and Reynolds being regarded by
common consent as the head of the profession, was
elected president, and the king bestowed upon him
the honour of knighthood. Ever zealous in the
cause of art, he volunteered to give a series of dis
courses to the students on the distribution of prizes,
and between the 2nd January, 1769, at the opening
of the Academy, and the ioth December, 1790,
when he took his leave, he continued to deliver
these discourses, which every educated man should
read, and which will remain a standard work as long
as the language in which they are written exists. "A
work," as his biographer justly remarks, "containing
such a body of just criticism upon an extremely
difificult subject, clothed in such perspicuous, elegant,
and nervous language, that it is no exaggerated
panegyric to say that it will last as long as the
English tongue, and contribute not less than the
productions of his pencil to render his name im
mortal." To the Academy exhibitions in twenty-one
years he sent two hundred and forty-four pictures.
In 1 78 1 Reynolds visited Holland and the Nether
lands, and was much struck with the productions of
the Flemish school. On his return he published an
account of his tour, with criticisms upon the various
pictures, which work is often quoted, and is still a
most valuable handbook to persons visiting the
galleries of Holland and Belgium. In 1782 Du
Fresnoy's art of painting was translated and published
by Mason, with ample notes by Sir Joshua ; and in

Art in Devonshire. 123
the year 1 784, upon the death of Ramsay, he was
appointed principal painter in ordinary to the king.
About this time he received a commission to paint
a historical subject for the Empress Catharine of
Russia. He selected as his subject the " Infant
Hercules Strangling a Serpent," typical of the diffi
culties the empress had to contend with in restraining
the barbarism of her empire.
No artist, however successful, is ever content to
rest his fame on portraiture alone, and Reynolds
attempted historical and ideal subjects. "The Death
of Cardinal Beaufort at Dulwich," " Death of Dido,"
in the possession of Her Majesty ; " Ugolino,"
" Macbeth and the Witches," " Puck," " The Nativity,"
and some others, were painted, and, although very
highly commended at the time, did not add to his
fame. It is impossible to omit mentioning the
lovely group of angels now in the National Gallery,
the most beautiful rendering of the sweet innocent
face of childhood ever produced by the pencil.
The five faces are all the portraits of one child —
Miss Gordon.
Up to 1782 he continued to paint without inter
ruption, when he was suddenly attacked by what
was supposed to be paralysis. He recovered from
it sufficiently to enable him to resume his work ; but
in 1789 a more severe attack compelled him to
finish what work he had in hand, to exhibit for the
last time, and retire from the practice of his art,
leaving a blank which has never been filled. His
eyesight failed him, his health gradually gave way.

1 24 Art in Devonshire.
and he died on February 23rd, 1792. His body
lay in state at the Royal Academy, and was buried
with unusual pomp at St. Paul's Cathedral,
It is impossible in a brief memoir to give a fair
description of his life, his character, and his works,
or to attempt to give even an incomplete list of his
numerous paintings. It will be useful, however, to
give a list of memoirs, and of works written by
himself Joseph Farrlngton, r,a,, '^x!\:X\^&6. Memoirs of the
Life of Sir J . Reynolds.
Malone, an account of his life and writings,
Mr. Cotton, in 1858, a list of his portraits; and
In 1859, his notes and observations upon his
pictures. In 1865 C, R, Leslie, r,a., commenced the Life
and Times of Sir Joshua Reynolds, continued and
concluded by Tom Taylor, m,a.
In 1813 James Northcote, r.a,, ^uhYish&d Memoirs
of Sir Joshua.
In 1824 were published, in three volumes. The
Complete Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds.
In 1835 William Beechey, r.a., published The
Literary Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds.
In 1856 William Cotton, r,a,, published Sir
Joshua Reynolds and his Works.
In 1880 F. S. Pulling, m,a,, wrote "Sir Joshua
Reynolds " for the series of fllustrated Biographies
of Great Artists.
The artists contemporary with Sir Joshua were,
first in order of merit, his powerful rival. Gains-

Art in Devonshire. 125
borough ; Allan Ramsey (b. 1739, d. 1784), no mean
painter ; Nathaniel Dance (b. 1730, d, 1801) ; Johann
Zoffany, a native of Frankfort (b. 1773, d, 1814);
George Romney (b. 1734, d. 1802), for a time a
rival of Sir Joshua's ; Joseph Wright, of Derby (b.
1734, d, 1797) ; and, towards the evening of his life.
Prince Hoare, of Bath (b, 1755, d, 1834),
What was the peculiar charm of Sir Joshua's
portraits ? What was it that dififerentiated them
from all others ? Was it the fidelity of the like
ness ? No ; any of the contemporaries above-
named could ensure that. It was that he drew not
only the face, but the life, the soul, the mind, the
temper, the habits of the man. He threw intelli
gence into the face, so that to see a portrait was to
know the sitter ; you seem to have been acquainted
with him, to have conversed with him ; and when
you go away you do not forget the picture, but you
remember It as if you had seen, not a painting, but
a breathing, thinking man. This, combined with
delicacy, purity, simplicity, and grace in design, and
modesty, quietness, and harmony in colour, gave
that peculiar charm which blends with the works of
the great Devonshire painter, before all others of
the modern school.
Rogers, Philip Hutchins, marine and landscape
painter in oils, was born at Plymouth in 1794, and
received his education there. He drew many views
of the neighbourhood of Plymouth, and some views
in the Channel Islands. In 1813 he painted a large

126 Art in Devonshire.
picture of the bombardment of Algiers, which was
engraved ; and about 1820 some views on the
Spanish coasts. He was an occasional exhibitor at
the Royal Academy up to 1835, In the latter part
of his life he resided on the Continent from motives
of economy, and died at Lichtenthal, near Baden-
Baden, June 25th, 1853. Some of his pictures are
in the collection at Saltram. Mr. Ralph Saunders,
of Exeter, and Mr. Reginald Hooper, of South-
brook House, Starcross, have admirable examples
of his work.
Rowe, George, landscape painter, born in Dart
mouth, 1797, but brought up in Exeter. His pub
lished works have perhaps done more than any
similar effort to exhibit pictorially the beauties of
Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset. In afterlife he
commenced the publication of lithographic views,
which became the most popular means of attracting
a host of tourists to localities of picturesque beauty,
unknown, until thus, with charming accuracy, the
scenes were brought before the eye of their ad
mirers. Their fidelity was curiously tested by the
fact that certain innkeepers gave the artist free
quarters as an acknowledgment of the service
rendered to them in bringing strangers into their
localities. Mr. Rowe was one of the early producers of
"tint" printing, afterwards brought to such per
fection in " chromo-lithography."
He left Exeter for Cheltenham, where his powers

Art in Devonshire. 127
had larger scope ; and the publication of views in
that neighbourhood was carried out most success
fully, and as an artist and art teacher his abilities
were fully recognized.
During an art exhibition at Cheltenham Mr.
Rowe had a lithographic stone set up In the room,
and from day to day worked out a drawing of the
scene, which was afterwards printed and published.
The art of drawing on stone had been lately
introduced, and the novelty justified the exhibition
of it.
In the Great Exhibition of 1862 Mr. Rowe ex
hibited large water-colour drawings of Australian
scenery, made from his own sketches during a
sojourn on that continent. These pictures gained
for him the only medal awarded to an artist. Sir
Roderick Impey Murchison suggested the award
on account of the fidelity of the drawings to the
geological features of Australia.
Old inhabitants of Exeter will remember Mr.
Rowe's drawings of Exeter — the Cathedral, Exeter
Bridge, and other picturesque bits, and of public
characters, now only to be found in the hands of
collectors. Like many Exeter men who have wandered,
Mr. Rowe in his latter days found himself again
in the old city, where he died in 1864, aged
67 years.
This memoir of a good artist, and an excellent
man, was furnished to me by his fellow-worker and
friend, Mr. George Townsend, of Exeter.

128 Art in Devonshire.
Salter, William, born in Honiton in 1804, went
to London in 1822, and studied under Northcote
for five years. He proceeded to Florence, and
while studying from the masterpieces in that great
city of art, he produced a painting of " Socrates
before the Judges of the Court of Areopagus,"
which he exhibited in the Belle Art in 183 1. This
work established his reputation In Italy, and he was
made a member of the Academy of Fine Arts at
Florence, and a professor of the first-class in
history. After studying in Rome and in Parma, he
returned to England in 1833, and undertook to
paint the picture by which he will be best re
membered — "The Waterloo Banquet," with portraits
of all the distinguished guests ; a very difificult sub
ject Indeed, but by choosing the time when the
guests were at dessert, when the Duke of Welling
ton was proposing a toast, and the company
were sitting easily. Irregularly, and broken up in
groups, he cleverly got rid of the formality and
unplcturesqueness of a dinner-table, and made a
most effective historical picture. This was engraved
and published by Mr, Moon, and the original is now
in the possession of G, Mackenzie, Esq, Mr,
Salter painted afterwards many historical subjects,
chiefly scenes from the lives of the Stuarts, scenes
from Shakespeare, and other authors ; and in
November, 1838, remembering his old Devonshire
home between the hills, he painted expressly for
and presented to the church at Honiton " The En
tombment of Christ," a work exhibited in 1838, and

Art in Devonshire. 129
most favourably noticed. A public dinner was
given in his honour by his fellow-townsmen, and by
persons of distinction in the neighbourhood. Of
this picture a contemporary thus speaks : " ' The
Entombment of Christ,' by Salter, is a truly sublime
and beautiful picture, full of pathos, grandeur, and
simplicity, and embodying the whole range of
historic art on one piece of canvas. The boldness
of outline, the anatomical precision, the chiaro-
oscuro, the rich harmonious colour diffused over
every part, combined with a great delicacy of hand
ling, proved that the painter possesses more than
an ordinary mind, and is capable of producing the
noblest effects in historic painting." The presenta
tion of a picture to his native town had long been
an object of his ambition. " I wished," he stated in
a letter to his fellow-citizens, "to paint a picture
worthy to become an offering to my native town.
After a lapse of many years, and long-continued
study in foreign schools, the time has arrived when
I consider myself able to fulfil my desire, and I
now therefore present you with a specimen of my
ability, which I hope will be received as a token
of the great respect and regard I entertain for
you. He died In 1875.
Score, William, portrait painter, a native of
Devonshire, became a pupil of Sir Joshua Reynolds
about the year 1778, and from 1781 to 1794, with
one exception, exhibited at the Royal Academy.
K

130 Art in Devonshire.
Sharland, William, was a native of Tiverton,
and served his apprenticeship with Mr. Cole, of
Exeter; and when John Gendall went into partner
ship with Cole, he found Sharland in the establish
ment. After the partnership broke up, Gendall
retained Sharland in his service, and proved himself
a sincere friend to him. He assisted him in his
frequent illnesses, for Sharland had very bad health,
and when he died, as the writer has been told by
one well acquainted with Gendall's circumstances,
he paid the expenses of his funeral.
He painted many portraits, and was a good artist.
Among his works Is the portrait of Alderman Phillips,
at the Guildhall ; he also painted the portrait of
Philip Salter, the organist, a copy of which was made
by Thomas Mogford, at the request of the late Sir
John Rogers, an enthusiast in music, and in that way
a friend of his, and this copy, and not the original, is
preserved in the Vicars' Hall, Exeter, together with
a copy by Sharland of the portrait of Tobias Langdon
by James Gandy, the original of which has been
stolen. He also painted a large picture of London
from the Thames, a powerful painting, made pictu
resque by the mist and smoke of the great city, above
which the graceful dome of St. Paul rose grandly
In the sunshine. This work was sold to the late
C. B. Swete, of Oxton, Devonshire, and again at
the auction which was held when Mr. Swete sold the
estate. It was generally attributed to the pencil of
John Gendall, but it really was the work of his pupil.
He died about the year 1833.

Art in Devonshire. 131
Shute, John, painter and architect, born at
Collumpton. In Vertue's Anecdotes of Painters,
edited by Walpole, the following appears : " Richard
Heydock, too, of New College, Oxford, in his
translation of Lomazzo on Painting, published in
1598, says, 'Limnlngs much used in former times
in church books, as also in drawing by the life in
small models ; of late years by some of our country
men, as Shoote, Betts, &c., but brought to the rare
perfection we now see by the most ingenious, pain
full and skilfull master, Nicholas Hilliards.'"
From this It appears that Shute practised minia
ture painting before his fellow-countyman Hilliard,
and was a recognised artist of merit.
Shute styles himself painter and architect, in a
book written and published by him in folio in 1563,
called The first and chief groundes of architecture,
used on all the auncient and famous monyments, with
a farther and more ample discourse uppon the same
than hitherto hath been set out by any other. He
had been sent to Italy in 1550 by the Duke of
Northumberland (in whose service he had been),
and who maintained him there in his studies under
the best architects. He also published another
work, entitled " Two Notable Commentaries, the one
the original of the Turks, &c. ; the other of the
warres of the Turk against George Scanderbeg, &c."
Translated out of Italian into English ; printed by
Rowland Hall In 1562.
He died September 25th, 1563.

K 2

132 Art in Devonshire.
Stephens, Edward Bowring, a.r.a,, sculptor, was
born in Exeter, December loth, 181 5, and was the
son of James Stephens, of that city. He commenced
his art life by being placed as a pupil under John
Gendall. This worthy man and excellent artist
soon observed the bent of his pupil's genius, and
set before him academical drawings from the living
models to copy. So well did young Stephens profit
by his lessons, that he was soon capable of making
a life-size drawing of the Venus de Medici, and of
placing the skeleton within the outline. It was
by good John Gendall's enthusiastic urging that
Stephens' father consented to give his son the ad
vantage of three years' study in London, and to
place him in the studio of E, H. Baily, r,a,, the
eminent sculptor. Gendall still further aided the
young artist by prevailing subsequently on his father
to give him the opportunity of visiting the great
works preserved In Italy, and it Is pleasant to be
able to chronicle the fact that Stephens attributed
much of his success to the kind interest taken in
him in early life by that good man, who was ever
ready to give a helping hand to youthful or strug
gling genius. Stephens' earliest patrons were the
late Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart., the Earl
Fortescue, and the late Earl of Devon. From these
he received encouragement at a time when it was of
the greatest value to him. And after these men had
gone to their rest, their families still kept up the old
interest and friendship down to the period of his
death. Such a life-enduring personal regard from

Art in Devonshire. 133
two generations of the families of these Devonshire
worthies proves that in his private as well as in his
professional life Stephens was deserving of esteem.
In a modest, manly speech, delivered at a banquet
given in his honour on the occasion of the presen
tation of the " Deer Stalker," he stated " that the
Earl of Devon's father and Sir Thomas Acland's
father, above all others, were the founders of his
professional career, and his best friends, who helped
him on cheerfully and hopefully to try and do big
things, to represent that which was true, and to do
that which was right."
Having shown a decided taste for art, he was
sent to London at Midsummer, 1835, and placed as
a pupil of E. H. Baily, r.a. In 1836 he was admitted
a student of the Royal Academy, and in 1837 he won
the silver medal of the Society of Arts, for a small
original model of "Ajax Defying the Gods." In
1838 he executed his first commission, for Mr.
Thomas Sheffield, of Exeter, a gentleman who was
much interested in everything connected with art —
a bust of his daughter Blanche. In the early part
of 1839 he went to Italy, visited all the art galleries
from Venice to Naples, and worked principally at
Rome, in a studio formerly occupied by John Gibson,
in the Palazzo Cecaglia. In this place he modelled
a large bas-relief of "Our Saviour on Mount Calvary,"
a statue of a " hunter," and a small figure of Eve.
On his return to England towards the end of 1841
he lived for about a year in his native town, and
modelled a few busts, among which that of Patrick

134 Art in Devonshire.
Miller, m.d,, he executed in marble, and he obtained
a commission from Sir John Yarde Buller, Bart., m.p.,
for a life-size statue in marble of Lord Rolle. For
this he obtained sittings at Bicton. This statue is
now at Lupton, and a duplicate for Lady Rolle is at
Bicton. In 1842 he took up his permanent residence
in London, and in the following year obtained the
gold medal at the Royal Academy for a small
relievo subject, " The Battle of the Centaurs and
Laplthse." He also executed marble busts of the
late Earl of Devon, Lady Courtenay, Sir W. W.
Follett, Bart., m,p,, and Rev, — Lowe, Dean of
Exeter. In 1845 his time was occupied In orna
menting. In conjunction with other artists. Her
Majesty's summer pavilion at Buckingham Palace.
The subject he selected was, " The Attendant Spirit
Disguised as Thyrsis," and the " Lady from Comus,"
forming two bassi-relievi. Also he executed marble
busts of the Right Reverend Henry Philpotts, Lord
Bishop of Exeter; General Gage Hall; and Col.
Fulford. In 1846 he exhibited at the Royal
Academy two busts In marble, of W, S. Kelsall,
Esq,, and of T. B. Creswell, Esq. In 1847 he exe
cuted, for T. H. HIppesley, Esq., of Shobrooke Park,
two marble statues, life-size, of " Comus Offering
the Cup to the Lady," and busts of Sir H. Davie,
Bart., and of General Sir B, D' Urban, g.c.b. In
1848 he sold to Mr, Soames, of Beech Hill, Essex,
a life-size statue in marble of " Diana Preparing for
the Chase," and a small group in marble of "Maternal
Love." In 1849 he completed a colossal group of

Art in Devonshire. 135
" Satan Tempting Eve," and carved monumental
figures; and busts of the Right Hon. Sir John Bayley,
Bart., and of S. Fletcher, Esq. In 1851 every one
connected with art or manufacture was preparing for
the first great Exhibition of 185 1, and Stephens'
contributions to this were a colossal group of " Satan
Vanquished " and the " Satan Tempting Eve " men
tioned above. He likewise exhibited at the Academy
a group of three figures, " Charity," and marble
busts of the Lord Bishop of Madras, placed in the
Cathedral of Calcutta ; of Lord Palmerston, pre
sented to the Viscountess Palmerston by the elec
tors of Tiverton ; and of John Aitkens, Esq. His
next exhibits at the Academy were, "A Young
Shepherdess," in 1852; " Eve Contemplating Death,"
in 1853; "Mercy on the Battle-field," in 1858, a
small copy of which in bronze was sold to the Art
Union of London. He also produced a posthumous
marble bust of the Hon. William Reginald Cour
tenay, and busts of Viscount Ebrington and Hugh
Earl Fortescue, k.g. In 1859 he erected a marble
statue, heroic size, of General Lord Saltoun, at
Fraserborough, Inverness-shire ; supplied the bronze
bas-relief of Balaclava for the memorial to Col.
Morris, on Hatherleigh Down, in i860; and the
same year executed a statue of Dr. Priestley for
the Museum at Oxford. In 1861 he had the satis
faction of completing and erecting a colossal statue
in marble on Northernhay, Exeter, to the honour of
his friend and patron Sir Thomas Dyke Acland,
Bart. There had at one time been much discussion

136 Art in Devonshire.
whether this statue should not have been publicly
competed for, in order that the city should be enriched
by the best work of art procurable in the country ;
but when the figure was unveiled and critically
examined, every one whose opinion was worth con
sidering agreed that the best possible work had been
procured, and the citizens were proud that it was
the work of an Exeter man.
It may interest Devonshire men to hear how the
raising of this statue to Sir T. Dyke Acland came
about In his lifetime. It happened In this manner :
Sir Thomas had retired into private life, and the
thought of doing something to mark the estimation
In which he was held by his fellow- countymen
occurred to several of the leading public men. Mr.
Stephens spoke to the present Earl of Devon on the
subject, and his lordship said " that many of his
neighbours were desirous of testifying to their res
pect of Sir Thomas, but did not see very clearly
how. A picture was out of the question, so was a
service of plate to the owner of Killerton," — when
Mr. Stephens instantly suggested a statue. This
proposal his lordship at once adopted ; the co
operation of ten or a dozen men was obtained ; Mr.
John Gould, of Kenton, was appointed hon. secretary,
and a ^5 subscription set on foot privately.
Mr. Stephens was invited by Lord Devon to
Powderham Castle, Avhile Sir Thomas was there on
a visit, to enable him to settle his mode of treating
the statue, and this was determined on while walking
with his living model in the shrubbery. Sir Thomas,

Art in Devonshire. 137
unconscious that a " chiel was behind him taking
notes," that an artistic eye was watching his every
movement, suddenly stopped, while conversing, near
the Wellingtonia, taking the very attitude which is
given in the statue, indeed with the stick and coat
just as he appears in marble on Northernhay. Mr.
Stephens returned to London, and made a sketch in
clay, and having a few years before executed a bust
of Sir Thomas in marble for Mr. Charles Hoare
(which was presented to Lady Acland), he had no
difificulty about the likeness. The statue went on to
the full-sized model, and was approved of by the
subscribers, when one Saturday Mr, and Mrs, Henry
Fortescue came into the studio with very long faces
to tell the sculptor that the scheme must be aban
doned, that it could not be, that Sir Thomas had
found it out in conversation with a too communi
cative lady at lunch, that he was very excited about
it, and had declared in the most positive and deter
mined manner that it should not go on. A thunder
bolt fallen through the roof could hardly have
staggered the sculptor more. There was his work
before him advancing to completion ; there was the
product of long thought and study ; there was the
object on which his mind had been concentrated
for so many weeks, wasted, useless, profitless, and
Othello's occupation gone. The stricken artist had
just wit and breath enough to say, " It is no business
of Sir Thomas's at all. He has not been asked.
He surely cannot take notice of what was said
privately at the luncheon-table." Mr. Fortescue

138 Art in Devonshire.
took his hat, rode off to find Sir Thomas, and put
the aifair before him from the statuary's point of
view. He returned at 8 o'clock with the news that
Sir Thomas had given in, had seen the meaning
of Mr. Stephens' words, and promised silence till
officially informed. On Monday Mrs. Arthur Mills
called to see the statue by Sir Thomas's request (he
was in her carriage at the door), and as he was as
kind-hearted and generous as he was quick, he sent
by her the offer of personal assistance in giving
sittings, or in any other way.
In the same year Stephens exhibited a small
group in marble of " Evening : Going to the Bath,"
and "The Angel of the Resurrection." In 1863 his
work consisted of a colossal statue of the late Earl
Fortescue, erected in the Castle Yard, Exeter ; a
statue of "Alfred the Great," placed In the Egyptian
Hall, Mansion House, London ; and a marble statue
of William Earl of Lonsdale, placed in Lowther
Castle. In 1864 he was elected an associate of the Royal
Academy, simultaneously with Sir Frederick Leighton
and Mr. Calderon, and erected a bronze statue of the
Duke of Bedford at Tavistock ; and in the following
year a sitting statue, in marble, of John Dinham,
erected in Northernhay, Exeter. He also exhibited
a group in marble, of " Euphrosyne and Cupid." In
1866 he produced four busts — Arthur W. Jeffray,
John Tyrrell, and James Wentworth Buller, Esqrs.,
and Sir James Drummond, Bart. A statue of " Lady
Godiva " and " Cupid's Cruise " were exhibited in

Art in Devonshire. 139
1867 ; and a large group, "Saved from the Wreck,"
and a group of figures, "Coaxing," in 1868. In
1869 he received a commission to execute a recum
bent monumental figure of Elizabeth, Countess of
Devon, which is now placed on a gothic altar tomb
in Powderham Church. He had many years before
carved in marble a bust of the deceased lady, and
by means of this and of photographs he produced
the most truthful and exquisitely beautiful repre
sentation of her who was, from character and from
personal beauty, worthy to be perpetuated by the
chisel of one who was worthy of the task.
In 1870 he had the pleasure of erecting the statue
of Prince Albert in the " Albert Museum," newly
built in his native city ; and he exhibited a statue in
marble, " The Blackberry Girl," and added two
busts to the list of his works — Mrs. Henry Fortes
cue (posthumous) and Sir John Bowring, In 1871
he exhibited a marble group, " Zingari," now in the
possession of Captain Hill, of Brighton ; "In
Memoriam," part of a mural monument ; and a
marble bust of Henry Fortescue, Esq. In 1872
he exhibited the model of a life-size figure, " A
Wrestler Preparing for the Grip," a half-size copy
of which is in the possession of Captain Hill, of
Brighton. In 1873 he exhibited "Eve's Dream,"
and busts of William, Earl of Lonsdale, and Samuel
Solly, Esq,, f.r.s.; and by order of the Royal
Academy he erected at Burlington House colossal
statues of Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Christopher
Wren, and Sir Joshua Reynolds. In 1874 his ex-

140 Art in Devonshire.
hibits were a life-size model of "A Bowler" (a half-
size copy was purchased by Captain Hill), and a
statue of " Leander Preparing to Cross the Helles
pont," In 1875 he sent to the Academy two figures,
" Morning" and " Evening," In 1878 he erected a
a public statue In marble of Mr, Alfred Rooker at
Plymouth, a public statue of Sir John Cordey
Burrows at Brighton, and a bronze group of an
ideal subject, " The Deer Stalker," at Exeter. This
last work was generously offered to his native city
at a price that would merely pay the expenses of the
work. Mr. G. H. Haydon first started the scheme
of purchasing it, and he was assisted by his friends,
Mr, Phelps, the tragedian, and Mr, George Pitt-Lewis,
barrister. The statue was unveiled at Exeter, and
the artist was entertained at a public dinner given in
his honour by the citizens of Exeter. The group was
originally placed in Bedford Circus, but was removed
in 1880 to a place much more suited to It in the
beautiful grounds of Northernhay ; and a bronze
statue of the Earl of Devon by Mr. Stephens, the
gift of the county of Devon, was erected in its place.
In 1879 he executed a marble statue, ''Science and
Literature," life-size, for Melbourne, Australia ; a
marble group, life-size, " The Bathers," and a bust of
Mr. C. C. Whiteford, town clerk at Plymouth.
In private life and among his friends Stephens
was much beloved, IHe was one of those genuine,
unpretending, honest beings that are always appre
ciated. He took the greatest Interest in his native
city and county. He was kind-hearted and liberal ;

Art in Devonshire. 141
was always among the first, often the first, to help
a brother artist in difficulties, or to render justice
when justice was due but not accorded. | We re
member him working up subscriptions for the widow
of Cross, the historical painter, of Tiverton, and
bustling about London streets inviting his brother
artists to attend a banquet to Kiss, the great Ger
man sculptor, who had sent the colossal group of
"The Amazon" to the International Exhibition of
1 85 1, which group, because it was the finest eques
trian work produced by any sculptor since the days
of Phidias, it became fashionable to underrate, to
say it was exaggerated, " it wanted repose," &c., as
if a naked woman in full fight with a tiger could
exhibit repose. Stephens and the artists of England
thought differently ; they were astounded at the
power of the sculptor. They thought It foul shame
that such a genius should appear among them with
out being recognized. It would be a disgrace to
England. They did what they could. They invited
him to a banquet, which, to the delight of Stephens,
who was mainly instrumental in bringing about so
successful an issue, was attended by nearly two
hundred artists. Mr. Stephens was present at the
meeting of the Devonshire Association at Crediton,
in August, 1882, and appeared in his usual health.
He told the writer that he was engaged In a work of
heroic size, "Shielding the Helpless." He was taken
ill on the 9th of November following, and after a brief
illness of eleven hours he expired. The cause of death
was bronchitis and failure of the heart's action.

142 Art in Devonshire.
Stevens, J. Francis, landscape painter, oil and
water-colour, is reputed to have been born in Exeter,
November 21st, 1781. He studied under Paul S.
Mann, and exhibited in the Royal Academy. He
became a member of the Water-Colour Society in
1806, and was one of the founders of the " Sketch
ing Society," In 18 10 he appears as a member of
the Norwich Society of Artists, and resigned his
membership of the Water-Colour Society. In 181 3
he exhibited three landscapes In the Academy. In
1819-22 he exhibited both in oil and water-colour.
At this time he was living In Exeter. The painting
of " Lustleigh Cleeve," presented by him to the
Devon and Exeter Institution, bears the date 1820,
and probably was one of those he exhibited. In
1 8 1 5 he etched and published views of cottages and
farmhouses in England and Wales in five numbers
at I OS, 6d, each, commencing with ten etchings on
January ist, and finishing on May ist with eleven,
the whole consisting of fifty-three etchings. Size of
plates, 1 1 X 8^. In the last number it is mentioned :
" The etchings are executed by Francis Stevens
from the paintings, drawings, and sketches of amateur
and professional artists, all of whom have liberally
bestowed their assistance gratuitously to the work ;
and here Mr. Stevens begs them to accept his most
grateful acknowledgments."
Stevens died suddenly, having fallen down in
apoplexy at the door of the Devon and Exeter
Institution, He was picked up and attended by
Mr. P. C. De la Garde, surgeon of the Exeter

Art in Devonshire. 143
Hospital. The date of his death the writer has not
been able to fix ; but it occurred about 1822 or 1823,
as J. Gendall came to Exeter to succeed him at the
latter time.
Stone, Nicholas, sculptor and architect, born at
Woodbury in 1 586. He was the fashionable sculptor
of the reign of James I. ; indeed, so numerous were
his monumental works, that he seems to have had
the monopoly of all that branch of art in England,
In his youth he lived in London with one Isaac
James, and after a time he went to Holland, hardly
to study architecture or sculpture, one would suppose ;
but he must have followed his craft there, for he
married the daughter of the architect of the city of
Amsterdam, Peter de Keyser. On returning to
England he soon got employment, and his time was
thoroughly occupied in making monuments for per
sons of the highest distinction. In 161 6 he was
sent to Edinburgh to work on the king's chapel
there, and in 16 19 he was engaged on the building
of the banqueting-house ; and in the beginning of
the reign of King Charles he received the patent of
master- mason in these words : " Know ye that we
do give and grant unto our trusty and well-beloved
servant Nicholas Stone, the office and place of our
master-mason and architect for all our buildings and
reparations belonging to our castle of Windsor,
during the term of his natural life ; and further, for
the executing the said office, we do give him the
wages and fee of twelve pence by the day in as

144 ^r/ in Devonshire.
ample and as large a manner as William Luthis or
any other person heretofore did enjoy. A.D, 1606,
April 20."
Vertue met with Stone's pocket-book, in which he
kept an account of the statues and tombs he executed,
and the payments he received, from which Walpole
extracted the most remarkable, and from which the
writer has made the following selections :
"In June, 1614, I bargained with Sir Walter
Butler for to make a tomb for the Earl of Ormond,
and to set it up in Ireland ; for the which I had well
paid me ^100 in hand and ^300 when the work
was set up at Kilkenny, Ireland,"
" 1 61 5, Agreed with Mr. Griffin for to make a
tomb for my Lord of Northampton, and to sett it in
Dover Castle, for the which I had ^500 well paied.
I made Master Isaac James a partner with me in
courtesy, because he was my master three years,
that was two years of my prentice and one year
journeyman." In May, 161 5, he erected a tomb for Sir Thomas
Bodley in Oxford, and in November a tomb for
Mr. Sutton at Charterhouse.
"In 1616, July, was I sent into Scotland to do
work In the King's Chappie and for the Kings
closett, and the organ, so much as came to ^450
of wainscot-worke, the which I performed and had
my money well paid, and ;^5o was given me to
drink, whereof I had _^20 given me by the Kings
command," In the same year he made a monu
ment at the charge of the Right Hon. Luce,

Art in Devonshire. 145
Countess of Bedford, for her father, mother, brother,
and sister.
In 1 6 19 he executed life-size figures, and a tomb
of alabaster and touchstone, for relatives of Sir
Charles M orison, of Cashioberry, for which he
"had well payed ^260, and 4 pieces given me
to drink."
"In 1 619 employed in the building the Whitehall
banquetting house, and was paid four shillings and
tenpence the day; made the dial at St. James, the
fountain at Nonsuch, and took down the fountain at
Theobalds and set it up again."
In 1622 he made the great dial at Whitehall;
another " for my Lord Brook in Holburn ;" another,
with two statues, " for Sir John Daves at Chelsey,"
and a tomb for Dr. Donne's wife in St. Clement
Danes. In 1620 he "made a tomb for Sir Edmund
Bacon's lady, and in the same church of Redgrave
another for his sister Lady Gawdy," and "in the
same place two pictors of white marble of Sir N,
Bacon and his lady, and they were laid upon the
tomb that Bernard Janson had made there, for
which two pictors I was paid by Sir Edmund Bacon
;^200." Also he made the poet Spenser's monu
ment at Westminster Abbey, and another there for
Mr. Francis Holies, youngest son of the Earl of
Clare, and a third for his brother. Sir George
Holies. Also in the Abbey he executed Monsieur
Casabon's monument, and an inscription for Sir
Richard Cox.

146 Art in Devonshire.
In 1665 he made for the old Exchange in London
four statues — Edward V., Richard IIL, Henry VIL,
and Queen Elizabeth.
In 1629 he "made a tomb for my Lady Paston
of Norfolk, and set it up at Paston, and was
there extraordinarily entertained, and payed for it
^340." In 163 1 he made a tomb for the Countess of
Buckingham, and set it up in Westminster Abbey.
In 163 1 he "made a tomb for Dr. Donne, and
set it up in St. Paul's, London, for the which I was
payed by Dr. Mountford the sum of ^120, I took
^60 in plate in part payment."
"In 1632 I made a chemny piece for Mr. Paston,
for which I had ^80, and one statue of Venus and
Cupid, and had ;^30 for it, and one statue of
Jupiter ;^25, and the three-headed dog Cerberus,
with a pedestal .;^i4, and Seres, and Hercules, and
Mercury, ;^50, and a tomb for my Lady Catharine
his dear wife ^200, and in May, 1641, sent to him
three statues — Apollo, Diana, and Juno, agreed
for _^25 a piece, with pedestals,"
The above is merely a selection from the large
number of works he executed in many parts of
England. In architecture he designed a house at Cornbury
for the Eari of Danby ; Tarthall, near Buckingham
House, for the Countess of Arundel ; the porch of
St. Mary's at Oxford, and the Sir Thomas Sutton's
chapel in the Charterhouse.
Nicholas Stone died in 1647, and was buried in

Art in Devonshire. 147
St. Martin's, where on the north side, within the
church, is the following epitaph :
"To the lasting memory of Nicholas Stone, Esq,, master
mason to his Majesty, in his lifetime esteemed for his knowledge
in sculpture and architecture, which his works in many do testify,
and, though made for others, will prove monuments of his fame.
He departed this life on the 24th August, 1647, aged 61 years,
and lyeth buried near the pulpit in this church. Mary, his wife,
and Nicholas, his son, lye also buried in the same grave. She
died November 19th, and He on the 17th September, 1647, HS
posuit," Nicholas Stone had three sons — Henry, Nicholas,
and John.
Henry is known to connoisseurs by the name of
Old Stone. He was a good portrait painter, and
many of his works remain, and are much valued.
In the Kensington loan collection of portraits were
the following by him :
Lady Frances Cecil ; Countess of Cumberland ;
Henrietta Maria and Princess Elizabeth ; Charles
Stanley, eighth Earl of Derby; John Thurloe,
Secretary of State to the Protector; and in the
National Portrait Gallery is a portrait by him of
Inigo Jones, copied from Vandyke. He also
practised as a sculptor, and carried on his father's
business conjointly with his brother John. He died
in London, August 24th, 1653. Nicholas Stone
was a sculptor; Lady Berkeley's monument at
Crawford is by him. He died September 17th,
1647. John Stone, the third son, devoted himself to art,
and with his brother Henry carried on his father's
L 2

148 Art in Devonshire.
business. He published anonymously Enchridion,
a work on fortification, with illustrations engraved
by himself. He died in 1563.
This worthy family, so united during life, and tied
together not only by affection, but by similarity of
tastes, were all buried in one grave. The tomb,
containing his father, mother, and brother Nicholas,
was carved by Henry, the eldest son. And when
Henry died, John erected his monument ; and when
John died there was no Stone left to do as much for
him, but Charles Stokes, a kinsman, repaired it, and
added the following lines —
" Four rare Stones are gone.
The Father and three Sons,"
Traies, William, landscape painter, born at
Crediton in 1789, one year earlier than his friend
and brother-artist, John Gendall. Like all men
who have succeeded in art, he showed his talent
early in life. He was at first a clerk in the Exeter
Post-office, at that time In the Cathedral Yard, and
he and John Gendall used to go out sketching
together and compare their drawings, as two young
friends naturally would. One of his first successful
efforts In art was illustrating a work in natural
history by Dr, Neal, a Scotch physician. His talent
was early recognized and encouraged by the Rev.
Gayer Patch, rector of Trinity, in Exeter, a worthy
son of the well-remembered hospital surgeon of
Exeter, Mr. Patch Introduced him to the Rev.
Palk Carrington, rector of Bridford, In him he

Art in Devonshire. 149
found a genial and a kindred spirit, and for years
he spent his autumn at the rectory, amidst the
beautiful scenery of that neighbourhood. The
rector and the artist strolled together and traversed
the surrounding neighbourhood, sketching scenes
in Bridford Wood, among others one which the
artist has made famous in " The Gipsy Encamp
ment." Captain Parker, of Whiteway, the father
of Montague E, N, Parker, late M.P, for Devon
shire, was a warm friend and patron of Traies, and
for a long time his studio and residence were at
Whiteway, where the charming scenes of this
locality were depicted by the artist. The late Mr.
Robert Saunders, Mr. William Miles, and Mr.
Kendall, were also patrons ; Indeed for the first of
these he could not finish his paintings fast enough.
In 1820 and on one subsequent occasion he was an
exhibitor at the Royal Academy. His paintings
were much prized in his native county. He con
trived to bathe his distances in atmosphere and to
get light and space in his skies in a way few artists
could excel. His ravines and waterfalls in the
Ruysdael style will always be valued, but there Is
a want of lightness and variety of tint in his foliage,
which gives the heaviness to it which was the fault
of the landscape painters of the age In which he
lived. His second son, Frank, inherited much of
his father's genius. He painted pictures of cattie
scenes, and was so promising an artist that there
can be no doubt that had he not been cut off" In
early life he would have made his mark as an animal

150 Art in Devonshire.
painter. The early death of this son was a source
of enduring grief to his worthy father.
He died at his residence, Parker's Well Cottage,
Topsham Road, Exeter, on the 23rd April, 1872,
aged 82 years.
Upham, John William, landscape painter in
water-colour, born at Offwell, near Honiton,
He drew views of various parts of Devonshire ;
viz,, Sidmouth, SIdbury, Torquay, Exeter, &c,, also
North Wales and Switzerland. He resided at
Weymouth, and published many engravings of that
neighbourhood. His drawings are signed I. W. U.,
with date, or I. W. Upham.
He died on the 5th January, 1828, aged 55 years,
and the children of the Weymouth and Melcombe
Regis Sunday Schools erected a tablet to his
memory. He was buried at Wyke Regis, near
Weymouth. Webber, William John Seward, sculptor, was
born in Exeter in 1843,
He first studied art In the school of John Gendall,
of Exeter, so well known for his Devonshire land
scapes. He studied also in the Exeter School of
Art, where he obtained two medals in addition to
the national medallion. Ambitious of a laro-er
sphere, he went to London in 1864 and studied for
some time in the West London School of Art,
where he qualified himself to become a student in
the schools of the Royal Academy. In 1871 he

Art in Devonshire. 151
competed for and obtained the medal in the antique
school, and In 1873 he was awarded the first medal
for modelling from the life in the life school. In
1875 he obtained the premium of ^^50 for the group
of a warrior bearing from the field a wounded com
rade, which was engraved in the Art Journal in
December, 1880.
This group is thus described by Mr. S. C. Hall
in the Art Journal oi December, 1880 :
"THE group of the WARRIOR AND THE WOUNDED
YOUTH,
"The work was modelled by Mr, Webber whilst he was a
student in the Royal Academy, and he was awarded by the
council of that body a premium of £'^0 for the general ex
cellence of the design. The warrior represented is one of a pre
historic type, when the weapons in use were chiefly flint-headed
arrows or bronze swords and spears, and the clothing merely the
skin of some wild animal, giving the sculptor an excellent oppor
tunity of displaying, what is always of importance in sculpture,
the form and structure of the rude human figure. The figure of
the warrior is vigorous in action, the anatomical form being well
defined, and the expression of tenderness and anxiety on account
of the youth whom he is bearing is well depicted in his face,
" The striking contrast with this robust and vigorous figure is
the shrinking, writhing form of the wounded youth, stricken
down in his first campaign. His left hand covers the wound he
has received, and he turns with an expression of pain to his com
rade, who is bearing him to a place of safety,''
This group was executed in 1878 in marble.
Mr. Webber has been a frequent contributor to
the Academy exhibitions of works of an ideal
character and of portraiture. Amongst the latter
may be noted his portrait of Dr. Philpotts, the late
Bishop of Exeter.

152 Art in Devonshire.
Whiteford, Sidney Trefusis, still-life and genre
painter, was born in Plymouth in 1837. He is the
son of Mr. Charles C. Whiteford, of Thornhill, near
Plymouth, a most highly respected citizen, who filled
the office of town clerk for forty-five years. A bust
of this Plymouth worthy, by the late E. B. Stephens,
A. r.a,, was placed by subscribers in the council cham
ber of the New Guildhall, and admirably preserves
the features of the original. Mr. C. C. Whiteford is
a lover of art, and in days gone by was a member
of the Plymouth Society of Artists and Amateurs,
in the good company of Col, Hamilton Smith, Mr.
William Jacobson, Mr. Ball, Mr. George Wightwick,
the architect, Mr. Norman, Mr. Hine, and Mr. J. L.
Colley, He married the daughter of Col. Hamilton
Smith, K.PL, K.W., f,r,s., the well-known writer on
Natural History, Costume, &c,, and who was an
amateur of great merit.
Mr. S. T. Whiteford commenced his education
at the old Grammar School at Chudleigh, and the
artistic bent which he must have inherited from his
parents was very probably increased by the romantic
and picturesque scenery amidst which his boyhood
was passed. He was afterwards placed with a private
tutor, and subsequently sent to complete his educa
tion in Germany and France.
He worked at his profession in the South Ken
sington and other Schools of Art, and had the rare
advantage of being a pupil of that great master of
water-colours, William Hunt,
He has produced no large works, but has devoted

Art in Devonshire. 153
himself entirely to water-colours, in which medium he
has produced still-life subjects of every kind, simple
figure subjects in the genre style, and occasionally
studies of old buildings. He has exhibited at all
the chief galleries, at the Royal Academy frequently,
and in the years 1871 and 1872 at the International
Exhibition at South Kensington. He is an accom
plished painter on pottery and porcelain, has devoted
much time to the study of under and over-glaze
painting, and at the great Vienna Exhibition he
exhibited and sold two vases painted by his hand.
He is the author of a Handbook on Figure Paint
ing in Water-colour, which was warmly commended
by the Athencsunt and Art Journal, and one on
Painting on Pottery and Porcelain.
Whittaker, George, landscape and marine painter
in water-colour, born August 28th, 1834, at Exeter.
He studied engineering as a profession ; but his love
of art induced him to try his fortune as a landscape
painter. He was a pupil of Charles Williams. He
exhibited at the Royal Academy and Dudley Gallery,
and was exceedingly happy in the drawing of ships,
boats, sea-coasts, and everything connected with the
sea. A small picture of his, " The Morning Watch,"
is in the Albert Museum, Exeter.
He was a good, honest, kind-hearted man, whose
sterling qualities endeared him to many friends. He
suffered sadly from bad health In the latter part of
his too short life, and he died at Dartmouth, Sept.
1 6th, 1874.

154 Art in Devonshire.
Widgery, William, landscape painter in oil and
water-colour, born at Uppercot, Northmolton, 1822,
worked in early life as a mason, and is a capital
instance of the truth, that if there is genius in
a man, it will come to the surface without any help,
and In spite of the most adverse circumstances.
He began painting in his leisure hours, and his
friends thought much of his performances ; but the
man who had most influence in determining his
future path in life was the late Mr. Thomas Hex,
of St. Thomas, at whose inn the writer first saw
Mr. Widgery's clever reproductions of some of
Landseer's works, only known to the painter
through the medium of engravings. At Mr. Hex's
advice Widgery gave up his trade, and trusted his
all to his success as an artist. He painted and sold
many copies of Landseer and Rosa Bonheur, made
portraits of cattle and horses, and drew scenes from
the neighbourhood In oil ; and although his work at
first was of course that of a beginner, the writer and
the late Dr. W. R. Scott, of the Deaf and Dumb
Asylum, an excellent judge of art, used often to
look at them when exposed for sale, and agree that
the painter had a rare eye for, and was never wrong
in, his colour. Indeed, colour has ever been his
strong point.
Widgery had no instruction from any man, or
any books. There was no art gallery In Exeter to
instruct his eye. He went boldly out into the fields,
and sat himself down with the colour that he
gradually learned to select, and he painted what he

Art in Devonshire. 155
saw, with Nature his only master. The consequence
is that he has followed no man. It is impossible to
say that " Widgery is of the school of So-and-so,"
although at the present time all the young painters
in Exeter are copying him. He has a style quite
peculiar to himself, a style in which he catches
effects, portrays rural scenes and wild landscapes
boldly, and with very little finish. At the present
date he has practised art for thirty years. He has
painted over 3,000 pictures, and has sold them all ;
indeed, they are generally sold before they are off
his easel, and any left the dealers are ready to take
immediately. He twice visited Italy and Switzer
land, and for a time he painted glacier streams, and
snowy mountains, and views of Venice ; but he soon
returned to the scenery of his native county. He
has painted the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, and
Is peculiarly happy in his delineation of wild seas
dashing on a rugged iron-bound coast ; but Dartmoor
is the chief scene of his labours, and in after years
he will be chiefly remembered as pre-eminently the
painter of Dartmoor.
He is a correct and spirited painter of animals,
and introduces them with good effect. His pictures
are well composed, and he has the power of selecting
picturesque bits, and of arranging his subject in a
bold easy manner, that appears utterly unstudied.
He possesses the ars celare artem to perfection.
His touch is remarkably light and free ; his colour
is entirely without crudity or heaviness ; he never
uses any blue but cobalt, and every variety of green

156 Art in Devonshire.
and grey he makes with this, the lightest of colours.
He mixes a little of this pigment with all his tints,
and thus carries a softening atmospheric effect over
the whole of the work.
His son, Frederick John Widgery, has inherited
his father's talent and his peculiarities of style, but
he has had the advantage of having been regularly
trained — first in the Exeter School of Art, and
afterwards in the life school at Antwerp, where he
is at present diligently working. He has already
painted some admirable bits, the excellence of which
show beyond doubt that he will be among the best
landscape painters of the day. He was born in
May, 1 86 1.
Williams, T. H., water-colour painter. He prac
tised his art in Plymouth about the middle of the
eighteenth century, and exhibited views of Devon
shire and Wales at the Academy between 1 801-14.
He published a series of etchings by his own hand,
under the title, " Picturesque Excursions In Devon
and Cornwall," and some etchings of the neighbour
hood of Exeter and a tour in the Isle of Wisrht.

Bg^V,^T~

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST

ARTISTS BORN IN THE COUNTY OF DEVON.

Shute, John .
Hilliard, Nicholas
Stone, Nicholas .
Gandy, James
Gandy, William ,
Hudson, Thomas
Hayman, F,
Jenkins, Thomas ,
Patch, Thomas
Reynolds, Sir Joshua ,
Davey, R, , . •
Jackson, W, ,
Ezekiel, E, A,
Cosway, R, ,
Humphry, Ozias ,
Crosse, R, .
Northcote, James
Downman, John, a,R,a.
Score, W,
Cranch, J, .
Leakey, J, .
Williams, T, H,
Bennett, W, M,
Upham, T, W,
Johns, A, B, ,
Stevens, J, Francis
Knighton, Dorothea
Prout, S,

Born
Miniature 
Miniature . . . 1560
Sculptor . , . ,1586
Portrait , . , , 1619
Portrait 
Portrait . , , , 1701
Historical , , , . 1708
Historical 
Engraver . , , abt, 1720
Portrait . , , .1723
Portrait 
Landscape , . . 1730
Engraver .
Portrait and Miniature . 1740
Portrait , , , .1742
Miniature , , , , 1745
Historical and Portrait , 1746
Portrait [exhibited 1 770] ,
Portrait [exhib, 1781-94] ,
Historical and Poker . 1 75 1
Portrait and Landscape . 1775
Landscape [exhib, 1801-14]
Portrait , . . .177°
Landscape , . -1773
Landscape . , .1776
Landscape , . .1781
Portrait and Genre , , 1781
Landscape , . • 1783

Died
... 1563
... 1619
.,, 1647
,,, 1689
,,, 1729
,,. 1779
.¦¦ 1776
... 1798
abt. 1772
... 1792
... 1793
... 1803
... 1806
... 1821
... 1810
... 1810
... 1831
... 1824
... 1821
.,, 1865
,,. 1858
,,, 1828
,,, 1858
abt, 1823
, , 1852

158

List of Artists.

Born

Died

Haydon, B, R, .

Historical ,

1786

,, 1846

Brockedon, W,

Subject and Historical

1787

„ 1854

King, John ,

Historical and Portrait

1788

.. 1847

Traies, W, ,

Landscape

1789

,, 1872

Gendall, John

Landscape

1790

„ 1865

Ponsford, John .

Portrait .

1790

,, 1870

Eastlake, Sir Charles L,

Historical ,

1793

„ 1865

Rogers, P. H,

Landscape

1794

„ 1853

Rowe, George

Landscape

1797

„ 1864

Lee, F. R, .

Landscape

1799

,, 1880

Condy, N, , . .

Marine, Interiors, &c.

1799

,, 1851

Davis, J, P, ,

Portrait and Historical

1800 <

ibt, 1862

Cousins, Samuel ,

Engraver .

I80I

,, living

Clack, Richard Augustus

Portrait , . .at

t, 1804

,, 1 88 1

Salter, W, .

Historical .

1804

„ 1875

Hart, A. S, ,

Historical .

1806

„ 1881

Mogford, Thomas

Landscape and Portrait

1809

.. 1868

Mitchell, Philip .

Landscape

I8I4

,, living

Penson, James

Landscape

I8I4

,, living

Haydon, S, J, B, .

Sculpture .

I8IS

,, living

Stephens, E, B. .

Sculpture .

I8IS

,. 1882

Condy, N. M.

Marine, &c.

I8I6

.. 1851

Collier, Sir Robert

Landscape

I8I7

., living

Cross, John .

Historical ,

I8I9

,, 1861

Hainsellin, H.

Portrait and Historical

1820

,, living

Luscombe, Henry A. .

Marine

1820

,, living

Widgery, W.

Landscape

1822

.. living

Sharland, W.

Landscape and Portrait

ibt, 1833

Cole, Abram

Landscape

1830

,, living

Whittaker, George

Landscape and Marine

1834

„ 1874

Whiteford, S. T. .

Still-life and Genre .

1837

,, living

Webber, W. J, S.

Sculpture ,

1843

,, living

Morrish, W, S. .

Landscape

1844

,. living

Pike, W, H. , ,

Landscape

1846

,, living

Bennett, Mary L, .

Sculpture

. 1848

,. living

Widgery, Frederick J, .

Landscape

I86I

,, living

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