Between 1811 and 1812 William Etty completed a portrait of his brother John which now hangs at The Company of Merchant Adventures in York, Etty’s hometown (left). The portrait bears some similarity to a portrait at Woburn Abbey, the 6th Duke of Bedford, by Sir Thomas Lawrence. Etty was active between 1807 and 1849, and […]
For a long time I have been following the Understanding British Portraits network and this year, having been offered a place and travel bursary, I attended the Annual Seminar for the first time. And I agree with the many delegates who have already stated on various social media channels (@UBPnetwork) that the seminar was a […]
I try to attend the Understanding British Portraits Annual Seminar every year. Whilst not all presentations are relevant to my small portrait collection, there is always something to be gleaned from these events, not least the opportunity to meet like-minded people from little-known collections like my own. This year I met a lovely lady from […]
After a whirlwind 24 hours in Edinburgh looking at incredible portrait collections, my favourite item of the day was … a ram’s head snuff box. Its existence was revealed after a couple of drinks on our first evening at University of Edinburgh and was just one of many fantastic surprises throughout the visit. We were […]
The Portrait Collections in Edinburgh event in September 2015 gave me a rare opportunity to meet up with portrait specialists, learn about some of the astonishing collections in Edinburgh, and also learn about the breadth of study taking place in other institutions across the country. Reflecting on the event, there seemed to be some common […]
Sir Joshua Reynolds is a pivotal figure in the development of the British School of painting, principally through his writings on art and his portraits. However, besides the research conducted by Giovanna Perini Folesani, Reynolds’ Italian Sketchbooks have received little critical attention. This is possibly because his sketchbooks have been generally overlooked in favour of […]
![Silvia Constance Myers and Leopold Hamilton Myers by Eveleen Myers (née Tennant) [the sitters' mother], platinum print, c.1890 © National Portrait Gallery, London](https://www.britishportraits.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/mw150347.jpg)
Judy Oberhausen first met Eveleen Myers (née Tennant, 1856-1937) many years ago at the Delaware Art Museum when she was a young intern working with the Bancroft Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Art. George Frederic Watts’s portrait of Myers as the fresh-faced Jessamine is still there in a gallery filled with other famous Pre-Raphaelite beauties – although […]
Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal in North Yorkshire is not known for its large collection of art or furniture; it’s a World Heritage Site famous for its landscaped water garden and 12th century monastic ruins. The devastating fire at Studley Royal House in 1946 had destroyed much of the contents and when the Vyner family […]
As a portraitist, Sir William Rothenstein (1872-1945) is probably best-known for his chalk drawings and lithographs of famous figures, over two hundred of which are held at the National Portrait Gallery. Rothenstein launched himself on the British art scene as a portraitist in the early 1890s, and continued the practice until his death (one of […]
When I saw the Audiences, Authority and Collaboration in Museum Research seminar (12 – 13 March 2015) advertised through the Subject Specialist Network: European Paintings Pre-1900 network it was extremely timely. I am currently undertaking a significant research project into the Civil Defence Camouflage Unit, based in Leamington Spa during WWII. This research has been […]
