As the fourth artist in the collaborative team which illustrated the 1891 serialisation of Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Joseph Syddall was the least important, producing fewer plates for it (five) than any other artist. These plates are also smaller, occupying a total of only two and three-quarter pages.
Syddall seems to have been relatively unknown at this point. There is still no record of him in Algernon Graves's Dictionary of Artists Who Have Exhibited Works in the Principal London Exhibitions From 1760 to 1893 (1895). However, the illustrations for Tess are not the only works by which Sydall may be remembered. Graves does record him in his 1905 volume: he lived at Old Whittington, Chesterfield and exhibited three paintings at the Royal Academy: Miss A. E. Spong (1898), Portrait of a Gentleman (1899), and Miss Eric Byron (1904). As well as his paintings, there were his works on paper. He was praised by the Drawing Master of Bushey, Sir Hubert von Herkomer, the celebrated German-born painter and illustrator, for the excellence of these pencil drawings — and villagers of Dronfield in Derbyshire remember him still for his memorial there to the First World War. — Philip V. Allingham
Five Illustrations for Hardy's Tess of the Durbervilles (1891)
- 1. Tess stood still, and turned to look behind her. (1 August)
- 2. Tess in Dairyman Dick's yard. (8 August)
- 3. He jumped up from his seat, and went quickly towards the desire of his eyes. (5 September)
- 4. The plantation wherein she had taken shelter ran down at this spot into a peak, which ended hitherward, outside the hedge being arable ground. Under the trees scores of pheasants lay about, their rich plumage dabbled with blood. (31 October)
- 5. It was not until about three o'clock that Tess raised her eyes and gave a momentary glance round. She felt but little surprise at seeing that Alec D'Urberville had come back, and was standing under the hedge by the gate. (28 November)
Drawings
Bibliography
Allingham, Philip V. "The Original Illustrations for Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles Drawn by Daniel A. Wehrschmidt, Ernest Borough-Johnson, and Joseph Sydall for the Graphic (1891)." The Thomas Hardy Year Book, No. 24 (1997): 3-50.
Graves, Algernon. The Royal Academy of Arts: A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and Their Work from its Foundation in 1769 to 1904. Vol. 4. London, 1905.
Hardy, Thomas. Tess of the D'Urbervilles in the Graphic (4 July-26 December 1891): 11-761.
Jackson, Arlene M. Illustration and the Novels of Thomas Hardy. Totowa, NJ: Rowman and Littlefield, 1981.
Created 10 January 2005
Last modified 23 March 2025