The Charity Boy's Debut, by James Collinson (1825-1881), 1847. Oil on panel; 22 7/8 x 29 3/4 inches (57.8 x 75.5 cm). Private collection. Image courtesy of the author.
Collinson exhibited this painting at the Royal Academy in 1847, no. 187. It was one of his early paintings highly influenced by the genre paintings of David Wilkie. This picture so impressed Rossetti that it led to Collinson being invited to become a founder member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848. Holman Hunt in his reminiscences recalled the period when Collinson's painting created a sensation at the Academy, despite the artist having been virtually overlooked by his peers when he was a student at the Royal Academy Schools:
It was a surprise to all when, in the year 1848 [sic], he appeared in the Exhibition with the picture called The Charity Boy's Début. To represent the bashfulness of a poor boy appearing before his family in the uniform of his parish was an honest idea, and although the invention did not go far beyond the initial conception, the pencilling was phenomenally painstaking throughout. It transpired that he had roused himself up of late and entered the Roman Church, and had summoned effort to paint this picture. All the students blamed themselves for having ignored Collinson, but Rossetti went further, and declared that "Collinson was a born stunner," and at once struck up an intimate friendship with him. It will be seen that Rossetti had decided that Collinson only wanted our enthusiasm to make him a great force in the battle. Accordingly we gave him permission to put the secret initials on his works, to attend our monthly meetings and to receive us in his turn. [161]
Closer view of Collinson's subjects.>
Helen Newman has described the work, feeling it was the attention to detail that had appealed to Rossetti:
What James has done is to invite us into the interior of a very poor household to join with the family in watching one of their boys putting on his uniform to go to a charitable school. It looks as if this is the first of their children to be sponsored in this way. The clock records 7.50, no doubt a.m., which means the young lad is about to set off. The eldest boy is not a bit impressed and is clearly making fun of his younger brother. He has perched a tam a shanter on his head, typically part of a charity child's uniform, while holding up a mirror for his brother to see what he looks like in his white shirt with ribbons and his brown breaches. Undeterred, one of his sisters is gently adjusting the breaches, while another child is in the process of having a wash in an old wash tub set on the table. Mother is clearly proud of her son who is lucky enough to be going to school, while father is looking disapprovingly at his eldest's son's antics. The girl standing by the naughty brother is clutching a green jacket which will complete her brother's uniform. A much older girl is nursing the latest addition to the family. Given the poor living conditions combined with the excitement of the youngster showing off his uniform, the room is in total chaos. The eldest lad has already knocked over a chair, and various items, including cooking utensils, are strewn across the floor. In the background is an old woman, presumably the grandmother, who is carefully taking everything in. Even a little mongrel is looking on in a state of bemusement. James has taken care to paint everything in meticulous detail, from the central scene itself, to the surrounding objects. [16-18]
Details. Left: The grandmother, taking everything in; th fallen chair. Right: Dimly seen in the shadows, all the homely little items, clcok. string of onions etc., are shown with the same meticulousness.
When it was shown at the Royal Academy it was favourably reviewed. A critic for The Literary Review drew specific attention to it: "No. 87. The Charity-Boy's début J. Collinson. – Though hung low is a genre piece, which ought not to escape attention; and we pay it the compliment of mentioning it after the foregoing. The mother dressing the frightened boy in his new parish habiliments, the other habitués, the younger family, and the elder actors in the scene, are all drawn with characteristic fidelity; and the entire story told with a clearness and spirit it would require a long description to unfold" (387). A reviewer for The Athenaeum felt Collinson's initial submission to the Academy augured well for his future success: "The Charity Boy's Début (187) by J. Collinson – a new name – gives good promise of a successful candidate for the honours of a reputation in the school of Wilkie. The subject is a charity boy preparing for his début in an eleemosynary school, and undergoing the ablutions and dressing necessary to his entrée in public life. It augers great future excellence" (527).
Bibliography
Cox, Valerie. "The Works of James Collinson: 1825-1881." The Review of the Pre-Raphaelite Society IV, no. 3 (Autumn 1996): 1, 8, & 13.
"Fine Arts. Royal Academy." The Athenaeum No. 1020 (15 May 1847): 526-28.
"Fine Arts. Royal Academy." The Literary Gazette No. 1583 (22 May 1847): 386-87.
Hunt, William Holman. Pre-Raphaelitism and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Vol. I, London: MacMillan and Co., Ltd. 1905.
Newman, Helen D. James Collinson (aka "The Dormouse"). Foulsham: Reuben Books, 2016.
Victorian Pictures. London: Christie's (November 30, 2001): lot 66. https://www.christies.com/en/auction/victorian-pictures-11113/
Created 29 February 2024