Portrait of John Whichelo
George Frederick Watts (1817−1904)
1839
Oil on canvas
76 x 63.5 cm (29 x 24 1/16 inches)
Provenance: exhibited as no. 7 at the Royal Academy in 1840; thereafter in the family of Whichelo and relatives by descent. Bought as Lot 927, Ewbanks, December 14th 2011. The Lot included a small archive of documents concerning the painting.
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You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the Crowther-Oblak Collection of Victorian Art and the National Gallery of Slovenia and the Moore Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway (2) and link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.
Commentary by Paul Crowther
Charles John Mayle Whichelo (1784–1865) was an artist who specialized in watercolours. He was Marine painter to the Prince Regent (who eventually reigned as King George IV from 1820 to 1830). In her compendium of Watts’ oeuvre, his wife Mary notes that "This portrait when exhibited was considered to be a success and brought him commissions..."1 The unsigned portrait stayed amongst Whichelo’s relatives. Eventually, in 1885, Watts was approached by one of them (a Reverend F. G. Rowe) asking him to confirm authorship of the portrait. Watts did so in a letter dated April 4th 1885. In that letter, he also expressed a desire to see the picture again, as he felt it might be "good enough to put to shame" many of his later works. In another letter of January 12th 1890 (mainly concerning an application by one of Whichelo’s relatives for support from the Artists’ Benevolent Fund), Watts again expressed his desire to see the portrait. Whichelo’s relatives clearly offered to gratify his wish, for in a further letter dated Feb. 1st (1890) Watts regrets that he is away from London for health reasons, but would like to see and sign the portrait if it could be brought to London, later that year.2
At some point, Watts did see the portrait. However, in her compendium notes on the work, Mrs. Watts goes on to observe that "This picture disappointed Mr. Watts after seeing it again after nearly 50 years. He had hoped, he said, 'that it was a better thing.'" Interestingly, despite having seen it again, Watts did not sign it. One can only presume that he was disappointed by the work being too much in the style that dominated high quality British portraits in the first half of the nineteenth century, namely Sir Thomas Lawrence's. But if this is the case, Watts judged himself harshly. The portrait combines the warmth and formality of the Lawrence style at its very best.
Notes
1. Quoted from a photocopy of a page from the compendium. It is held by the Watts Gallery in Compton, Surrey, England.
2. The three aforementioned letters by Watts are held in the Crowther Oblak Collection.
Bibliography
Crowther, Paul. Awakening Beauty: The Crowther-Oblak Collection of Victorian Art. Exhibition catalogue. Ljubljana: National Gallery of Slovenia; Galway: Moore Institute, National University of Ireland, 2014. No. 132.
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Created 12 January 2015