John Collier

Inscriptionback to top

Inscr. lower left: ‘SPH’.

This portraitback to top

Sketched after the inaugural supper on 30 January 1895, this is one of the studies for NPG 4404 showing members of the St John’s Wood Arts Club, where Collier appears in the foreground as one of seven spectators. [1] From 1891, he lived in Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, not far from the Club’s meeting-place.

Now laid down, the sheet has tears along the left-hand edge, and has suffered discolouration from an old frame or mount, presumably while hanging in the St John’s Wood Arts Club. It was previously framed together with studies of Arthur Hacker (NPG 4389) and Lawrence Alma-Tadema (NPG 4388) by Hall.

Sydney Prior Hall was a leading illustrative journalist who worked for the Graphic from its foundation in 1869 (see NPG D1393). The National Portrait Gallery collection contains over 140 portrait sketches by him of political, legal and artistic figures, plus two royal portrait groups.

Dr Jan Marsh

Footnotesback to top

1) Publ. as wood-engr., Graphic, 23 Feb. 1895, p.212.

Physical descriptionback to top

Half-length, back view, seated, profile perdu to left, eyeglass visible.

Conservationback to top

Conserved, 2007.

Provenanceback to top

St John’s Wood Arts Club, from whom purchased 1964 with others.

View all known portraits for John Collier