Later Victorian Portraits Catalogue

Self-portraits
Possible self-portrait
By other artists
Undated portrait
Posthumous portraits
Photographs

Self-portraitsback to top

1841
Oil on cardboard, A Picnic at Hanwell, Sept. 1841, seated to right on grassy bank, in group of two women and three men; V&A, London, P34-1963.

1842
Etching, 140 x 195mm, rear view, seated around fireplace with Leigh Hunt, G.H. Lewes and Vincent Hunt; impressions colls NGS, Edinburgh, D 4714 A; and Laing AG, Newcastle upon Tyne, K9037. Repr. Scott 1892, vol.1, facing p.130.

1859
Oil on canvas, inscr. (on wall beneath canvas) ‘Bernard Gilpin making peace along the Borders…’, head only to right, in helmet, looking at viewer, at extreme left, as border reiver; NT, Wallington Hall, Northd., RE WAL/P/37. Repr. Trevelyan 1994, p.6.

1861
Watercolour with pencil on paper, dated ‘Sepr 1861’, bust slightly to right, chin on right fist; SNPG, Edinburgh, PG 2918.

1867
Oil on canvas, half-length to right, head to viewer, holding palette in right hand; SNPG, Edinburgh, PG 1849.

c.1867
Encaustic mural illustrating ‘The King’s Quair’, half-length, the head based on 1867 self-portrait above; staircase tower, Penkill Castle, Ayrshire. Repr. Country Life, 2 July 1992, p.98.

1869
Pen and ink sketch, whole-length, standing, profile to right, with Dante Gabriel Rossetti ‘in the glen’ at Penkill; untraced. Repr. Scott 1892, vol.2, pp.114–15.

publ. 1875
Etching after David Scott (see below, ‘By other artists, c.1832’), head only in oval, inscr. ‘WBS p. 43 years Ago. 1875.’; proof impressions colls BM, London (ref. O’Donoghue 1908–1922, vol.4, p.45, no.4); SNPG, Edinburgh, SP VI 106.1; and Sanders of Oxford, 2601. Repr. Scott 1875, p.219.

c.1875–9
Three etchings:
(a) after a pastel by Alice Boyd (see below, ‘By other artists, 1875’), inscr. ‘W.B.Scott / 1875 / AB’, half-length to left, head resting on left fist, wearing black cap and bibfront shirt, with spectacles and plant sprig on table; BM, London (ref. O’Donoghue 1908–1922, vol.4, p.45, no.2).
(b) 178 x 127mm (plate size), signed with initials and dated ‘1879’, half-length to left, head resting on left fist, wearing black cap, similar to (a) but less densely worked and without spectacles and plant sprig; impressions colls RA, London, 08/1038; SNPG, Edinburgh, SPHVI.205.2; and BM, London (ref. O’Donoghue 1908–1922, vol.4, p.45, no.1). Ref. Christie’s, 6 Nov. 1995 (101); repr. as photolithograph Scott 1892, vol.1, frontispiece (loose sheet Laing AG, Newcastle upon Tyne, K9039).
(c) 178 x 127mm (plate size), inscr. in plate ‘William B. Scott’, head-and-shoulders to right, head profile to right, wearing black cap; impressions colls BM, London (ref. O’Donoghue 1908–1925, vol.4, p.45, no.3); and SNPG, Edinburgh, SPHVI.205.1. Repr. as photolithograph Scott 1892, vol.2, frontispiece (loose sheet Laing AG, Newcastle upon Tyne, K9038).

Possible self-portraitback to top

c.1830s
Oil on canvas, called Robert Scott but probably William Bell Scott, half-length to right, eyes to viewer, stormy sky in background; untraced; Langton G., 1978. Photograph SNPG, Edinburgh, SPHVI 205.5a.

By other artistsback to top

c.1827
Pencil drawing on paper by David Scott, inscr. ‘William age 16’, head-and-shoulders, profile to left; NGS, Edinburgh, D 4710.23 B.

c.1832
Oil on canvas by David Scott, half-length, three-quarters turned to right, eyes to spectator, inscr. ‘aetat 21’; NGS, Edinburgh, NG 2118; formerly on loan to SNPG as PGL 314.
Etching after David Scott by William Bell Scott (see above, ‘Self-portraits, publ. 1875’).
Replica in oils by Arthur Hughes painted 1893, commissioned by Alice Boyd; untraced; Christie’s, 26 Sept. 2007 (265, ill.).

late 1830s–c.1840
Sketches by Thomas Sibson, from album collated 9 Apr. 1842; BM, London, 1890,0521.9. [1] Four firmly identified portraits:
(a) ink and wash sketch, head to right, eyes downcast, p.20 (179).
(b) pen and ink, whole-length, p.54 (503).
(c) pencil sketch, whole-length, seated by fireplace, p.54 (505).
(d) pencil sketch, rear view, seated in front of fire with Mrs Scott, p.55 (510).
For further possible portraits see pp.41, 43, 57, 79.

?late 1840s
Plaster high-relief medallion by Alexander Munro, head facing, slightly to left, in giltwood frame; untraced; Penkill Castle sale, Sotheby’s, 16 Nov. 2006 (135, ill.). Not to be confused with the low-relief bronze profile by Munro, see below ‘1853–4’.

1852
Pencil drawing by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, inscr. ‘October /1852’, head only, three-quarters to left, gazing downwards; untraced; Sotheby’s, 9 July 1974 (36). Ref. Surtees 1971, vol.1, no.456; repr. Rose 1981, p.93.

Oil on canvas by Ford Madox Brown, Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet, head only; Tate, N01394. It has been variously suggested that Scott was the model for both the fourth and fifth heads from the left; see Bennett 2010, vol.1, A57 (and associated watercolour drawings, A57.1, A57.2), repr. p.127.

1853–4
Bronze low-relief roundel with octagonal border by Alexander Munro, [2] head, profile to left, collar beard; William Bell Scott’s tomb in Old Dailly churchyard, Girvan, installed 1890–91. Exh. RA 1854 (1531).
Oil on zincplate copy by Alice Boyd, painted c.1890–91; untraced; sold Christie’s, 26 Sept. 2007 (264, ill.).

late 1850s
Lithograph, 190 x 197mm, by unidentified artist, head-and-shoulders vignette, profile to left, looking upwards, with moustache; Laing AG, Newcastle upon Tyne, K9040.

?1850s
Plaster bust by R.G. Davies, head-and-shoulders, long hair, wearing smock shirt, base decorated with sitter’s initials; untraced; Penkill Castle sale, Christie’s, 15 Dec. 1992 (24, ill.).

1871
Watercolour drawing by Alice Boyd, profile to left, seated at drawing board, wearing hat with earflaps; NGS, Edinburgh, D 5535.2. Ref. Sotheby’s, 26 May 1983 (248).

1875
Pastel by Alice Boyd; untraced.
Etching by William Bell Scott after Alice Boyd (see above, ‘Self-portraits, c.1875–9’).

1877
Oil on canvas by Frederick Bacon Barwell; see NPG 6105.

1878
Watercolour drawing by Alice Boyd, dated ‘Aug / 78’, whole-length to right, seated on garden bench, wearing hat with anti-midge net; untraced; Christie’s, 29 Oct. 1991 (38, ill.).

1879
Watercolour drawing by Alice Boyd, inscr. ‘WBS / Painting / in garden / Penkill / Sept. / 79’, whole-length to left, seated at easel in garden, holding maulstick; NGS, Edinburgh, D 5535.1. Ref. Sotheby’s, 26 May 1983 (248).

?1870s
Wood-engr. by R. Taylor after unidentified artist/photographer, head-and-shoulders in oval, profile to left, wearing cap, right hand to cheek; repr. ILN, 6 Dec. 1890, p.710 (obits).

Oil on canvas by Alice Boyd, whole-length, standing at studio door, Penkill, Alice Boyd at easel nearby; untraced; Christie’s, Penkill Castle sale, 15 Dec, 1992 (172, ill.).

1886
Oil on board by Arthur Hughes, unfinished, seated at a table, three-quarters to left, right hand on sheet of paper; untraced; Phillips, 28 Nov. 2000 (41, ill.).
Oil on canvas, modified copy by Arthur Hughes of item above, using studio photograph, painted 1891; untraced; see Christie’s, Penkill Castle sale, 15 Dec. 1992 (174, ill.).

Undated portraitback to top

Pen and ink drawing by Thomas Sibson, head-and-shoulders, full-face slightly to right, stiff collar and flowing hair; V&A, London, E.2741-1948.

Posthumous portraitsback to top

1892
Oil on board, monochrome, by Arthur Hughes, whole-length, seated to right, by fireplace in Hall at Penkill, with Alice Boyd at table at right; untraced; Christie’s, Penkill Castle sale, 15 Dec. 1992 (157, ill.). Photogravure by Annan & Sons repr. Scott 1892, vol.2, facing p.326.

1893
Etching by John Finnie, inscr. ‘Wm Bell Scott / Newcastle on Tyne 1849 / Finnie sc / 1893’, half-length, full-face, standing, holding two books in right hand; SNPG, Edinburgh, SP VI 106.2. Apparently based on a late 1850s–early 1860s portrait (before baldness c.1863).

c.1904
Pen, ink and watercolour caricature drawing, 201 x 303mm, by Max Beerbohm, Dante Gabriel Rossetti in his Back Garden, head only, peeping over wall at right, with ten others incl. A.C. Swinburne; Birmingham MAG, 1981P2. Exh. Carfax G., London, 1904; Artists and Writers, Parkin G., London, 1976 (36); Piccadilly G., London, 1980 (25); British Watercolours from Birmingham, Tokyo, 1992 (7); Visions of Love and Life, New York and Birmingham, 1995 (118); and The Poetry of Drawing, Birmingham MAG and AG of New S Wales, Sydney, 2011 (102); ref. Gallatin 1913a, p.46, no.168; Gallatin 1918, p.70, no.254; Hart-Davis 1972, no.1268, p.119 and Denker 1995, pp.157–8; repr. Beerbohm 1904 and Beerbohm 1943 (no number); Beerbohm 1922 (Beerbohm 1987, supplementary pl.3); The Times, 1 Jan. 1972; Dunn 1984, pl.15; Walkley 1994, p.191, fig.154; Denker 1995, p.158; Hall 1997, p.209, fig.198; Dearden 1999, p.202, no.300; and Cruise 2011, p.111, fig.140.
See also Burne-Jones, Hunt, W. Morris, Rossetti, Ruskin, Whistler.

1912–13
Oil study, 654 x 914mm, by Frank Salisbury for The Great Artists of Chelsea, profile to left, in group composition with likenesses of Holbein, Turner, Wren, and others; untraced; Christie’s, 25 Sept. 1985 (46). Repr. Christie’s, 4 Nov. 1994 (78). The subsequent mural by Salisbury, The Great Artists of Chelsea (1913); Chelsea Town Hall, London.
See also Hunt, Keene, Lawson, Rossetti, Whistler.

1916
Pencil and watercolour caricature drawing, 292 x 394mm, by Max Beerbohm, inscr. ‘Mr William Bell Scott Wondering What It is Those Fellows Seem to See in Gabriel’, half-length, profil perdu to left, in foreground at right; Tate, A01056. Exh. Grosvenor G., London, 1917 (10); Leicester G., London, 1921 (19); Tate, London, 1923 (19); and Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Painter and Poet, RA, London, 1973 (377); ref. Hart-Davis 1972, no.1276, p.119; repr. Beerbohm 1922 and Beerbohm 1987, pl.14. Loosely based on the photograph taken by William Downey, see below, ‘Photographs, 1863, pose (a)’.
See also F. Madox Brown, Burne-Jones, W. Morris, Rossetti.

Photographsback to top

c.1858
Albumen cartes-de-visite by W. & D. Downey, three known poses:
(a) whole-length, slightly to right, facing front, leaning backwards against chair, with moustache and goatee beard; The Rob Dickins Coll., Watts G., Compton, COMWG2008.4337. Repr. Maas 1984, p.115, no.219.
(b) whole-length, turned to left, facing front, standing beside William Michael Rossetti, sheet of paper in left hand; The Rob Dickins Coll., Watts G., Compton, COMWG2008.4336. Repr. Maas 1984, p.114, no.216.
(c) three-quarter-length, facing left, standing beside W.M. Rossetti, sheet of paper in left hand; coll. William Fredeman. Repr. Fredeman 2002–10, vol.2, p.516; and Thirlwell 2003, p.99.

1861
Photograph, 151 x 205mm, by unidentified photographer, Jan. 1861, three-quarter-length to left, head turned to right, seated on chair; coll. R. Trevelyan. Repr. Trevelyan 1994, p.26.

Photograph, 153 x 202mm, by unidentified photographer, Feb. 1861, seated with black dog; NT, Wallington Hall, Northd., album ‘Photographs of great Victorians and Trevelyans of Wallington’, Y8-1 scrapbook 7.

1863
Photographs by W. & D. Downey, in garden of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s house, Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, 29 June 1863, two known poses:
(a) albumen print, 165 x 110mm, whole-length, profile to right, standing at left, holding chair, with John Ruskin (centre) and Dante Gabriel Rossetti (right); Getty Images, 2673380. Ref. Cook & Wedderburn 1903–12, vol.36, no.18; and Dearden 1999, no.65 (repr. p.64); also repr. ‘A Grand Old Photographer: Some Reminiscences of Mr William Downey’, Pall Mall Budget, 15 Jan. 1891; Cook & Wedderburn 1903–12, vol.26, pl.18; and elsewhere.
See also Rossetti, Ruskin.
From this, cropped versions were also issued, including cabinet card, 93 x 150mm, all figures half-length; colls Ruskin L., Lancaster U., Ruskin Foundation, D65; V&A, London, 800-1928; and NPG x128797. See above, ‘Posthumous portraits, 1916’.
Pencil sketch by Max Beerbohm after Downey, inscr. ‘William Bell Scott ’64’, three-quarter-length to right, among other portrait sketches after photographs; Robert H. Taylor Coll., Princeton UL, MSS RTC01 (no.186) leaf 46. Repr. Beerbohm 1922 (Beerbohm 1987, unpaginated appendix); and Dearden 1999, p.66, no.66.
See also F. Madox Brown, Leighton, Rossetti, Ruskin
(b) albumen print, carte-de-visite, 92 x 60mm (image size), whole-length, head turned to photographer, standing at left, left foot resting on chair, with Dante Gabriel Rossetti (centre) and John Ruskin (right); colls The Rob Dickins Coll., Watts G., Compton, COMWG2008.4335; and NPG x12959, NPG Ax38133 (inscribed on back ‘Taken just before the great Fall-out, in 1863’)}. Exh. NPG, London, 1984 (6); ref. Dearden 1999, nos 67, 69 (repr. pp.64–5); also repr. Trevelyan 1978, p.128; Maas 1984, fig.213, p.112; Treuherz et al. 2003, fig.88, p.137; Bills & Webb 2007, no.79; and elsewhere.
See also Rossetti, Ruskin.
Two virtually identical images of pose (b) were taken. In the first, Scott’s eyes are obscured by a blink; in the second Rossetti’s right hand is in a slightly different position and his head is more directly turned to the camera. See Dearden 1999, nos 67, 69.
The series to which these images belong was taken in Rossetti’s garden, Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, in June 1863 (‘Some Newcastle photographers, who promised me a visit when in town to do anything I pleased, are coming next week…’; letter from D.G. Rossetti to F. Madox Brown, 10 June 1863, Fredeman 2002–10, vol.3, letter 63:64.1, p.59). From this it would appear that the images were a joint production by William and Daniel Downey, at this date still based in Newcastle. The images have subsequently been credited to William Downey alone, perhaps owing to his active role in distributing reproductions. The photo session has been dated to 29 June 1863 (see Maas 1984, p.112; and Dearden 1999, p.64) but Rossetti’s reference to ‘next week’, and a subsequent one on 2 July to photographs ‘taken here the other day’ (see Fredeman 2002–10, vol.3, letter 63:68, p.61), perhaps indicate a slightly earlier date.

?mid-1860s
Photograph by unidentified photographer, half-length, full-face, seated, arms crossed resting on chairback; untraced. See Lizzie Siddal. The wig suggests a dating to c.mid-1860s.

later 1880s
Photograph by unidentified photographer, whole-length, facing right, with Alice Boyd, seated either side of fireplace in the Hall, Penkill Castle; ref. Christie’s, 6 Nov. 1995 (96); repr. Christie’s, Penkill Castle sale, 15 Dec. 1992.


Undated photographs
‘Two studio photographs of Scott’; Christie’s, 6 Nov. 1995 (96, not ill.).


Possible photograph

c.1843–7
Two carbon prints by David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, half-length to left, looking to right; SNPG, Edinburgh, PGP HA 1945, 1946. Repr. Stevenson 1981, p.104 (catalogued ‘perhaps William Bell Scott’).


Footnotes
1) The sketchbook has Scott’s bookplate. It was donated to the BM after his death in 1890. ‘Before [Sibson] left for Munich he bound all his sketches of all sorts and sizes from nature: pocket-book sketches for the most part, a surprising collection of able memoranda. I possess this folio’; Scott 1892, vol.1, p.155. See also letters from D.G. Rossetti to Alice Boyd and A.M. Losh, 9 Nov. 1868: ‘I am looking up the big sketch-book of Sibson’s … which I shall expedite tomorrow to Penkill by passenger train’; ‘When the large sketchbook arrives, I wish Miss Boyd and you to study Scotus in various favourite characters as performed by him in early life’; Fredeman 2002–10, vol.4, letter no.68:153, pp.120–22.
2) ‘During my visit to London in the summer of 1853, Alexander Munro was modelling my profile, in a friendly spirit making a medallion of me’; Scott 1892, vol.1, pp.307–308. Rossetti wrote that ‘[I] shall soon have another memento of you in Munro’s portrait, which, together with that of Millais, he is going to give me’; letter from D.G. Rossetti to W.B. Scott, [25 Aug. 1853], Fredeman 2002–10, vol.1, letter no.53:49, pp.282–3.

Carol Blackett-Ord