Charles Swain

Inscriptionback to top

Inscribed on a label, formerly on the back of the picture: Portrait in oil of Charles Swain/1801-1874/the Man^r. Poet, painted by W^m Bradley,/1801-1857/Man^r. Artist. This painting/was bought by me through Thos Agnew/& Sons from T. E. W. Mellor Esq, Withington,/Boyne Park, Tunbridge Wells, who had/it from his father who was a friend/& patron of Bradley's, & lived in Man^r./I knew Chas Swain, & this portrait/is a particularly good likeness./Francis Nicholson,/The Knoll,/Windermere./May 1912.

This portraitback to top

There are several other portraits of Swain by Bradley, none of them identical, but all similar, and, on the evidence of costume, of the same date. The only dated portrait is 6a in the list below. Another was exhibited RA, 1837 (172). Recorded portraits, beside that in the NPG, are as follows:
1 Finished oil painting. Salford Art Gallery, presented by William Townsend, 1854.
2 Finished oil painting. City Art Gallery, Manchester, presented by Mrs Clara Swain Dickins, 1888.
3 Finished oil painting. Collection of G. P. Earwaker, 1958; collection of his step-daughter, Mrs J. E. Joscelyne. This is not certainly by Bradley, but is close in style to nos.1 and 2.
4 Painting. Exhibited Royal Jubilee Exhibition, Manchester, 1887 (642), lent by R. Leake, MP (possibly no.2).
5 Oil sketch. Central Library, Manchester, presented by Mrs J. Prince Lee, 1871. Inscribed, 'Mr Charles Swain the Poet [?] Sketched from the life. W^m Bradley.'
6 Drawing. City Art Gallery, Manchester, bequeathed by H. W. Winterbottom, 1936.
6a Drawing (signed and dated 1833). Collection of K. Jordan. Almost identical with no.6.
7 Miniature. City Art Gallery, Manchester, from the estate of the sitter's nephew. Engraved by Freeman for Swain's Dramatic Chapters (1847), frontispiece.
8 Engraving, almost certainly after an oil portrait. Central Library, Manchester.
Nos.1-3 show an almost full-face pose. Nos.5-8 and NPG 4014 show Swain looking up to the right. No.5 may be the original for this type, but it does not exactly correspond to the other versions. The costume in all the portraits is approximately the same, except in the drawings, where Swain is shown in an open-neck shirt.

Referenceback to top

NPG Annual Report, 1957-8 (1959), pp 6-7.

Physical descriptionback to top

Dark complexion, brown eyes and hair. Dressed in a dark neck-tie, white collar, and brown coat. Background colour greenish-brown.

Provenanceback to top

T. E. W. Mellor; Francis Nicholson; Major M. W. Spencer, purchased from him, 1957.


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Ormond, Early Victorian Portraits, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1973, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.

View all known portraits for Charles Swain