Henry Kirke White

Inscriptionback to top

Inscribed on back of the original frame in the handwriting of Neville White his brother: Henry Kirke White/Obit Oct^br 19^th 1806/Aetat 21 years.

This portraitback to top

The NPG Catalogue (1888) describes this portrait as 'on a small scale, drawn in a very inartistic manner', but continues with the assumption that it was the original of Fry's 1823 engraving and of Chantrey's medallion (NPG 93). In a letter to the Gallery offering the portrait, Walter Bloomfield writes: 'The name of the artist I am unable to trace. At the death of the poet its possession devolved upon Robert Southey, his biographer, who presented it to my grandfather ...' (letter of 29 October 1877 in NPG archive). There were, of course, engravings before Fry's of 1823, the first being published in November 1807, of which the original was the oil by Thomas Barber now in the Bromley House library given by Henry's brother Neville White. It was probably the portrait angled for by Southey in a letter to Neville White: 'It will give me great pleasure if a likeness can be recovered - very great pleasure' (3 February 1807 in Life and Correspondence of Robert Southey, 1850, III, p 66). According to the frontispiece of The Remains of Henry Kirke White of Nottingham (1825 edition) it was in Nottingham Public Library by 1825. A copy believed to have been dated 1810 on the back, in the Castle Museum Nottingham, belonged to Kirke White's friend and correspondent, the Rev Ben Maddock. A copy by William Fox c.1860 formed the sign over the Kirke White Tavern in Cheapside, Nottingham.
NPG 493 may be 'inartistic' but it has plenty of fresh naïve charm and if it is not Barber's preliminary drawing for his oil it is probably a preparatory drawing for Freeman's engraving and discarded because of a misconception in the shape of the hair. The fact that it was in Henry Kirke White's possession before his death whereas the first engraving was not published until November 1807 strengthens the possibility of its being by Barber himself. However during the course of an interesting correspondence in the Nottingham Daily Guardian in January 1902 the then Director of the Castle Museum said that when they were arranging the Barber exhibition in 1893 'no confirmation could be found amongst the artist's record of his portraits and sitters that Kirke White ever sat for his portrait to Thomas Barber' (11 January 1902). This does not rule out the possibility of an ad vivum portrait. Artists are no more methodical than the rest of us. Nevertheless it does not seem possible at the moment to be precise about the origins of these portraits.

Physical descriptionback to top

Head and shoulders profile to left.

Provenanceback to top

H. K. White, inherited by Robert Southey and given by him to Robert Bloomfield; bought by the Trustees from Bloomfield's grandson Walter Bloomfield in 1877.

Reproductionsback to top

(Of Barber's oil)
(1) stipple by Freeman lettered: Engraved by Freeman from a painting by T Barber of Nottingham/Henry Kirke White/Ob^t October 19^th 1806/aet. 21 years ... published Nov^r 14 1807, used as frontispiece in The Remains of Henry Kirke White of Nottingham, 1807, vol.1 (2) stipple by Freeman as above, lettered: Engraved by Freeman ... HENRY KIRKE WHITE/(facsimile of signature)/Ob^t October 19^th 1806/aet 21 years … Dec^r 14 1810, used as frontispiece to The Remains of Henry Kirke White of Nottingham, 1810, vol.1. (3) stipple by W. Holl, head only, in Biographical Magazine, 1819. (4) stipple by W. T. Fry published by Longman Hurst etc 2 April 1823. (5) stipple by W. Wise after Hunter From a Painting by Barber in the Public Library at Nottingham, used as frontispiece to The Remains of Henry Kirke White of Nottingham, 1825. A variant with different features and side-whiskers was published by Jones & Co 10 May 1823, and another, half-length to right holding papers, was engraved by G. Adcock.



This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Walker, Regency Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, 1985, 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 Henry Kirke White