Richmond

Above: George Richmond, self-portrait, 1830

Thomas Richmond (1771–1837) was an English miniature-painter. He was son of Thomas Richmond, originally of Bawtry, and of an old Yorkshire family. His father was 'groom of the stables' to the Duke of Gloucester, and afterwards the proprietor of the Coach and Horses at Kew, where the artist was born in 1771. His mother, Ann Bone, was a cousin of George Engleheart, 'miniature-painter to the king.' Thomas became Engleheart's pupil, and was employed by the royal family in copying miniatures by his master and Richard Cosway. He also copied in miniature size many of the portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds in the royal collection. His original and unsigned miniatures are numerous. Some are on ivory, others are on paper, and in many cases full or half length, with the head in colours and the rest in pencil. Though the pose of some of his figures is in the stiff manner usual at the time, the portraits are lifelike, and the drawing and expression excellent. In later years Richmond lived in the centre of fashion, 42 Half-Moon Street, Mayfair. From 1795 to 1825 he exhibited forty-six miniatures at the Royal Academy. One of his miniatures, a portrait of his wife (Ann Oram), painted in 1808, was engraved by William Holl, jun. His eldest son, also named Thomas Richmond, was born in 1802. His younger son, George Richmond, inherited many of his works. Both of his children also became noted artists. 

Effie Gray, by Thomas Richmond.

Thomas Richmond (1802–1874) was a British portrait painter, known for his idealised pictures in the so-called keepsake style. He was the son of Thomas Richmond (1771–1837), the miniature painter, and the brother of George Richmond. Richmond initially practiced in Sheffield, and later moved to London. His main clientele was among the hunting fraternity. Between 1833 and 1860 he exhibited fifty one portraits in London. He exhibited forty-five portraits at the Royal Academy and six at the Suffolk Street gallery. 

Richmond's paintings are close in style to his father's work, but distinguished by the characteristic use of dark stippling in the background.His paintings were criticised for their overly idealised and sugary presentations of subjects, especially women. When John Ruskin's father commissioned Richmond to paint his daughter-in-law Effie Gray, Effie wrote of the finished work to her mother: '...it is the most lovely piece of oil painting but much prettier than me. I look like a graceful Doll but John and his father are delighted with it'. Richmond and his brother George had met Ruskin during his trip to Rome in 1840-1. He accompanied him on his visits to galleries. Ruskin's father was not as delighted with the portrait of Effie as she believed. He wrote to his son that Thomas was inferior as an artist to his brother: "Tom I regret to say cannot hold a candle to George - It is second rate or lower". 

George Richmond RA (28 March 1809 – 19 March 1896) was an English painter and portraitist. In his youth he was a member of The Ancients, a group of followers of William Blake. Later in life he established a career as a portrait painter, which included painting the portraits of the British gentry, nobility and royalty. He was the son of Thomas Richmond, miniature-painter, and was the father of the painter William Blake Richmond as well as the grandfather of the naval historian, Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond. 

A keen follower of cricket, Richmond was noted in one obituary as having been "an habitué of Lord's since 1816" George was born at Brompton, then a country village, on 28 March 1809. His mother, Ann Richmond, came of an Essex family named Oram, and was a woman of great beauty and force of character. 

His brother Thomas Richmond was also a portrait artist. One of his earliest recollections was the sight of the lifeguards marching to the cavalry barracks at Brompton on their return from the campaign of Waterloo, and he remembered when a lad walking for a mile beside the Duke of York, in order to sketch him for his father, from whom he received his first instruction in art. He went for a short time only to a day school kept by an old dame in Soho, and at fifteen became a student at the Royal Academy. Here he was much impressed by the personality of Henry Fuseli, then professor of painting, formed a friendship, which lasted a lifetime, with Samuel Palmer, and had as fellow-students and companions Edward Calvert, Thomas Sidney Cooper, esq., R.A., and Frederick Tatham, whose sister he married. Among other early friends was John Giles, Palmer's cousin, and a man of devout life and deep religion, who deeply influenced the literary taste, general culture, and religious views of his friends. 

When Richmond was sixteen he met William Blake, of whom Palmer and Calvert were devoted admirers, at the house of John Linnell at Highgate. The same night Richmond walked home across the fields to Fountain Court with the poet and painter, who left on Richmond's mind a profound impression, ‘as though he had been walking with the prophet Isaiah.’ 

From this time till Blake's death, Richmond followed his guidance and inspiration in art. Traces of Blake's influence are seen in all Richmond's early works, and especially in ‘Abel the Shepherd,’ and in ‘Christ and the Woman of Samaria,’ exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1825. In 1827 he was present at Blake's death, and had the sad privilege of closing the poet's eyes and taking his death mask; he, his wife Julia, and a little band of young enthusiasts, of whom he was the last survivor, followed Blake to his grave in Bunhill Fields. 

George Richmond, self-portrait, 1830.

George Richmond, memoranda book, 1837-1839

Royal Academy of Arts Archive,

George Richmond, RA., personal papers.

This volume is divided alphabetically and appears to have been intended for detailed analysis of the places and pictures seen while in Italy. Most entries do indeed appear in a relevant alphabetical place, Richmond uses a broad approach to indexing which incorporates places, persons and subjects. 

Many of the entries are dated and the book is complementary to the Rome diary (GRI/2/1) in that it supplies information for periods absent from the other volume including detail of the visit to Florence, Naples, Milan, Bologna and Munich. 

Strangely the book also contains the tattered receipt for a night's stay in an Inn in Carlisle. At "I" he gives an account of the family's journey from Florence to Rome. There are closely observed sketches of some of the works he saw while working in Italy, one, of Titian's 'Sacred and Profane Love', is noted as having been executed by Mrs. Palmer

.

George Richmond, Charlotte Brontë, 1850

23 5/8 in. x 18 3/4 in. (600 mm x 476 mm) NPG 1452

Signed and dated (bottom left): George Richmond 1850.

This drawing was executed on one of Charlotte's rare visits to London.

George Smith wrote (Memoir, pp 103-4):

'During Miss Brontë's visit to us in June 1850, I persuaded her to sit to Mr George Richmond for her portrait. This I sent afterwards with an engraving of the portrait of the Duke of Wellington to her father, who was much pleased with them. Mr Richmond mentioned that when she saw the portrait (she was not allowed to see it before it was finished) she burst into tears, exclaiming that it was so like her sister Anne, who had died the year before.'

According to Winifred Gérin the likeness was to Emily, not to Anne. Mrs Stirling (Richmond Papers, p 60) had another explanation for the tears:

'Among other tales of his sitters Richmond used to relate one of Charlotte Brontë. When, on June 13, 1850, she arrived to sit for her portrait, he noticed with perplexity that, after she had removed her hat, on the top of her head there reposed a small square of brown merino! Whether it was employed to prop up her hat, or what was its use, he could not imagine, but at last he observed deferentially: "Miss Brontë, you have a little pad of brown merino on the top of your head - I wonder if I might ask you to remove it?" To his dismay, Charlotte Brontë, nervous and hypersensitive, burst into tears of confusion.'

On her return to Haworth, Charlotte wrote to George Smith (letter of 27 July 1850, Letters, III, 127):

'Papa will write and thank you himself for the portrait when it arrives. As for me, you know, a standing interdict seals my lips ... it is my intention that the original drawing shall one day return to your hands. As the production of a true artist it will always have a certain worth, independently of subject.'

In the same letter, Charlotte Brontë mentioned a copy (untraced). On 1 August she wrote again, acknowledging the portrait's arrival (Letters, III, 130):

'Papa seems much pleased with the portrait, as do the few other persons who have seen it, with one notable exception, viz, our old servant, who tenaciously maintains that it is not like - that it is too old looking ... doubtless she confuses her recollections of me as I was in childhood with present impressions.'

On the same day, she wrote to Ellen Nussey (Letters, III, 129):

'My portrait is come from London ... Papa thinks the portrait looks older than I do - he says the features are far from flattered, but acknowledges that the expression is wonderfully good and life-like.'

The Rev P. Brontë wrote a letter of thanks to Smith on 2 August 1850 (Letters, IIII, 130-1):

'The two portraits have, at length safely arrived, and have been as safely hung up, in the best light and most favourable position. Without flattery the artist, in the portrait of my daughter, has fully proved that the fame which he has acquired has been fairly earned. Without ostentatious display, with admirable tact and delicacy, he has produced a correct likeness, and succeeded in a graphic representation of mind as well as matter, and with only black and white has given prominence and seeming life, and speech, and motion. I may be partial, and perhaps somewhat enthusiastic, in this case, but in looking on the picture, which improves upon acquaintance, as all real works of art do, I fancy I see strong indications of the genius of the author of 'Shirley' and 'Jane Eyre'.'

An unidentified friend wrote to Mrs Gaskell on 3 October 1850 (Letters, III, 168) that 'the Richmond, the solitary ornament of the room, looked strangely out of place on the bare walls'. Mrs Gaskell herself thought the portrait was 'an admirable likeness, though, of course, there is some difference of opinion on the subject; and, as usual, those best acquainted with the original were least satisfied with the resemblance' (Mrs Gaskell's Life, edited Shorter, p 463). The portrait was engraved by J. C. Armytage for the first edition of Mrs Gaskell's Life (1857), and was, thereafter, widely reproduced. Until the rediscovery of the Brontë group, it was thought to be the only existing likeness of Charlotte.

George Richmond,  John Ruskin. Stipple engraving, 1857

John Ruskin first met George Richmond in Rome in 1840, and the two became very good friends. After first dining with the Ruskins, Richmond told his wife that John ‘is a most pleasing man and of considerable power as a poet – with a good notion of art … I have promised to pay them a visit for two or three days to paint their son in the summer if all is well.’ In 1843, Richmond produced a full-length portrait and in 1857 Ruskin’s father John James commissioned a head-and-shoulders drawing. Seven sittings took place in February–March 1857, Ruskin snr paid Richmond £42 plus a case of wine, and the work was exhibited at the Royal Academy. According to Ruskin snr, ‘It is what Richmond says a portrait should be: The Truth Lovingly Told.’ It portrayed the sitter’s right hand touching his cheek. According to Marion Henry Spielmann, Richmond the draughtsman ‘preferred to show us the gentleness, thoughtfulness and brilliance of the friend, rather than the vigour, the combativeness and the earnestness of the crusader’.

Ruskin, in Praeterita: "My best readers cannot but be alike astonished and disappointed that I have nothing set down of the conversation, cordial always, and if George Richmond were there, better than brilliant, which flowed at these above described Vandalic feasts."

George Richmond, Portrait of Sir George Gilbert Scott, R.A., 1877

Charles West Cope RA (1811 - 1890), The Council of the Royal Academy selecting Pictures for the Exhibition, 1875, 1876

From left to right: J.E. Millais (seated in foreground), G. Richmond, F. Leighton, J.F. Lewis, E.M. Ward (standing), F. Grant, T. Faed, R. Redgrave (sitting behind Faed), E. Armitage (standing), J.C. Horsley, P.H. Calderon with J.C. Hook leaning over him. Sir F. Eaton, the Secretary is writing at the desk. C.W. Cope stands behind Armitage.

George Richmond, Portrait of Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford; Honorary Chaplain to the Royal Academy, 1868

Sir William Blake Richmond KCB, RA, PPRBSA (29 November 1842 – 11 February 1921) was an English portrait painter, sculptor and a designer of stained glass and mosaic. He is best known for his portrait work and decorative mosaics in St Paul's Cathedral in London.

Richmond was influential in the early stages of the Arts and Crafts Movement in his selection of bold colours and materials for the mosaics in St. Paul's Cathedral and in his collaboration with James Powell and Sons, glass makers, in creating new colours and materials. This new material expanded the glassmaker's palette and was favored by artists of the Arts and Crafts Movement, primarily in the creation of stained glass windows and decorative art work. Richmond was the Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Oxford from 1878 to 1883, succeeding his friend and mentor John Ruskin.

William Blake Richmond was born on 29 November 1842 in Marylebone. His father, George Richmond RA, was an important portrait painter; his mother was Julia Tatham (1811–1881). He was named after a close friend of his father, the poet William Blake.

Richmond was tutored at home due to health problems as a child. In 1858, at the age of 14, Richmond enrolled at the Royal Academy of Art where he studied drawing and painting for three years. He also spent time at John Ruskin's house, where he was given private art lessons by the prominent artist. In 1859, Richmond painted his first picture, Enid and Geraint. He sold the painting for £20, spending the money to tour Italy for six weeks with a tutor. His time spent viewing the Old Master paintings in Italy had a major impact on Richmond's development as an artist and later career. His favorite Italian painters were Michelangelo, Tintoretto and Giotto.

Richmond became a successful portrait painter at an early age. In 1861, at the age of 19, he exhibited his first major work for the Royal Academy of Arts. The painting, a portrait of his two brothers, was highly praised by Ruskin. That year, Richmond continued to work in portraits, and study anatomy at St Bartholomew's Hospital. Richmond's widely regarded portraits led to several commissions, a few of which took him to the north of England for several months.

Richmond was elected to the Royal Academy in 1861, where he continued to exhibit his work until 1877. In 1865, Richmond returned to Italy, where he lived in Rome for four years and studied art. While in Italy, he met the painters Frederic Leighton and Giovanni Costa, both of whose work he admired. When Richmond returned to England, he exhibited A Procession in Honour of Bacchus at the Royal Academy in 1869.

In 1877, Richmond left the Royal Academy and began exhibiting his paintings with the Grosvenor Gallery, where he exhibited until 1878. In 1878 Richmond became Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford University, succeeding Ruskin. During his tenure, Richmond was responsible for 12 lectures a year at the school. A few lectures Richmond gave on his favourite artist Michelangelo led to a serious conflict with Ruskin, who had little regard for that artist. The disagreement between the two men led Richmond to resign his position five years after taking it up, although he and Ruskin were able to continue their long-standing friendship.

Richmond travelled often to Italy, Greece, Spain and Egypt in the 1880s. He would spend a few months each year exploring new areas, absorbing the history and mythology of the region, and making numerous drawings and coloured sketches.

In 1888, Richmond resumed his relationship with the Royal Academy when he was elected an Associate Member (ARA), and was then further elected a Royal Academician (RA) in 1895. He served as Professor of Painting at the Academy from 1895 to 1899 and from 1909 to 1911, and continued to exhibit with the Academy until 1916. He was elected Senior RA at the Academy in 1920.