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The portrait is unsigned and belongs to my father (and he had it from his father). We think the most likely date for it is 1842 from the reasoning below.
Two children walking on an hillside pointing towards the steam train behind Windsor Castle in the background (the avenue of trees must be the Long Walk, Windsor, so the pair have been painted as if heading westwards somewhere in Windsor Great Park, with the Castle to their NNE). The children in the portrait are most likely Emma Marthews born c.1828 and William Marthews born c.1833 and the painting commissioned by their grandfather Moses Marthews.
The steam from a steam train behind the castle implies a date no earlier than 1842, when Queen Victoria first travelled by railway. If we guess that the painting commemorates this event, then the painting is 1842 and William and Emma were approx. 9 and 14 years old.
- According to my Dad in Sep 2017: "The picture was damaged in my father's time [though not the heads of the two children], but I got it restored by an expert from the National Portrait Gallery in London. They did not find a signature but explained that the heads and faces were done first by an expert portrait painter and then the background was filled in [i.e. most likely two painters were involved]. ... The picture was rebacked in restoration so there is no writing or signature there."
and, finally, two replies to my emails in 2017 (I suggested to both of them that the portrait might have been around 1848, but their final comments convinced us otherwise):
- Louise Cooling, Curator of Paintings at St James' Palace, London, was kind enough to email me 29-SEP-2017 and give me some clues: "Based on the style of dress, it most likely dates from the 1840s, probably after 1844. I'm afraid I do not recognise the hand of the artist and cannot make any suggestions as to attribution. The painting has a flat, somewhat naïve quality, which makes me think it was most probably painted by someone without formal artistic training. ... I wonder if perhaps the figure of the boy is not pointing at Windsor Castle but at the steam train beyond? I suggest this because if the Castle was an important motif within the composition, I would have expected it to have been depicted more prominently and in its entirety", which I felt was a good point.
- Corinne Harrison, Assistant Curator (Reference Collection) at the National Portrait Gallery, London, kindly emailed on 19-OCT-2017 and added "Thank you for your enquiry. I checked our sitter boxes under ‘Marthews’ (including auction catalogue illustrations, engravings, photographs, and other reproductions of portraits) and the index of portraits not in our collection and could not find a record of this portrait. I can’t add to Louise Cooling’s sensible assessment of the dress. I do not think that the figures are 15 and 20 years of age, they are definitely young children.".
Toby Marthews.
Two children walking on an hillside pointing towards the steam train behind Windsor Castle in the background (the avenue of trees must be the Long Walk, Windsor, so the pair have been painted as if heading westwards somewhere in Windsor Great Park, with the Castle to their NNE). The children in the portrait are most likely Emma Marthews born c.1828 and William Marthews born c.1833 and the painting commissioned by their grandfather Moses Marthews.
The steam from a steam train behind the castle implies a date no earlier than 1842, when Queen Victoria first travelled by railway. If we guess that the painting commemorates this event, then the painting is 1842 and William and Emma were approx. 9 and 14 years old.
- According to my Dad in Sep 2017: "The picture was damaged in my father's time [though not the heads of the two children], but I got it restored by an expert from the National Portrait Gallery in London. They did not find a signature but explained that the heads and faces were done first by an expert portrait painter and then the background was filled in [i.e. most likely two painters were involved]. ... The picture was rebacked in restoration so there is no writing or signature there."
and, finally, two replies to my emails in 2017 (I suggested to both of them that the portrait might have been around 1848, but their final comments convinced us otherwise):
- Louise Cooling, Curator of Paintings at St James' Palace, London, was kind enough to email me 29-SEP-2017 and give me some clues: "Based on the style of dress, it most likely dates from the 1840s, probably after 1844. I'm afraid I do not recognise the hand of the artist and cannot make any suggestions as to attribution. The painting has a flat, somewhat naïve quality, which makes me think it was most probably painted by someone without formal artistic training. ... I wonder if perhaps the figure of the boy is not pointing at Windsor Castle but at the steam train beyond? I suggest this because if the Castle was an important motif within the composition, I would have expected it to have been depicted more prominently and in its entirety", which I felt was a good point.
- Corinne Harrison, Assistant Curator (Reference Collection) at the National Portrait Gallery, London, kindly emailed on 19-OCT-2017 and added "Thank you for your enquiry. I checked our sitter boxes under ‘Marthews’ (including auction catalogue illustrations, engravings, photographs, and other reproductions of portraits) and the index of portraits not in our collection and could not find a record of this portrait. I can’t add to Louise Cooling’s sensible assessment of the dress. I do not think that the figures are 15 and 20 years of age, they are definitely young children.".
Toby Marthews.