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Henry-William Pickersgill was one of the leading English portrait painters of the first half of the nineteenth century from 1845 until his death, he had almost no rival to paint the celebrities of the time.
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#47 in the Royal Academy group is a print from the same negative on a larger mount. This portrait shows him in the prime of life, around 55 or 60 years old, dressed as a sportsman, with his riding suit, top hat and whip. Note: Pickersgill was the son-in-law of Roger Fenton, a member of the St John's Wood Clique, and was elected Keeper of the Royal Academy in 1874. Stylistically, his work recalls that of Julia Margaret Cameron, with whom he was acquainted. He was the only member of the Clique not elected to the Royal Academy. Several of Wynfield's fancy dress portraits of his artist friends are registered in the copyright office, as of December 1863, indicating that he was involved with photography from the earliest days of the Clique's formation. The Clique members shared an interest in historical genre, and often held fancy dress gatherings. He exhibited a portrait of Lord Hill at the Royal. Other members of this group included Philip Calderon, William Yeames, John Hodgson and John Philip, who are all represented in this collection of portraits. Pickersgill took up painting after the wars with France had damaged his first trade, silk manufacturing. Note: Wynfield, the great-nephew of the Scottish painter Sir David Wilkie, was a painter of historical genre and a foundling member of the St John's Wood Clique in the early 1860s. It is not clear if 126a, 136a and 197 were part of the original gift, although the donor's father is included in the additional group. Letter, Hodgson to the V&A, Dec 18 1944: "I have included some photographs of artists - contemporaries of my father, in fancy dress that were taken by David Wynfield, an artist, one of the St John's Wood Clique - unfortunately, at this distance can't put names to them all." Records indicate the original gift comprised of 13 photographs. Provenance: By descent to J E Hodgson, Dr Harold Hodgson. One of 16 photographs of Victorian painters and illustrators, most members of the Royal Academy, in fancy dress, ca.