John Calcott Horsley, R.A. (1817-1903)
Detail; Showing a Preference
Oil on canvas
36 x 28 in. (91.5 x 71.1 cm.)
Private collection
John Callcott Horsley (1817–1903)
The Pride of the Village, c. 1839
Height: 62.2 cm (24.4 in); Width: 76.2 cm (30 in)
National Gallery, London
When this picture was first exhibited at the Royal Academy it was accompanied by a quotation from Washington Irving's short story 'The Pride of the Village', which was written in 1819:
'A tear trembles in her soft blue eyes. Was she thinking of her faithless lover? Or were her thoughts wandering to that distant churchyard into whose bosom she might soon be gathered?.'
Irving's story told of an only daughter who was 'the pride of the village'. One year she was the May Queen and caught the attention of a young army officer. When his love proved to be false, the girl pined away in her parents' cottage. More on this painting
Horsley was mentored by William Mulready and Augustus Wall Callcot who sent him at age thirteen to study at Dr Henry Sass's academy. Following preparatory school Horsley studied painting at the Royal Academy schools. In 1836 he exhibited The Pride of the Village (Vernon Gallery) at the Royal Academy.
John Callcott Horsley (1817–1903)
L'Allegro and Il Penseroso, c. 1850
Oil on canvas
Height: 153 cm (60.2 in); Width: 112.1 cm (44.1 in)
Royal Collection
The subject illustrates the first part of John Milton’s pastoral poem Il Penseroso (The Melancholy Man) published in 1645. The man walks hand in hand with Melancholy, dressed in black and accompanied by Peace and Quiet. At the same time he is looking over his shoulder at nymphs, representing mirth and joyfulness which had been celebrated in Milton’s companion poem, L’Allegro (The Happy Man). The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1851. Signed and dated: I C Horsley. 1850 (initials in monogram). Inscribed on the back with the title, the name of the artist and the date, 1850. More on this painting
Horsley's paintings were largely of historical subjects set in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, influenced by the Dutch masters Pieter de Hooch and Vermeer. Examples are "Malvolio", "L'Allegro and il Penseroso" (painted for the Prince Consort), "Le Jour des Morts" and "A Scene from Don Quixote".
John Callcott Horsley (1817–1903)
The Rival Performers, c. 1839
Oil on panel
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Oil painting entitled 'The Rival Performers' depicting a young couple seated in a window of a wood panelled room. The boy is holding an oboe, poised to play, whilst the girl clasps his wrist, looking up at a canary on a perch in front of them (Upper right). There is a lute leaning against the wall beneath the bird, and a small pair of scissors and a flower on the floor by the feet of the seated girl. More on this painting
John Callcott Horsley (1817–1903)
The Contrast: Youth and Age, c. 1839
Oil on panel
H 45.7 x W 40.6 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
As a young artist Horsley was patronised by the collector John Sheepshanks, who bought two of Horsley's paintings: The Rival Performers (1839) and Youth and Age (1839).
John Callcott Horsley (1817–1903)
St Augustine Preaching, c. 1847
Lithograph with bluish-brown tint-stone on chine collé
Height: 444 millimetres, Width: 569 millimetres
British Museum
St Augustine, as a monk, standing at left with arms outstretched and a cross in his left hand; three monks standing behind him, holding up an icon; the king and queen seated on a bench at right, he looking thoughtful, his hand on a large axe, she touching his arm and pointing to Augustine, other Britons reacting with concern huddled behind them, one, in the foreground at right, holding a staff topped with a crescent behind his back; on cliffs with sea beyond at left, megalithic trilithon behind at right; after the cartoon by Horsley submitted to the Westminster Hall exhibition of 1843. 1847. More on this painting
John Callcott Horsley (1817–1903)
ReligionLithograph with bluish-brown tint-stone on chine collé
Private collection
In 1843 his cartoon (preliminary drawing) of "St Augustine Preaching" won a prize in the competition to provide interior decorations for Palace of Westminster. This led to his being selected in 1844 he was as one of the six painters commissioned to execute frescoes there. He painted Religion (1845) in the House of Lords, Henry V assuming the Crown, and Satan touched by Ithuriel's Spear while whispering evil dreams to Eve. In 1864 he became a Royal Academician (RA).
Walter Charles Horsley (1855–1934)
Carnival Time
Oil on canvas
92 x 71cm (36 1/4 x 27 15/16in).
Private collection
Horsley was rector and treasurer of the Royal Academy from 1875 to 1890 and 1882 to 1897 respectively. He earned the nickname 'Clothes-Horsley' for his opposition to the use of nude life models. When, during the 1880s, the example of the French Salon began to affect the Academy exhibitors, and paintings of the nude became the fashion, he protested against the innovation.
Walter Charles Horsley (1855–1934)
The French in Cairo, c.1884
Oil on canvas
H 135.2 x W 195 cm
Museums Sheffield
John Callcott Horsley (1817–1903)
The first Christmas card, commissioned by Henry ColeCollection Dr. Alan Huggins
Horsley designed the first ever Christmas card, commissioned by Henry Cole. It caused some controversy because it depicted a small child drinking wine. He also designed the Horsley envelope, a pre-paid envelope that was the precursor to the postage stamp.
John Callcott Horsley (1817–1903)
St Valentine's Morning, c. 1863
Oil on canvas
H 59.5 x W 71.5 cm
Wolverhampton Art Gallery
In 1856 Horsley was photographed at "The Photographed Institute" by Robert Howlett, as part of a series of portraits of "fine artists". The picture was among a group exhibited at the Art Treasures Exhibition in Manchester in 1857.
Walter Charles Horsley (1855–1934)
The Water Seller (A Cairo Street)
Oil on canvas
H 102 x W 69 cm
National Trust, Cragside
John Callcott Horsley (1817–1903)
Queen Victoria with the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal and Other Members of the Royal Family, c. 1864
Oil on canvas
H 335 x W 157 cm
Royal Society of Arts
Together with a companion portrait of the Prince himself (by C. W. Cope, RA), this was hung in the Great Room. Both pictures remained there until the alterations to the Society's House in 1922–1923 when they were removed to their present positions on the main staircase. In Horsley's painting the Queen and her children are shown as they would have been in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition, which Prince Albert so largely inspired and guided. More on this painting
Charles West Cope (1811–1890)
Albert, Prince Consort, President of the Society of Arts (1843–1861), with the Charter of the Great Exhibition of 1851, c. 1863
Oil on canvas
H 335 x W 157 cm
Royal Society of Arts
Portrait of Albert, Prince Consort, President of the Society, 1843 to 1861, holding the Charter of the Great Exhibition 1851. This portrait and the companion painting of Queen Victoria with the
Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal and other members of the Royal Family (by John Calcott Horsley RA) are currently on display on the main stairwell to the Society’s Great Room. These two paintings and a bust of Prince Albert form the memorial to the Prince Consort. More on this painting
Horsley was a member of the London-based Etching Club contributing illustrations to editions of "The Deserted Village" (Oliver Goldsmith and "Songs of Shakespeare". He also illustrated a number of other books including "Little Princes" by Eliza Slater (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1890). More on John Callcott Horsley
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