James Donald Milner

“ From his youth Wells devoted himself to portraiture. At first he practised exclusively as a miniature painter, much in the manner of Sir W. Ross, with whom and Robert Thorburn he shared the practice of the time. Between 1846 and 1860 Wells contributed over seventy miniatures, principally of ladies and children, all of which are now in private hands, to the Royal Academy exhibitions. ”

“ From 1861 Wells, fearing the strain upon his eyesight, abandoned miniature painting, and in that year contributed to Burlington House his first large work in oils, a portrait of Lord Ranelagh, lieutenant-colonel of the south Middlesex volunteers, now at the headquarters of the corps. Within the next decade he painted numerous other volunteers' portraits singly and in groups. ”

“ He also drew occasionally for the 'Graphic,' 'Illustrated London News,' and the 'Pall Mall Magazine.' Paget's spirited illustrations for Sir A. Conan Doyle's 'Sherlock Holmes' and 'Rodney Stone' in the 'Strand Magazine' greatly assisted to popularise those stories. The assertion that the artist's brother Walter, or any other person, served as model for the portrait of 'Sherlock Holmes' is incorrect. ”

“ At the Cowper Street school, London, Paget received his early education, and passing thence to Heatherley's school of art, entered the Royal Academy schools in 1881, where he was preceded by his brothers, Henry Marriott and Walter Stanley, both well-known artists and illustrators. ”

“ WELLS, HENRY TANWORTH (1828–1903) , portrait-painter in oils and miniature, born on 12 Dec. 1828 in Marylebone, was only son of Henry Tanworth Wells, merchant, by his wife Charlotte Henman. One sister, Augusta, was an exhibitor at the Royal Academy, and another sister, Sarah, married Henry Hugh Armstead. Educated at Lancing, Wells was apprenticed in 1843 as a lithographic draughtsman to Messrs. Dickinson, with whom he soon, however, began work as a miniature-painter. His studies were continued in the evening at Leigh's school. In 1850 he spent six months at Couture's atelier in Paris. ”

“ Of Robert Browning, who became an intimate family friend, Lehmann drew four portraits, two drawings and two paintings. The painting of 1875 was exhibited with 'La Lavandaja' and other of his works at Paris in 1878, and the modified replica of 1884 was presented by the artist to the National Portrait Gallery in 1890. ”

“ Pearce retired from general practice in and from active work in 1888. He contributed ninety-nine subjects to the Academy exhibitions, and about thirty of his pictures were engraved by J. Scott, C. Mottram, and others. His portraits, almost entirely of men, are accurate likenesses, and his horses and dogs are well drawn. The earlier paintings are somewhat tight in execution, with a tendency to over-emphasis of shadow, but the later pictures are freer in style. ”

“ Lady Franklin also commissioned a similar series, which passed at her death to Miss Cracroft, her husband's niece. All these pictures are in the National Portrait Gallery, to which Colonel Barrow and Miss Cracroft respectively bequeathed them. ”

“ Lightfoot, bishop of Durham. 'Very many artists,' Millais is reported to have said, 'can paint the portrait of a man, but very few can paint the portrait of a lady, and Edward Hughes is one of those few.' Hughes's popularity steadily increased, and in 1886 his whole-length painting of Miss Jeannie Chamberlain (Lady Naylor Leyland) , exhibited at Messrs. ”

“ He was nominated by Lord Leighton to act as his deputy on certain occasions during the president's absence abroad through ill-health in 1895. In 1879, at the time of the royal commission, and again in connection with the bill in 1900, he worked hard for the cause of artistic copyright. ”