Lot Essay
Ballantyne was born at Kelso and came from a distinguished family. His uncle was James Ballantyne, who printed the works of Sir Walter Scott; his elder brother, James Robert, made his name as an orientalist; and his younger brother, Robert Michael, achieved fame as a writer of boys' adventure stories. Having studied at the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh and the Royal Academy Schools in London, John exhibited at the RA and the Royal Scottish Academy from the early 1830s, specialising in genre scenes and portraits and being elected RSA in 1860. He taught for many years at the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh, latterly acting as assistant to Robert Scott Lauder, who took over the mastership in 1852. However in 1863 he settled in London, where he became curator of the life school at the RA. In 1886 he retired to Melksham in Wiltshire, where he died.
Erskine Nicol (1825-1904) was a fellow Scot and exponent of genre, usually of a humorous nature. Though he was ten years younger than Ballantyne, they were friends with much in common. Born at Leith, Nicol entered the Trustees' Academy in 1838, and after a spell in Ireland, settled in London in 1862. Ballantyne's friend Tom Faed had already migrated south, and John Pettie and W.Q. Orchardson, two younger Trustees' students, were also moving to London. This probably influenced Ballantyne to follow a year later, although the fact that he had lost his position at the Trustee's Academy in 1860 may also have tempted him to try his luck in the capital. Like Ballantyne, Nicol became associated with the Royal Academy, being elected ARA in 1868, and both men belonged to the 'Auld Lang Syne Club', a coterie of Scottish artists living in London. Like Ballantyne again, Nicol retired in the mid-1880s, dying seven years after his compatriot at Feltham in Middlesex.
The present picture belongs to a series of paintings of artists in their studios which is collectively Ballantyne's most famous work. Other artists represented include Sir Edwin Landseer (at work on the lions for Trafalgar Square), Daniel Maclise (painting The Death of Nelson in the House of Lords), Sir John Everett Millais (painting My Second Sermon), W.P. Frith (receiving a sitting from the Princess of Wales for his picture of her marriage), and Thomas Faed (at work on The Mitherless Bairn), together with David Roberts, Clarkson Stanfield, John Phillip, Sir George Harvey, Sir Francis Grant, William Holman Hunt, Sir Noel Paton, Sir A.W. Calcott, Thomas Creswick, Alfred Elmore, Baron Marochetti, William Mulready and E.M. Ward, whose earlier paintings of writers in their studios may have helped to inspire the project.
Ballantyne began work on the paintings in 1862 and had completed eight by 1864, when they were mentioned by the Art Journal. Thirteen were exhibited by Henry Graves & Co. at 6 Pall Mall in the winter of 1865-6, while others appeared at the RA or the RSA. The artist seems to have painted the last about 1867, by which time he had completed more than twenty. Three (Landseer, Grant and Hunt) are now in the National Portrait Gallery, and four (Faed, Paton, Harvey and Phillip) in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh. Six (Frith, Grant, Maclise, Roberts, Stanfield and Faed) were sold in these Rooms on 2 February 1979, and were the subject of an article by Richard Ormond in Christie's Review of the Season for that year. More recently (11 June 1993, lot 136) we offered a scene of John Ballantyne himself in his studio; painted in 1870 by his brother Robert Michael, the novelist, it aped the formula adopted by John and was possibly painted partly tongue-in-cheek.
The present picture appears in R.M. Ballantyne's painting immediately behind the easel in the centre background. It was probably in preparation by January 1864, and it was included in the Graves exhibition the following year when the Athenaeum observed that 'Mr Nicol has a stalwart Irishman standing for a model', a remark presumably based on the knowledge that Nicol liked to paint Irish immigrants. The picture differs from most of the series in not showing an artist in a domestic or professional studio, often indicative of a highly successful practice, but in an apparently rural setting. The cloak, hat and scarf hanging on the wall to the left of the open door suggest that the artist has travelled to this work-place, which is quite unconnected with his home and private life.
We are grateful to Mrs Lizzie Darbyshire for her help in preparing this entry.
Erskine Nicol (1825-1904) was a fellow Scot and exponent of genre, usually of a humorous nature. Though he was ten years younger than Ballantyne, they were friends with much in common. Born at Leith, Nicol entered the Trustees' Academy in 1838, and after a spell in Ireland, settled in London in 1862. Ballantyne's friend Tom Faed had already migrated south, and John Pettie and W.Q. Orchardson, two younger Trustees' students, were also moving to London. This probably influenced Ballantyne to follow a year later, although the fact that he had lost his position at the Trustee's Academy in 1860 may also have tempted him to try his luck in the capital. Like Ballantyne, Nicol became associated with the Royal Academy, being elected ARA in 1868, and both men belonged to the 'Auld Lang Syne Club', a coterie of Scottish artists living in London. Like Ballantyne again, Nicol retired in the mid-1880s, dying seven years after his compatriot at Feltham in Middlesex.
The present picture belongs to a series of paintings of artists in their studios which is collectively Ballantyne's most famous work. Other artists represented include Sir Edwin Landseer (at work on the lions for Trafalgar Square), Daniel Maclise (painting The Death of Nelson in the House of Lords), Sir John Everett Millais (painting My Second Sermon), W.P. Frith (receiving a sitting from the Princess of Wales for his picture of her marriage), and Thomas Faed (at work on The Mitherless Bairn), together with David Roberts, Clarkson Stanfield, John Phillip, Sir George Harvey, Sir Francis Grant, William Holman Hunt, Sir Noel Paton, Sir A.W. Calcott, Thomas Creswick, Alfred Elmore, Baron Marochetti, William Mulready and E.M. Ward, whose earlier paintings of writers in their studios may have helped to inspire the project.
Ballantyne began work on the paintings in 1862 and had completed eight by 1864, when they were mentioned by the Art Journal. Thirteen were exhibited by Henry Graves & Co. at 6 Pall Mall in the winter of 1865-6, while others appeared at the RA or the RSA. The artist seems to have painted the last about 1867, by which time he had completed more than twenty. Three (Landseer, Grant and Hunt) are now in the National Portrait Gallery, and four (Faed, Paton, Harvey and Phillip) in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh. Six (Frith, Grant, Maclise, Roberts, Stanfield and Faed) were sold in these Rooms on 2 February 1979, and were the subject of an article by Richard Ormond in Christie's Review of the Season for that year. More recently (11 June 1993, lot 136) we offered a scene of John Ballantyne himself in his studio; painted in 1870 by his brother Robert Michael, the novelist, it aped the formula adopted by John and was possibly painted partly tongue-in-cheek.
The present picture appears in R.M. Ballantyne's painting immediately behind the easel in the centre background. It was probably in preparation by January 1864, and it was included in the Graves exhibition the following year when the Athenaeum observed that 'Mr Nicol has a stalwart Irishman standing for a model', a remark presumably based on the knowledge that Nicol liked to paint Irish immigrants. The picture differs from most of the series in not showing an artist in a domestic or professional studio, often indicative of a highly successful practice, but in an apparently rural setting. The cloak, hat and scarf hanging on the wall to the left of the open door suggest that the artist has travelled to this work-place, which is quite unconnected with his home and private life.
We are grateful to Mrs Lizzie Darbyshire for her help in preparing this entry.