Lot Essay
Henrietta Evelyn Marianne Otway belonged to a family which had long been established in Ireland. The dramatist Thomas Otway (1652-1685) was among her ancestors, and her grandfather, Admiral Sir Robert Waller Otway (1770-1846), was created a baronet at the Coronation of William IV, serving as Groom of the Bedchamber to him and to Queen Victoria. Her father, Arthur John Otway (1822-1912), entered Parliament as liberal member for Stafford in 1852 and made his name in 1868 when, by the narrowest of majorities, he carried a bill to abolish flogging in the army. In recognition of this achievement he was made Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, but in 1871 he resigned when the Liberal government allowed Russia to tear up the Black Sea Treaty, even though he himself was not a member of the cabinet. This honourable and independent action earnt him the disfavour of the Liberal leaders and he lost his seat in the House of Commons in 1874, although he returned as member for Rochester four years later. He married Henrietta, daughter of Sir James Langham, in 1851, and succeeded his brother as third baronet in 1881.
Evelyn was her parents' second child and eldest daughter. She married Edward Garrow Whitby of Creswell Hall, Stafford (the town her father had represented in Parliament 1852-58) on 18 November 1880. A son, Humphrey Otway, who went into the Church, was born in 1883, and she died on 11 May 1916. The portrait was no doubt painted to mark her marriage. On 17 August 1880 Millais wrote to his wife: 'Mrs Otway has just been with her daughter and I may now be some days later coming North [i.e. to his house in Perthshire] as I have told the girl to come tomorrow to do a sketch of her ... You must arrange with Mrs Otway what I am to have for the portrait after it is finished. I am only to make a sketch which I daresay will be one of my best' (Millais Papers, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York). No preparatory work for the portrait is recorded, and Millais may well have done his 'sketch' on the present canvas, subsequently working it up as a finished picture. On 22 August he wrote again: 'Eva Otway came this morning but was too tired to stand and I sent her away and devoted myself to the red coat' (ibid). This 'red coat' must have been in a different picture or portrait.
It would seem that the Otways were friends of Millais' wife and he may for that reason have reduced his normal price of (1,000 for a portrait of this size to (500. He is recorded receiving this sum from the sitter's father on 30 November 1880, although this may have been a part - payment. The picture seems to have been some time on the easel since it is visible in a photograph of Millais' studio taken by his friend Rupert Potter (father of Beatrix) on 31 March 1882; and it was only exhibited that year at the Grosvenor Gallery.
We are grateful to Dr Malcolm Warner for his help in compiling this entry.
Evelyn was her parents' second child and eldest daughter. She married Edward Garrow Whitby of Creswell Hall, Stafford (the town her father had represented in Parliament 1852-58) on 18 November 1880. A son, Humphrey Otway, who went into the Church, was born in 1883, and she died on 11 May 1916. The portrait was no doubt painted to mark her marriage. On 17 August 1880 Millais wrote to his wife: 'Mrs Otway has just been with her daughter and I may now be some days later coming North [i.e. to his house in Perthshire] as I have told the girl to come tomorrow to do a sketch of her ... You must arrange with Mrs Otway what I am to have for the portrait after it is finished. I am only to make a sketch which I daresay will be one of my best' (Millais Papers, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York). No preparatory work for the portrait is recorded, and Millais may well have done his 'sketch' on the present canvas, subsequently working it up as a finished picture. On 22 August he wrote again: 'Eva Otway came this morning but was too tired to stand and I sent her away and devoted myself to the red coat' (ibid). This 'red coat' must have been in a different picture or portrait.
It would seem that the Otways were friends of Millais' wife and he may for that reason have reduced his normal price of (1,000 for a portrait of this size to (500. He is recorded receiving this sum from the sitter's father on 30 November 1880, although this may have been a part - payment. The picture seems to have been some time on the easel since it is visible in a photograph of Millais' studio taken by his friend Rupert Potter (father of Beatrix) on 31 March 1882; and it was only exhibited that year at the Grosvenor Gallery.
We are grateful to Dr Malcolm Warner for his help in compiling this entry.