Lot Essay
The son of Eden Eddis, a clerk at Somerset house, Eden Upton Eddis was born in London in May 1812. He studied first at Sass's Academy before entering the R.A Schools in 1828, where he exhibited one hundred and thirty times during his lifetime. He was a close friend of George Richmond (Lots 25, 92 and 95), and like Richmond, his sitters included many of the most prominent figures of the time. He was said to have had a strong affinity with children, something that is evident in the present picture. Eddis's final years were marred by the onset of deafness, and he died in Shalford, near Guilford at the age of 88.