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Lot Essay
The present drawing of John Keats (1795-1821) is a contemporary copy of the celebrated portrait sketch by the artist and close friend of Keats, Joseph Severn (1793-1879), executed during Severn’s lifetime. Severn’s prime drawing in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (inv. F.90, fig. 1), was executed in circa 1820, and is regarded as an idealised reflection of Keats, as Severn nursed and cared for him in the months leading up to his death. The youthful, yet arresting image of Keats is perhaps most well known from the engraving by Henry Meyer (1782-1847) for Leigh Hunt’s account (1784-1859) Lord Byron and some of his contemporaries, London, 1828 (fig. 2).
The contemporary link with the prime version is evidenced through the drawing’s illustrious provenance, which dates back to Leigh Hunt himself. Hunt had strong and well documented friendships with both Keats and Severn, amongst many other literary and artistic figures of the day, including Seymour Stocker Kirkup (1788-1880), who, it has been suggested, is the artist of the present drawing.
Hunt’s friendship with Keats was short but enduring. It began in October 1816, with the publication of Hunt’s article ‘Young Poets’, in The Examiner, in December of the same year. It introduced readers to Shelley (1792-1822), John Hamilton Reynolds (1794-1852), and - 'youngest of them all' - John Keats. The young poet became a frequent visitor to Hunt’s cottage, known as the ‘Vale of Health’, Hampstead, and he dedicated his first volume of literary work Poems, to Hunt. The Dictionary of National Biography says ‘…although their friendship cooled, in 1820 when Keats was ill with tuberculosis Hunt cared for him in his home at Mortimer Terrace.’ (N. Roe, ‘Hunt, (James Henry) Leigh (1784–1859), poet, journalist, and literary critic.’ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 23 September 2004; Accessed 2024)
Kirkup became close friends with Severn following the death of Keats, having been introduced to him on the day of Keats’s funeral. The close friendship between Kirkup and Severn is demonstrated by the portrait drawing by Kirkup of Severn, which would later be reproduced as the frontispiece in Sharp’s The Life and Letters of Joseph Severn (fig. 3, the original untraced). In much the same way as Severn had portrayed his dear friend Keats, Kirkup shows a vigorous and eloquent version of his confidant, Severn.
Severn’s drawing or the Meyer engraving after it has been copied by a number of artists in Keats’ literary circle, including Kirkup. The present version is stylistically similar to other works by Kirkup, notably in the use of shading to the background of the portrait, a feature absent from both Severn’s original and Meyer’s engraving. Whilst examples of Kirkup’s original drawings are now rare, this technique can be seen in a drawing of Charles 'Carlino' Brown (fig. 4) held in the collection of Keats-Shelley House, Rome (inv. ART-013). The use of wash to accent the hair in this and the present portrait is stylistically comparable. Another example of a portrait sketch by Kirkup is that of John Scott (1783-1821) (National Galleries of Scotland, inv. PG 1969; fig. 5). The stylistic similarities between the present work and the portraits of Severn, Scott and Brown strongly support an attribution to Kirkup.
The close contemporary connection between Keats, Severn, Leigh Hunt and Kirkup, alongside the stylistic similarities, indicate that the present drawing is one of the contemporary copies made after Severn’s portrait drawing, by a close acquaintance, in all likelihood Kirkup. The drawing and its exemplary provenance serve as an important historical record of Keats and his literary and artistic circle of friends and admirers.
The contemporary link with the prime version is evidenced through the drawing’s illustrious provenance, which dates back to Leigh Hunt himself. Hunt had strong and well documented friendships with both Keats and Severn, amongst many other literary and artistic figures of the day, including Seymour Stocker Kirkup (1788-1880), who, it has been suggested, is the artist of the present drawing.
Hunt’s friendship with Keats was short but enduring. It began in October 1816, with the publication of Hunt’s article ‘Young Poets’, in The Examiner, in December of the same year. It introduced readers to Shelley (1792-1822), John Hamilton Reynolds (1794-1852), and - 'youngest of them all' - John Keats. The young poet became a frequent visitor to Hunt’s cottage, known as the ‘Vale of Health’, Hampstead, and he dedicated his first volume of literary work Poems, to Hunt. The Dictionary of National Biography says ‘…although their friendship cooled, in 1820 when Keats was ill with tuberculosis Hunt cared for him in his home at Mortimer Terrace.’ (N. Roe, ‘Hunt, (James Henry) Leigh (1784–1859), poet, journalist, and literary critic.’ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 23 September 2004; Accessed 2024)
Kirkup became close friends with Severn following the death of Keats, having been introduced to him on the day of Keats’s funeral. The close friendship between Kirkup and Severn is demonstrated by the portrait drawing by Kirkup of Severn, which would later be reproduced as the frontispiece in Sharp’s The Life and Letters of Joseph Severn (fig. 3, the original untraced). In much the same way as Severn had portrayed his dear friend Keats, Kirkup shows a vigorous and eloquent version of his confidant, Severn.
Severn’s drawing or the Meyer engraving after it has been copied by a number of artists in Keats’ literary circle, including Kirkup. The present version is stylistically similar to other works by Kirkup, notably in the use of shading to the background of the portrait, a feature absent from both Severn’s original and Meyer’s engraving. Whilst examples of Kirkup’s original drawings are now rare, this technique can be seen in a drawing of Charles 'Carlino' Brown (fig. 4) held in the collection of Keats-Shelley House, Rome (inv. ART-013). The use of wash to accent the hair in this and the present portrait is stylistically comparable. Another example of a portrait sketch by Kirkup is that of John Scott (1783-1821) (National Galleries of Scotland, inv. PG 1969; fig. 5). The stylistic similarities between the present work and the portraits of Severn, Scott and Brown strongly support an attribution to Kirkup.
The close contemporary connection between Keats, Severn, Leigh Hunt and Kirkup, alongside the stylistic similarities, indicate that the present drawing is one of the contemporary copies made after Severn’s portrait drawing, by a close acquaintance, in all likelihood Kirkup. The drawing and its exemplary provenance serve as an important historical record of Keats and his literary and artistic circle of friends and admirers.