Drawing
1894 (drawn)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This painted illustration shows the events of Act III of <i>The Charlatan</i>with the actors Mr and Mrs Herbert Beerbohm Tree playing the roles of Mr. Philip Woodville and Mrs. Isabella Arlington. The image was created for publication in an illustrated magazine or newspaper and painted by Sir Amédée Forestier (1854 – 1930). It is signed with his initials in the bottom left hand corner.
Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1853-1917) was London's leading actor-manager in the Edwardian era. His wife, born Helen Maud Holt (1863–1937), was already acting when she met her husband and from the time her marriage to the actor Herbert Beerbohm Tree in the early 1880s she was professionally known as Mrs Beerbohm Tree and subsequently, Lady Tree.
The two established an extremely successful theatrical partnership. Tree took over the Haymarket Theatre from the Bancrofts in 1885 before moving to his newly built Her Majesty's Theatre in 1897. The programme at the Haymarket featured plays by Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde and Henry Arthur Jones and the spectacular productions there became famous for their detailed and realistic settings.
The Charlatan, by Robert Buchanan was performed at the Haymarket Theatre between the 18th of January and 17th of March, 1894. The action took place at the castle of the Earl of Wanborough and the story centred upon the power of theosophy and hypnotle over the human mind. The scene depicted in this illustration shows the moment when Philip Woodville, having determined that if Isabella Arlington will not be his wife she shall at least be nobody else’s, has used 'hypnotic arts' to attract her to his room at midnight. His repentance, and subseqent redemption, provides the climax of the drama.
Sir Amédée Forestier (1854 – 1930) was an Anglo-French artist and illustrator. He began working for the Illustrated London News in 1882 and became known for his attention to detail and historical illustrations.
This item is one of several theatrical drawings from a collection of sketches commissioned from contemporary artists to be printed in illustrated magazines. The collection was donated to the museum by Sir William James Ingram in 1914.
Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1853-1917) was London's leading actor-manager in the Edwardian era. His wife, born Helen Maud Holt (1863–1937), was already acting when she met her husband and from the time her marriage to the actor Herbert Beerbohm Tree in the early 1880s she was professionally known as Mrs Beerbohm Tree and subsequently, Lady Tree.
The two established an extremely successful theatrical partnership. Tree took over the Haymarket Theatre from the Bancrofts in 1885 before moving to his newly built Her Majesty's Theatre in 1897. The programme at the Haymarket featured plays by Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde and Henry Arthur Jones and the spectacular productions there became famous for their detailed and realistic settings.
The Charlatan, by Robert Buchanan was performed at the Haymarket Theatre between the 18th of January and 17th of March, 1894. The action took place at the castle of the Earl of Wanborough and the story centred upon the power of theosophy and hypnotle over the human mind. The scene depicted in this illustration shows the moment when Philip Woodville, having determined that if Isabella Arlington will not be his wife she shall at least be nobody else’s, has used 'hypnotic arts' to attract her to his room at midnight. His repentance, and subseqent redemption, provides the climax of the drama.
Sir Amédée Forestier (1854 – 1930) was an Anglo-French artist and illustrator. He began working for the Illustrated London News in 1882 and became known for his attention to detail and historical illustrations.
This item is one of several theatrical drawings from a collection of sketches commissioned from contemporary artists to be printed in illustrated magazines. The collection was donated to the museum by Sir William James Ingram in 1914.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | paint on paper |
| Brief description | Painted illustration in tones of grey, black and white, created for publication in an illustrated magazine or newspaper. It shows the events of Act III of The Charlatan with Mr and Mrs Tree playing the roles of Mr. Philip Woodville and Mrs. Isabella Arlington. It was painted by Sir Amédée Forestier (1854 – 1930) and is signed with his initials. Given by Sir William Ingram in 1914. |
| Physical description | Painted illustration in tones of grey, black and white, created for publication in an illustrated magazine or newspaper. It shows the events of Act III of The Charlatan with the actors Mr and Mrs Herbert Beerbohm Tree playing the roles of Mr. Philip Woodville and Mrs. Isabella Arlington. It shows the interior of a turret room in the castle. Isabella wearing a loose, white night dress, lies prostrated on a chair before the fire, whilst Woodville, still in evening dress, bends nervously over her. The illustration was painted by Sir Amédée Forestier (1854 – 1930) and is signed with his initials in the bottom left hand corner. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Given by Sir William Ingram |
| Object history | Sir William Ingram (27 October 1847 – 18 December 1924) was a Liberal politician who was elected to, and sat, in the House of Commons on three occassions between 1878 and 1895. He was also the Managing Director of The Illustrated London News from the late 1870s until 1900 and became the proprietor of a number of additional publications including The Sketch and The English Illustrated Magazine. The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper. Founded by Sir William Ingram’s father, Herbert Ingram, in 1842 the first edition was sold on 14th May 1842 at a cost of sixpence per copy. Building from an original circulation of 26,000 to in excess of 300,000 at its peak, The Illustrated London News remained in print until 2003 and commissioned illustrations from many of the leading artists of the late nineteenth century. Photographs were used alongside illustrations from the late 19th century onwards but illustrations were a major feature of paper until after the end of the First World War. |
| Historical context | This sketch was one of a group of prints and pencil and pen and ink sketches donated to the museum in 1914 by Sir William Ingram (1847–1924). Part of this collection was originally donated to the Prints and Drawings Department with the majority later passing to the Theatre and Performance Department. The full collection includes work by a variety of artists amongst whom are: A. J Finberg; Ralph Cleaver; F.V.Poole and Rossi Ashton. Though not all the publications for which they were created are identified the majority of the sketches were commissioned for, and appeared in, The Illustrated London News, The English Illustrated Magazine or The Sketch. Sir William Ingram became the proprietor of The Illustrated London News in the mid to late 1870s and remained in post until circa 1900 when he was succeeded by his he was succeeded by his son, Bruce Stirling Ingram (1877–1963). He also became the proprietor of The Sketch amongst other papers in which capacity he gave commissions to many leading artists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. |
| Summary | This painted illustration shows the events of Act III of <i>The Charlatan</i>with the actors Mr and Mrs Herbert Beerbohm Tree playing the roles of Mr. Philip Woodville and Mrs. Isabella Arlington. The image was created for publication in an illustrated magazine or newspaper and painted by Sir Amédée Forestier (1854 – 1930). It is signed with his initials in the bottom left hand corner. Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1853-1917) was London's leading actor-manager in the Edwardian era. His wife, born Helen Maud Holt (1863–1937), was already acting when she met her husband and from the time her marriage to the actor Herbert Beerbohm Tree in the early 1880s she was professionally known as Mrs Beerbohm Tree and subsequently, Lady Tree. The two established an extremely successful theatrical partnership. Tree took over the Haymarket Theatre from the Bancrofts in 1885 before moving to his newly built Her Majesty's Theatre in 1897. The programme at the Haymarket featured plays by Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde and Henry Arthur Jones and the spectacular productions there became famous for their detailed and realistic settings. The Charlatan, by Robert Buchanan was performed at the Haymarket Theatre between the 18th of January and 17th of March, 1894. The action took place at the castle of the Earl of Wanborough and the story centred upon the power of theosophy and hypnotle over the human mind. The scene depicted in this illustration shows the moment when Philip Woodville, having determined that if Isabella Arlington will not be his wife she shall at least be nobody else’s, has used 'hypnotic arts' to attract her to his room at midnight. His repentance, and subseqent redemption, provides the climax of the drama. Sir Amédée Forestier (1854 – 1930) was an Anglo-French artist and illustrator. He began working for the Illustrated London News in 1882 and became known for his attention to detail and historical illustrations. This item is one of several theatrical drawings from a collection of sketches commissioned from contemporary artists to be printed in illustrated magazines. The collection was donated to the museum by Sir William James Ingram in 1914. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.374-2011 |
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| Record created | December 20, 2011 |
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