'A Jersey pair'
Photograph
September 1879 (made)
September 1879 (made)
| Artist/Maker |
Rupert Potter (1832-1914), father of the children's writer and illustrator, Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), was a keen amateur photographer and a close friend of the painter and illustrator, Sir John Everett Millais (1829-1896). Rupert would often assist Millais by photographing backgrounds for paintings and sitters for portraits. The Millais family lived mostly in London but spent long summer holidays at Annet Lodge near Bowerswell, Perthshire. Here, Millais executed many of his best-known paintings and enjoyed the company of likeminded friends, including the Potters who also retreated to Perthshire for extended summer holidays, first renting Dalguise, then later Eastwood, a large house on the bank of the Tay in Dunkeld.
The notorious and highly successful actress, Lillie Langtry (1853-1929), was also a friend of Millais; his famous portrait of her, A Jersey Lily (1878), was exhibited at the Royal Academy. In September 1879, amid affairs with Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, Prince Louis of Battenberg and the Earl of Shrewsbury, Langtry visited Millais and Potter in Perthshire. Potter choreographed formal portraits of Langtry and more relaxed poses conversing with Millais in the garden at Eastwood.
The inscription on the mount of this photograph, ‘A Jersey pair’, must refer to Millais’s portrait of Langtry.
The notorious and highly successful actress, Lillie Langtry (1853-1929), was also a friend of Millais; his famous portrait of her, A Jersey Lily (1878), was exhibited at the Royal Academy. In September 1879, amid affairs with Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, Prince Louis of Battenberg and the Earl of Shrewsbury, Langtry visited Millais and Potter in Perthshire. Potter choreographed formal portraits of Langtry and more relaxed poses conversing with Millais in the garden at Eastwood.
The inscription on the mount of this photograph, ‘A Jersey pair’, must refer to Millais’s portrait of Langtry.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts.
|
| Title | 'A Jersey pair' (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Albumen print on paper |
| Brief description | Photograph of John Everett Millais and Lillie Langtry in the garden at Eastwood, Dunkeld, by Rupert Potter, September 1879; Linder Bequest cat. no. LB.2118 |
| Physical description | A double portrait, with a man and a woman shown full-length sat in a garden, the exterior of a house behind them. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Production type | small batch |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'A Jersey pair. / Lillie Langtry / John Everett Millais / Eastwood / Sep 1879' (Inscribed in ink on mount.) |
| Credit line | Linder Bequest [plus object number; written on labels on the same line as the object number] |
| Object history | Photograph taken by Rupert Potter in the garden of Eastwood House, Dunkeld, in September 1879. Acquired by the V&A from Leslie Linder (1904-1973) in 1973 as part of the Linder Bequest, a collection of ca. 2150 watercolours, drawings, literary manuscripts, correspondence, books, photographs, and other memorabilia associated with Beatrix Potter and her family. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Places depicted | |
| Summary | Rupert Potter (1832-1914), father of the children's writer and illustrator, Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), was a keen amateur photographer and a close friend of the painter and illustrator, Sir John Everett Millais (1829-1896). Rupert would often assist Millais by photographing backgrounds for paintings and sitters for portraits. The Millais family lived mostly in London but spent long summer holidays at Annet Lodge near Bowerswell, Perthshire. Here, Millais executed many of his best-known paintings and enjoyed the company of likeminded friends, including the Potters who also retreated to Perthshire for extended summer holidays, first renting Dalguise, then later Eastwood, a large house on the bank of the Tay in Dunkeld. The notorious and highly successful actress, Lillie Langtry (1853-1929), was also a friend of Millais; his famous portrait of her, A Jersey Lily (1878), was exhibited at the Royal Academy. In September 1879, amid affairs with Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, Prince Louis of Battenberg and the Earl of Shrewsbury, Langtry visited Millais and Potter in Perthshire. Potter choreographed formal portraits of Langtry and more relaxed poses conversing with Millais in the garden at Eastwood. The inscription on the mount of this photograph, ‘A Jersey pair’, must refer to Millais’s portrait of Langtry. |
| Bibliographic reference | Hobbs, Anne Stevenson, and Joyce Irene Whalley, eds. Beatrix Potter: the V & A collection : the Leslie Linder bequest of Beatrix Potter material : watercolours, drawings, manuscripts, books, photographs and memorabilia. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1985.
p.215; no.2118
Hobbs, Anne Stevenson, and Joyce Irene Whalley, eds. Beatrix Potter: the V & A collection: the Leslie Linder bequest of Beatrix Potter material: watercolours, drawings, manuscripts, books, photographs and memorabilia. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1985. p.215; no.2118 |
| Other number | LB.2118 - Linder Bequest catalogue no. |
| Collection | |
| Library number | BP.1530 |
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| Record created | September 8, 2016 |
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