Drawing
1890 (hand painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Painted illustration created for publication in a newspaper/illustrated magazine, probably The Illustrated London News. It shows a group of elephants bathing in the river near Stratford-on-Avon and was painted by the artist Arthur J. Wall in 1890.
The Elephants featured in this illustration may well be part of the troop of performing elephants owned by Samuel Lockhart (1851–1933). Samual Lockhart was a famous Victorian elephant trainer who took his elephants across the UK, including Royal command performances in front of Queen Victoria. He also toured to Europe (where he ran his own circus in France) and to America, where he worked for the famous Ringling Brothers Circus from 1896 to 1901. His most famous group of elephants were known as "The Three Graces" and consisted of Wilhelmina and two younger elephants, Trilby and Haddie. His other famous elephants were Jock and Jenny, who were worked in front of Queen Victoria. Samual Lockhart's english base was often Leamington Spa where he lived at 1, Warwick Road, and the sloping walkway to the River Leam, where the elephants regularly bathed, was nicknamed 'Elephant Walk'.
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.
The Elephants featured in this illustration may well be part of the troop of performing elephants owned by Samuel Lockhart (1851–1933). Samual Lockhart was a famous Victorian elephant trainer who took his elephants across the UK, including Royal command performances in front of Queen Victoria. He also toured to Europe (where he ran his own circus in France) and to America, where he worked for the famous Ringling Brothers Circus from 1896 to 1901. His most famous group of elephants were known as "The Three Graces" and consisted of Wilhelmina and two younger elephants, Trilby and Haddie. His other famous elephants were Jock and Jenny, who were worked in front of Queen Victoria. Samual Lockhart's english base was often Leamington Spa where he lived at 1, Warwick Road, and the sloping walkway to the River Leam, where the elephants regularly bathed, was nicknamed 'Elephant Walk'.
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 drawing board |
| Brief description | Painted illustration created for publication in a newspaper/illustrated magazine, probably 'The Illustrated London News'. It shows a group of elephants bathing in the river near Stratford-on-Avon and was painted by the artist Arthur J. Wall in 1890. Given by Sir William Ingram in 1914. |
| Physical description | Painted illustration in tones of grey, white and black created for publication in a newspaper/illustrated magazine, probably 'The Illustrated London News'. It shows a group of elephants bathing in the river near Stratford-on-Avon. It was painted by the artist Arthur J. Wall in 1890 and has been signed by him in the bottom left hand corner. |
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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 | Painted illustration created for publication in a newspaper/illustrated magazine, probably The Illustrated London News. It shows a group of elephants bathing in the river near Stratford-on-Avon and was painted by the artist Arthur J. Wall in 1890. The Elephants featured in this illustration may well be part of the troop of performing elephants owned by Samuel Lockhart (1851–1933). Samual Lockhart was a famous Victorian elephant trainer who took his elephants across the UK, including Royal command performances in front of Queen Victoria. He also toured to Europe (where he ran his own circus in France) and to America, where he worked for the famous Ringling Brothers Circus from 1896 to 1901. His most famous group of elephants were known as "The Three Graces" and consisted of Wilhelmina and two younger elephants, Trilby and Haddie. His other famous elephants were Jock and Jenny, who were worked in front of Queen Victoria. Samual Lockhart's english base was often Leamington Spa where he lived at 1, Warwick Road, and the sloping walkway to the River Leam, where the elephants regularly bathed, was nicknamed 'Elephant Walk'. 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.393-2011 |
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| Record created | February 23, 2012 |
| Record URL |
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