Oil painting, 'Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend (1798-1868), donor of the Townshend Bequest, and his sister Charlotte (afterwards Mrs Elrington) as Children, Samuel Woodhouse, ca. 1810

Bequeathed by Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend

Bequeathed by Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend, 1868.

This is one of three portraits of members of Townshend family including a portrait by Thompson of his sister, made when she had married and was Mrs. Elrington (Inventory number 1425-1869), one of his Father Henry Hare Townsend (Inventory number 1414-1869), both by Samuel Woodehouse and this portrait of Chauncy Hare Townshend and his sister as Children (Inventory 1413-1869) .

Historical significance: Samuel Woodhouse exhibited at the RA from 1784-1815. He worked in London producing portraits and landscapes. He is documented in Dublin from 1809-15.

Chauncy Hare Townshend (1798-1868), poet and collector, was the only son of Henry Hare Townsend of Busbridge Hall, Godalming, Surrey and Walpole, Norfolk. He was educated at Eton and Trinity Hall, Cambridge (BA 1821). Townshend was ordained and always referred to himself as 'Rev.' in the title pages of his books, however he never practiced his vocation. In 1827 he inherited the family estates. In the following year he changed the spelling of his surname by adding an 'h'. Townshend moved in the highest social and literary circles. He was a great friend of Charles Dickens (Great Expectations is in fact dedicated to him) with whom he shared a fascination of mesmerism. Dickens was greatly upset by the death of Townshend and wrote, from America where he was then travelling, "It is not a light thing to lose such a friend". Bulwer Lytton described his life's 'Beau-deal of happiness' as 'elegant rest, travel, lots of money - and he is always ill and melancholy'. Of the many watercolours and British and continental oil paintings he bequeathed to the V&A, the majority are landscapes. He is the first identifiable British collector of early photographs, particularly landscape photographs, apart from the Prince Consort. He also collected gems and geological specimens.

This painting shows Chauncy Hare Townsend as a child of about ten years. This outdoor setting conveys the status of the sitters' parents as landowners. He sits on a rustic bench made from the natural formation of twisted branches. His younger sister, Charlotte, stands beside him. Woodhouse conveys the different characters and interests of both children in this portrait. Chauncy sits gazing out contemplatively while resting his left elbow on the arm of the bench. The book that he holds in his right hand conveys the child's interest in reading and studying. Charlotte is shown holding a puppy in her arms while its mother jumps up at her side. Placing the sitter with an animal in portraits of children occurs frequently in portraiture of this period. It follows the earlier examples of portraiture where animals are introduced to convey the caring nature of a child sitter. One of the earliest and most influential examples of this compositional feature can be found in the portrait Miss Bowles (Wallace Collection, inventory P.36) from 1775 by the famous eighteenth-century painter Sir Joshua Reynolds. As with the Reynolds portrait Miss Bowles Woodhouse represents Charlotte Townsend caressing her dog. This allows the artist to effectively convey her tender and sweet character, a qualities which would have been admired in a girl or woman in the eighteenth century time.

The simple cut of Charlotte's dress, with its wide neck, and short sleeves, worn with red slippers dates to circa 1810. Similarly Chauncy Hare Townshend's trousers are longer than at the beginning of the century and the lower collar of his shirt suggest a date of circa 1810.This portrait may very well have been made at the time that Chauncy Hare Townsend went away to school. He was at Eton from 1811-15. Showing Chauncy in this portrait as a scholarly child, involved in studying his books, would have been an appropriate aspect of the child’s character to convey.

1413-1869