Qrf: 10 S GEORGE MORLAND GEORGE MORLAND. From the water-colour sketch by T. Rowlandson GEORGE MORLAND, PAINTER . LONDON (1763—1804). BY RALPH RICHARDSON, F.R.S.E., Honorary Lay Member of the Society of Scottish Artists. LONDON : ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. PREFACE. If the celebrity of a man at his death may be gauged by the number of biographies of him which then make their appearance, George Morland must have died famous. No fewer than four ‘ Lives ’ of the artist appeared shortly after his death, written respectively by William Collins (1805), F. W. Blagdon (1806), J. Hassell (1806), and George Dawe, R.A. (1807). All four may be consulted in the British Museum, but will with difficulty be met with elsewhere. In these cir- cumstances, a new biography seems at least permissible, more particularly as George Morland still remains a famous man and numbers a greater multitude of admirers than ever. His pictures somehow appeal to the English people as no others do — perhaps because he was so thorough an Englishman himself, and be- cause he painted English subjects in a way no man ever did before or has done since. In the following Life, the biography by George Dawe, R.A., is chiefly relied on, both because it was written by an intimate friend of Morland and the VI Preface Morland family, and because it is by an artist of some standing and knowledge. No attempt in Dawe’s bio- graphy, or in these pages, is made to extenuate George Morland’s faults, but the reader will be gratified to learn that the artist’s life, which is invariably depicted by recent writers in such dark colours, possessed many good features. Like his contemporary, Robert Burns, George Morland may lay claim to that gentle forbearance which, in consideration of sterling work performed, ought always to be extended to genius. In an Appendix will be found a great deal of material, never yet published, not only illustrative of the life of Morland, but also, the author trusts, likely to be of interest and value to the collector and con- noisseur. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Introductory - II. Morland’s Birth and Boyhood III. Early Life in London and Margate IV. A Trip to France, and Marriage V. Camden Town, and Morland’s Earlier Paint- ings and Prints - V I. Paddington Glory, and Disaster VII. Leicestershire, and Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square - VIII. London Hiding-Places, and the Isle of Wight IX. ‘ Alas, Poor Yorick !’ - APPENDIX. PART I. — Paintings by George Morland. A. — Paintings by George Morland exhibited publicly in Great Britain B. — How Morland signed his Pictures C. — Critical Remarks on the Works of George Morland ; by George Dawe, R.A. i>a<;e I I I »9 29 37 5 ° 59 71 80 89 102 104 Vlll Contents D. — List of Oil Paintings and some Drawings by (or ATTRIBUTED To) GEORGE MoRLAND SOLD BY Messrs. Christie, Manson and Woods, London, FROM 1888 TO 1892 INCLUSIVE, WITH THE PRICES OBTAINED .... PA R T II. — Engravings ajter George Morland. A. — Engravings after Paintings, or Sketches, by George Morland, in the Print Room of the British Museum .... B. — Chronological Catalogue of Engravings, Etch- ings, ETC., AFTER GEORGE MoRLAND, SHOWING the Years of their Publication, etc. C. — Engravings sold by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge, Dec. 20, 1894, with the Prices OBTAINED .... Index to the Engravers of the Works of George PAGE I I 2 125 162 165 Morland LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 1. George Morland. From the Water-colour sketch by T. Rowlandson, in the British Museum. Frojithpiece. 2. Juvenile Navigators ; by George Morland. Engraved by William Ward, 1789. 3. The Farmer’s Stable, being a representation of that be- longing to the White Lion, at Paddington ; by George Morland. The original is in the National Gallery, London. Engraved by William Ward, 1792. 4. Gipsies ; by George Morland. Engraved by William Ward, 1792. 5. Selling Fish ; by George Morland. Engraved by John Raphael Smith, 1799. 6. Peasant and Pigs ; by George Morland. The original is in the author’s possession. Engraved by John Raphael Smith, 1803. ‘ Those who have visited the cottage of the peasant, who have enjoyed rural sports, or engaged in rustic occupations, will feel a peculiar charm in the works of Morland, arising from associations which the truth of his pencil never fails to excite.’ George Dawe, R.A., 1807. ‘ In all the range of British art, there arc few things better than a good Morland.’ W. E. Henley, 1889. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. Towards the close of the eighteenth century a group of British painters made themselves conspicuous by the excellence of their drawing, the purity of their style, and the elegance of their designs. Among them were Francis Wheatley, R.A., James Ward, R.A., and Henry Singleton ; but chief of all was George Morland. It has been customary to refer to the life of Morland with a sigh, and to remark that he was a most idle and dis- sipated genius. No doubt, he yielded to the convivial customs of the age in which he lived ; but to imagine that Morland’s was an idle life is to be altogether mis- taken. No man worked harder than George Morland during the twenty years or so of his artist life. If any- one doubts this, he ought to visit the Print Room of the British Museum and carefully examine the 369 examples of engravings and etchings executed after Morland ; he ought to note the enormous labour he bestowed upon studies for the animals and figures which he represented with matchless skill ; and he ought to remember the immense number of paintings which Morland produced besides those that have been engraved. He will then admit that few artists have worked harder or worked better than George Morland, and he will willingly accord him a high place among the artists not merely of Britain but of the world. 1 2 George Morland The life of George Morland corresponds somewhat with that of another genius, like him too short-lived, and yet, like him, putting into his short life infinitely more than is to be found in the longer lives of most men. Robert Burns was born in 1759, and died in 1796, aged thirty-seven. George Morland was born in 1763, and died in 1804, aged forty-one. Whilst Burns was the poet, Morland was the painter, of Nature. Both represented Nature in her homeliest garb, and yet both delighted the world with the grace and beauty of their represen- tations. There was a truth and finish in the work both of Burns and Morland which secured immediate and universal approval. In other words, both men were geniuses, and, happily, were recognised as such in their own day. Unhappily for both, what has cursed so many a genius ruined and killed them. Fortunately for British art, Morland lived at a time when English landscape was eminently picturesque. The hideous erections of the nineteenth century had not disfigured one of the most lovely countries in the world. Thatch-covered houses and cottages were the universal rule. Stone and not brick was their fabric. Quaint signs hung from bay-windowed ale-houses, whilst leafy trees, especially the oak, were everywhere. The very costumes of the people helped the artist in these good old days. Women and children wore scarlet or blue cloaks. Men and boys wore broad-brimmed hats and knee-breeches. These were the days, too, of mail coaches, with their variegated life ; of country ale- houses, with their merry scenes ; of roads constantly used by travellers on horse or foot, and not deserted as now for the iron highway. Finally, these were the days of great public excitement. The distant thunders of the French Revolution rumbled throughout England. Last of all appeared the mighty Napoleon with his designs on Britain, and a martial fever spread through- Introductory 3 out our country, and every man was a soldier in heart if not in uniform. Nor must we forget that in these days of excitement many things were done which now are uncommon or unknown. Smuggling was a great trade, and Morland loved to depict it. The Press-gang was constantly seizing its victims, as Morland’s pencil shows. And, above all, in that rude, wild, masterful, and merry age, Drink was everywhere consumed like water, and Morland rarely represents the meeting of any men without introducing some hint of the con- vivial customs of the times. In judging Morland and his pictures, let us remember all these things. Do not let us look at them through the cold, hard, severe spectacles of the end of the nine- teenth century, but rather endeavour, by a study of the preceding one, to view the subject from an eighteenth- century standpoint. Then we shall find that Burns and Morland were perhaps, after all, not so very much worse than their contemporaries ; the difference being that whilst the name, and life, and works, and fame of Burns and Morland have come down to our times, those of most of their contemporaries have not. It was during the latter half of the eighteenth century that the foundations were laid of the English School of Painting. Hogarth, our first great artist, had astounded the world by his marvellous gallery of satirical pictures, in which vice was dragged from its meanest shelter and whipped naked before the eyes of all men. Reynolds and Romney painted the portraits of the celebrities of the time with matchless grace. Gainsborough, also a great portrait painter, taught not merely England, but Europe, the art of landscape painting. Raeburn carried portrait painting to the highest perfection, and from remote Scotland found admirers all over the Continent. His compatriot, Wilkie, delighted England with his pictures of country life, displaying a delicacy and finish 4 George Morland still unequalled. In Constable another universal master of landscape arose, at whose feet Continental disciples were glad to sit. Finally, in Turner the art of painting Nature acquired a power and idealism which none but the English School has yet dis- played. Beside these great names that of Morland is entitled only to a secondary position. He was only a humble painter of humble things, and, whilst a master in his own art, did not aspire to the highest rank. Still, to be a master even in small things is better than to be a tyro in great ones ; and Continental critics, with all the English School before them and awaiting their recogni- tion, have not failed to pick out of the mass of paintings the gems of George Morland, and to set them upon a pedestal by themselves. Thus, in the extremely limited room in the Louvre devoted to what the French, with some doubt in their minds, call the ‘English School,’ a painting by Morland may be found. It is entitled ‘ The Halting-Place,’ and was offered by the periodical L'Art to the Louvre in 1881, on the sale of the Wilson Collec- tion.* It is not one of Morland’s masterpieces, but it contained sufficient talent to a French eye to entitle it to a place in one of the greatest galleries in Europe. A discussion has arisen as to the origin of Mor- land’s style. Some have compared him to Gains- borough, and certainly such a picture as ‘ The Watering- Place,’ by Gainsborough, is very similar to works by Morland, who was thirty-six years younger. Others have seen a resemblance between Morland’s style and that of the brothers Adrian and Isaac van Ostade, both natives of Haarlem during the first half of the seventeenth century. About the middle of the same century flourished Frans van Mieris, of Delft, whose * Under the title ‘La Halte’ this picture was engraved by Rajon and published at Paris (no date). Introductory 5 pictures (such as * The Tinker,’ in the Dresden Gallery) also seem prototypes of those of Morland, if vve must seek an origin of his style apart from Morland himself. But as Sir Joshua Reynolds said of Gains- borough’s landscapes, so we may say of Morland’s pictures : ‘ The excellence he attained was his own, the result of his particular observation and taste ; for this he was not indebted to the Flemish School, nor indeed to any school, for his grace was not academical or antique, but selected by himself from the great school of Nature.’ We might as profitably seek for the origin of the style of Robert Burns. The style is native to the man. Every genius carries a style of his own about with him. That is the birthright and birth- stamp of genius. Like Burns, Morland had a style of his own ; but just as Burns ‘Warbled his woodnotes wild,’ so Morland painted the rural scenes around him with a skill and felicity which only inborn and original talent could explain. No study of other men’s styles could have produced this. Morland was an eminently original painter ; and the best proof of the distinctive- ness of his style is that those who have tried to copy it have usually signally failed. Morland’s character was like his style. With refined touches, he was wild, violent, and unrestrainable. He regarded one class of society as quite as good as another, and was as happy with gypsies or smugglers as with fellow artists or fox- hunters. He was thoroughly a lover and student of Nature in all its forms ; and hence his most natural style. As his friend and biographer George Dawe, R.A., remarked, Morland ‘ seemed averse to seek knowledge in any other academy than that of Nature.’ And as Morland him- self exclaimed when chided by a friend for keeping 6 George Morland such low company as smugglers and fishermen at The Cabin, Freshwater : * Where could I find such a picture as that ’ (holding up his sketch-book), ‘ unless among the originals of The Cabin ?’ At the same time, whilst a realist, he did not descend to the gross depths of the modern school of ‘ Naturalistes.’ Like Shakespeare, he upheld the * modesty of Nature,’ and in all his enormous gallery of pictures nothing will be found that is morbid or immodest. Coarse he may have been in his conversation, rude in his manners, drunken in his life ; yet this coarse, rude, dissipated man had more regard for his art than many a refined and polished ‘ Naturaliste ’ of the present day. It was said of Sir Walter Scott that his ideas moved on such a high plane that he could not tolerate commonplace names on his estate of Abbotsford, and therefore changed them to make room for names of a finer or better-sounding class. His wizard’s touch converted ‘ Clarty Hole ’ into Abbotsford, and ‘ Toft’s Houses’ into Huntlyburn. Just so, Morland did not depict the peasantry of his day as miserable or haggard or hideous-looking persons, but imparted to them a beauty and elegance which bespoke health and con- tentment. As Burns wrote : ‘ They’re maistly wonderfu’ contented : And buirdly chiels and clever hizzies Are bred in sic a way as this is.’ Some modern painters have adopted quite a different mode. Their peasants painfully recall Burns’ lines : ‘ See yonder poor o’erlaboured wight, So abject, mean, and vile, Who begs a brother of the earth To give him leave to toil.’ The modern ‘ Naturaliste ’ will probably tell us that the latter are right, and that Morland was wrong. They Introductory 7 will admire pictures of ugly, photographically-lifelike peasants, men, women, and children, and despise the beautiful creations of Morland. Which school is right ? Surely that of Beauty. Otherwise Art will have to be learned at the feet of the modern * Naturalistes ’ rather than at those of the ancient Greeks. The latter could perfectly well have represented in marble the ugly men, women and children of their day — but did they? No ; they were too artistic to do that. True Art abhors ugliness and adores beauty. Consequently the Greeks handed down to us beautiful forms of everything, of mankind as of architecture, and the world has cherished them as among its most priceless gifts. Yet Morland could be very realistic indeed when he painted the lower animals. His pigs, goats, sheep, donkeys, dogs, monkeys, rabbits and guinea-pigs are well known to be unequalled for truth. His horses are sometimes admirable also. In the public mind, Mor- land is a painter of pigs only. Certainly he was very fond of painting pigs ; but, if the public only took he trouble to look at his pictures, they would find that in the majority of them pigs are absent. The charm of his pictures consists in the air of rural beauty, health, happiness and content everywhere present. Stalwart, sunburnt, healthy countrymen, with their handsome wives and pretty children, all seated underneath an umbrageous oak, in the vicinity of a delightfully picturesque cottage, with its heavily thatched roof and its quaint old windows — such is a picture typical of Morland, and upon such his fame rests. Into such scenes of rural bliss do not allow our ideas of Morland’s private character to enter. An artist’s public works and private character are separate things. As Tennyson said of the poet, so it may be said of the painter, that he gives ‘ the people of his best,’ and it is his public offering only the public have to do with. 8 George Morland It is not for them to pry into his secrets, to lay bare his private life, or what is worse, to mix that up with his public works. Let us, therefore, enjoy Morland's delightful rustic scenes, where often virtue, peace and purity form the only theme, and let us believe that away down somewhere in that sad heart of his lurked the love of what was pure, the knowledge of what was right, and the hatred of what was wrong. And let us always remember that, so far as his pictures prove, he worked for what was right, he represented what was pure, and he sometimes fearfully chastised what was wrong. That Morland was fully conscious of the worldly advantages secured by industry and the certain doom of dissipation is very well shown in two carefully designed pictures which were engraved in 1789, when he was twenty-six years old. One of these is entitled ‘ The Fruits of Early Industry and (Economy,’ and repre- sents a merchant counting money, whilst a lady and children are at his side. The scene is one of prosperity, happiness and wealth, and finds its counterpart in the companion picture entitled ‘The Effects of Youthful Extravagance and Idleness.’ Here a man, two women, and a boy are represented in penury and distress ; and if anyone seemed to know what dissipation led to, it was evidently the painter who portrayed this wretched scene. The young moralist of twenty-six was, un- fortunately, destined to forget his own teachings, and when he designed these two pictures he little knew that his own life was yet ‘ To point a moral and adorn a tale.’ Nor are these pictures the only instance of his early moralizing, for in 1790 he executed other two of a similar kind. In one, entitled ‘The Miseries of Idle- ness,’ he represented a family in poverty. In the other, Introductory 9 entitled ‘ The Comforts of Industry,’ he depicted a happy family circle. But the sacredness of hearth and home was not his only field of morality. The temptation and fall of female innocence was often a subject. In 1788, when only twenty-five years old, he produced two pictures of this kind. One is entitled ‘ Seduction,’ and represents a girl reading a letter, whilst a man bribes her woman companion. The other is entitled ‘ Credulous Inno- cence,’ and shows us a woman tempting a girl, whilst a man awaits the result outside. There is also Morland’s harrowing tale of Laetitia, told in six pictures, which represent, besides other scenes, the once happy girl eloping, being deserted, and returning penitent to her parents. Yes, Morland was a Hogarth in his way, and could depict the Road to Ruin quite as faithfully as he. Morland could also rise to the level of great political events. When emancipation of the slaves was being discussed in France and England, his powerful pictures were issued, showing the kindly welcome extended by Africans to European sailors, and the brutal treatment they often received at the latter’s hands. His ‘ African Hospitality ’ was published at Paris during the first Republic, under the title ‘ L’Africain Hospitalier,’ whilst his ‘ Slave Trade ’ appeared as a companion picture, under the title ‘Traite des Negres.’ These pictures must have influenced public opinion both in England and France, and heralded emancipation. Although we live in an age of literary whitewash, there is no use attempting that process with George Morland. All we can claim for him is that he was a man like his contemporary Robert Burns ; doing, like him, splendid work ; leading, like him, an irregular life ; and coming, like him, to an untimely end. The Scots have got over the frailties of their great poet, and he io George Morland now holds a place in their hearts as good, at least, as that of his antithesis, John Knox. They do not allow stories of the ‘ wee short hours ayont the twal ’ to mar the ecstasy of their enjoyment of their national bard’s lyrics. When will Englishmen forget the frailties of George Morland, and look lovingly on his pictures, without recalling his career ? CHAPTER II. morland’s birth and boyhood. George Morland was the heir to a baronetcy, which he never claimed. The baronetcy in question was that of Morland of Sulhamstead Banister, created July 18, 1660, and extinct in November, 1716. The first baronet was Samuel Morland, son of the Rev. Thomas Morland, Rector of Sulhamstead, in Berkshire.* This Samuel Morland was a very remarkable man, and had an extraordinary career. Born about 1625, he was educated at Winchester School and Magdalen College, Cambridge. In 1653 he accompanied the embassy of Bulstrode Whitelocke to Sweden, and became assistant to Secretary Thurloe. Shortly afterwards, Oliver Cromwell sent him to Savoy, to remonstrate with the Duke for permitting the persecution of the Waldenses. On returning home, Morland published his ‘ History of the Evangelical Churches of the Valleys of Piemont ; with a Relation of the late Bloody Massacre in 1655, and a Narrative of all the following transactions.’ This work was published in folio, at London, in 1658. But it was as a mechanician and natural philosopher that Samuel Morland became most famous. The im- portance and variety of his inventions are such that, if true, his name must stand among the greatest bene- * Burke’s ‘Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England,’ 1838. George Morland 1 2 factors of mankind, for to him is attributed the invention of the speaking-trumpet, the fire-engine, and the steam- engine. In every little domestic detail he showed his strong inventive and mechanical turn. At Vauxhall House, where he resided, the side table in the dining- room was supplied with a large fountain, and the glasses stood under its refreshing streams. Even his travelling carriage was fitted up with extraordinary clockwork mechanism, by means of which he could, en route, make soup, broil steaks, or roast a joint of meat. Samuel Morland was created a baronet in 1660, and rented Vauxhall House in 1675. In 1684 he purchased a house at Hammersmith, subsequently known as Walbrough House, and he presented to the public a well adjoining this house, having the following tablet affixed : ‘Sir Samuel Morland’s Well, the use of which he freely gives to all persons, hoping that none who shall come after him will adventure to incur God’s displeasure by denying a cup of cold water (provided at another’s cost and not their own) to either neighbour, stranger, passenger, or poor thirsty beggar. July 8th, 1695.’ Sir Samuel Morland was married four times. His first wife was a Frenchwoman, daughter of Daniel de Milleville, Baron de Boessey. His second wife was the daughter of Sir Roger Harsnet, Kt., and his third was daughter of Mr. George Fielding. His fourth wife proved his ruin, for, by her extravagance and profligacy, she beggared his estate and destroyed his peace of mind. He obtained a divorce in 1688, and died in impoverished circumstances in 1696, leaving a son, at whose death, in 1716, the Baronetcy became extinct. Morland’s Birth and Boyhood i 3 If Sir Samuel Morland was the ancestor of George Morland, there was certainly an analogy between them in this, that they both had famous careers, did much good work, and had most unhappy ends. George Morland did not, however, come upon the scene till forty-seven years after the Morland baronetcy had ex- pired. He was born in London on June 26, 1763, and belonged to an eminently artistic family, his father, Henry Robert Morland, and his grandfather, George Henry Morland, being both well-known painters. Morland’s grandfather ‘ lived,’ says Mr. Redgrave,* ‘on the south side of St. James’s Square, painted genre subjects, and found encouragement.’ Many of his works are engraved, such as * The Pretty Ballad Singer,’ by Watson, 1769 ; ‘ The Fair Nun Unmasked,’ 1769 ; ‘ The Oyster Woman,’ by Philip Dawe. Mor- land’s grandfather died after 1789. Morland’s father, Henry Robert Morland, was a much-respccted and most respectable man, and had at one time enjoyed such success in life that he occupied the house in Leicester Square which was afterwards the residence of the great Sir Joshua Reynolds, Presi- dent of the Royal Academy. Misfortune seemed, how- ever, to dog the footsteps of the Morland family; and when George Morland was born, his father was occupy- ing a house in the Haymarket, and had lost money by imprudent speculations. Henry Robert Morland, says Mr. Redgrave, ‘painted a portrait of George III., which was engraved by Houston ; a portrait of Garrick as “ Richard III.,” which is in the Garrick Club ; and at Lord Mansfield’s, Caenwood, are portraits in oil by him, called the two beautiful Miss Gunnings, but are more probably from his own daughters. They are both, as was his manner, employed, the one in washing, the other ironing.’ * ‘Dictionary of Artists of the English School,’ 1874. H George Morland George Morland’s mother was, like his father, a most excellent person, and also an artist exhibiting at the Royal Academy. If ever boy was well brought up, George Morland was. His parents were most anxious to see him grow up a steady, well-educated, and thoroughly reliable young man, and spared no pains to improve his mind and character. He received an excellent education, and from the age of seven showed such a talent for sketching that his father had no difficulty in choosing his profession. Besides, were not his grandfather, father, and mother all artists ? At the same time, so jealously did his parents guard him, that he was allowed no playmates of his own age, and even afterwards he was not permitted to study at the Royal Academy’s schools, in case his morals should be subverted. Always of a lively and somewhat mischievous turn of mind, George Morland when a child used to amuse himself by painting objects on the floor for the pleasure of seeing his parents stoop to pick them up. At the age of fifteen he exhibited, as ‘ Master G. Morland,’ at the Royal Academy * two landscapes, stained drawings.’ From the age of fourteen he was articled to his father for seven years, and worked very hard indeed. He painted all day, devoting the summer evenings to read- ing, and the winter nights to drawing by lamplight. Morland studied anatomy, both of man and the horse, during his apprenticeship, so the criticism that he did not know the science loses weight. His talent was such that he did not require to exercise much of the toil of ordinary artists. ‘ So just was his eye,’ says his biographer and friend George Dawe, R.A., ‘ and so remarkable his facility of execution, that he began his chalk drawings from plaster casts without previous sketching, and seldom had occasion to alter ; consequently he produced them with great rapidity.’ Morland’s Birth and Boyhood *5 This facility may account for the extraordinary number of his works, and for the fact that, in spite of reckless living, he was always able to throw off pictures suffi- cient to enable him to pay his way. Whilst apprenticed to his father he painted little from Nature, but he copied Dutch, Flemish, and German landscapes, and prints representing sea-views, after Vernet. He also copied Gainsborough’s pictures of pigs and of fighting dogs. As has been already said, modern critics have discovered in Morland a follower both of the Ostades and of Gainsborough ; but whilst it is quite true that he studied and copied their works, his art is distinct from both, and under no circum- stances could a painting by Morland be mistaken for one either by the Ostades or Gainsborough. Some of Morland’s earliest original works were very far indeed from the school of either Gainsborough or Ostade. They consisted of a series of paintings illus- trating Spenser’s ‘ Fairy Queen,’ which were executed during the close of his apprenticeship. His father was charmed with them, and encouraged him to illustrate various ballads also, such as * Auld Robin Gray,’ and ‘ Margaret’s Ghost.’ Morland’s father was an excellent man, and a most well-meaning Mentor, but his notion of art was very different from that which his son eventually displayed with so much success. The old man loved pictures in which the painter devoted his attention to minute details and high finish, and Gerard Dow is said to have been his chief favourite. No doubt, he thoroughly grounded his son in such a style of painting ; but fortunately the latter broke away from these tenets, and, giving full rein to his nature in Art as in everything else, he produced works which the world would never have seen had he reflected only his father’s teaching. Permitted no youthful associates, Morland spent his George Morland 1 6 leisure in reading, violin-playing, and country rambles. So anxious was his father to inculcate in his son habits of industry that, immediately after their mid-day meal, paper was laid on the table, and the afternoon was devoted to drawing. His son would sometimes pro- duce two or three landscapes during the afternoon ; and we are assured by his biographer, Dawe, that these early attempts, which began from the age of twelve onwards, evince careful drawing and a good style. Morland’s father was a friend of the father of Flaxman, the celebrated sculptor, who thus made George Mor- land’s acquaintance ; but the latter never cared for young Flaxman, as their tastes and habits were entirely dissimilar. The only person with whom Morland’s parents would trust him was Mr. Philip Dawe, painter and mezzotint engraver, who had been articled to Morland’s father, and was the father of Morland’s biographer, George Dawe ; and it was owing to this circumstance that the latter became acquainted with the details of Morland’s early career. As George Dawe, and not Philip (as stated in one place by Mr. Redgrave), was Morland’s biographer, and as his name will frequently occur in these pages, a few words may be devoted to him. He was born in London in 1781, and began life as an engraver, but at the age of twenty-one commenced painting, and in 1803 received the gold medal of the ftoyal Academy. His ‘ Life of George Morland, with Remarks on his Works,’ was published in London in 1807, and possesses consider- able literary merit. It is, however, very scarce. He was elected A.R.A. in 1809, and R.A. in 1814. He travelled, after Waterloo, with the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and was commissioned by the Emperor of Russia to paint portraits of celebrated Russians who took part in the war against Napoleon. Dawe resided in Russia till 1829, when he returned to London, where Morland’s Birth and Boyhood J 7 he died in that year. He was a splendid example of a steady, successful, commonplace man, and was as unlike George Morland as Boswell was unlike Dr. Johnson. Morland’s wonderful memory is commented on by Dawe, who remarks that, ‘ although he never drew upon the spot, he was able to design, from recollection alone, most objects he had seen.’ An illustration of young Morland’s memory was furnished after a walk with his companion, Mr. Philip Dawe. They had traversed Blackheath, Shooter’s Hill, and Woolwich Warren, and returned through Charlton, by the Sand- pits, and Hanging Wood, a place which Morland con- sidered the most romantic within easy reach of London. About three months afterwards he made two drawings of the Sandpits, and delineated so admirably the men digging and loading the carts, barrows, and asses, that his companion, Mr. Dawe, could not believe he had not sketched them on the spot. Although he had many influential friends, Morland’s father seems to have entrusted his son to Mr. Dawe, senior, alone. George was, to his father, like a precious jewel that could be lent only to a friend in whom he could place the most implicit confidence. It would have been better for the boy had his father allowed him to mingle in the brilliant circle which he himself occa- sionally joined, for he numbered among his friends some of the most distinguished and talented men in London, such as Lords Grosvenor, Scarsdale, and Fortescue, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and David Garrick. Of undoubted respectability, yet pedantic, narrow- minded, and inclined to avarice, Morland’s father presented the exact contrast of the son he fondly imagined he was training in the image of himself. George Morland, a wild-flower by nature, was reared and stifled in a hot-house ; and it is not surprising 2 1 8 George Morland that when the wild-flower left the hot-house it developed into a plant of an extraordinary kind. Accordingly, in estimating his character, it must not be forgotten that George Morland had a most unnatural bringing-up. Strong and robust by nature, he was trained as if he was a puny dwarf. Free in mind as in touch, he was cramped in a pedantic school which gave no play to his imagination. Guarded like a prisoner, he longed for liberty. Breathing prison air, he contracted unhealthy habits and ideas. His whole education was a mistake, a mistake committed, as most mistakes are, by the best-intentioned people and with the most beneficent motives. We ought therefore to remember that, so far as his youthful upbringing was concerned, Morland was the victim of a mistake, a mis- take committed by his loving parents, who desired to produce a son whose industry, talent, and character would be a credit to his family, and who, instead of this, produced one whose faults of character were so great that they have to be apologized for on the rather lame plea that the man who committed them was a genius. JUVENILE NAVIGATORS. By George Morland. Engraved by William Ward, 1789. CHAPTER III. EARLY LIFE IN LONDON AND MARGATE. Morland’s apprenticeship ended in 1784, when he was twenty-one years old. He was then a free man. The unnatural and pedantic yoke to which he had been sub- ject was taken off, and, like a wild young creature released from thraldom, he rushed into every form of liberty. Possessed of an admirable constitution and of health which never failed, he could take part in orgies which would have destroyed the feeble. Blessed with a hand- some face and figure, he attracted the attention of the fair sex. A musician, and gifted with a fine voice, he was a good fellow at all convivial meetings. An artist and a keen observer of human nature, he felt it almost a duty to go where that nature could be seen under all possible phases. A man of wit and humour, he had no difficulty in finding companions, although he certainly exercised no prudence in selecting them. Such was George Moriand during that most perilous period in a young man’s career, when, strong, confident, and ignorant, he is launched in a great city on the battle of life. He was probably not worse than many other young men. Perhaps he only echoed the senti- ment attributed to the great Reformer in his youth : ‘ Wer nicht liebt Wein, Weib, und Gesang, Der bleibt ein Narr sein Leben lang.’ 20 George Morland He received a flattering proposal from George Romney, the celebrated portrait-painter, offering to take him on articles for three years after his father’s apprenticeship had expired. But Morland declared that one experience of articles had frightened him for the rest of his life. He rejected a proposal which might have led him to fortune, and might have preserved him from falling into low and indolent company. He had also proposals made to him by Mr. Gress, drawing- master to the Royal Family, proposals which most artists would have leaped at, but which Morland declined. What he wanted was freedom — freedom to do whatever he liked. He had never known freedom before. He resolved to have it now. One story of how he occupied this freedom may be related. Instead of spending his evenings at home beneath the watchful eyes of his parents, he now fre- quented such places as the Cheshire Cheese in Russell Court. On one occasion, he wished his com- panions good-night and left about ten o’clock. He was not heard of again for a couple of days. On the third night he returned to the Cheshire Cheese, and explained the cause of his absence. When he left his comrades, he, instead of going home, embarked on the Gravesend hoy and reached that place at two o’clock on the fol- lowing morning. Here he met a carpenter and a sailor, with whom he walked to Chatham, five miles distant. The sailor and he then adjourned to a public-house and drank purl* and gin till seven in the morning. After this they embarked in a small vessel and sailed to the North Foreland, where they were nearly wrecked. Morland got back to Chatham alive, however, and next day returned to Gravesend with eighteenpence in * '■Purl: a beverage made by warming a pint of ale with a quarter of a pint of milk, and adding some sugar and a wine- glassful of gin, rum, or brandy.'— ‘Chambers’ Encyclopaedia,’ 1891. Early Life in London and Margate 21 his pocket, a sum sufficient to enable him to return to London and narrate his adventures to his comrades at the Cheshire Cheese. But Morland was to learn that freedom abused may end in drudgery, after all. Youthful freaks like this emptied his pockets, and his father now expected him to support himself by his admitted ability as an artist. Morland had no love of his father’s dwelling, just as the wolf in /Esop’s fable objected to the comforts of the sheepdog when he spied the latter’s collar. Listen- ing, therefore, to a crafty dealer, Morland left his father’s house and removed to an attic which the dealer had, at his own expense, hired in Martlett’s Court, Bow Street. As may be imagined, the dealer did not do this for nothing. On the contrary, he regarded Morland as his slave, and kept him hard at work on pictures for which he paid him only sufficient to keep him from starvation. The dealer (who was an Irishman) sent a boy to Morland with his scanty meals, and on our artist once venturing to ask for five shillings for some sketches, exclaimed: ‘Blood an’ ’oons, man! D’ye think I am mad or made of money ? There is half a crown for you ; and you may think yourself very well off with that. By Jasus, you have not done half a crown’s worth of work to-day.’ In truth, Morland had only exchanged one form of servitude for another. He had escaped from a pedantic father and fallen into the clutches of an irascible and avaricious Irishman. He often observed, with bitter- ness, that he was now ‘ browbeaten and used like a Turk.’ At the same time, the hard master he was under got some capital work out of him, for we are told that he painted a sufficient number of pictures to fill a room. The Irish dealer charged half a crown admis- sion to this very early ‘ Morland Picture Gallery,’ and among other purchasers was Lord Grosvenor, who thus 22 George Morland added to his picture-gallery several of the first pictures Morland ever painted. Whilst Morland was in this woeful house of bondage, he received a letter from a wealthy lady named Mrs, Hill, who resided at Margate, asking him to come down and paint some portraits for her. Joyfully he accepted this invitation ; and, without giving his Irish taskmaster any notice of his intentions, went off on horseback to Margate without delay. The runaway slave left his master to pay the rent of his empty prison-house. In Margate, Morland found an Elysium. His patroness was most generous and kind, and intro- duced him to all her friends. This is his first letter to his friend, Philip Dawe, from Dover, after reaching Margate, showing that Morland actively looked round the district, and did not settle in one place : ‘Ship Inn, Dover, ‘ Friday. ‘ Dawe, ‘ I arrived at Margate on Wednesday, surveyed the town on Thursday, and drank tea at Dover on Friday. Here is one of the pleasantest spots in the world ; a fine view of the clift and castle, with the pier and shipping; opposite are the Calais clifts, which seem so very near as to appear not above three or four miles over. A very large, pretty town is Dover, and looks something like London. But of all the horrible places that can be imagined, Sandwich is the worst. ’Tis very likely I shall go to France with Mrs. Hill ; she is talking about it. My compliment:; to the Con- gress,* except that Jew-looking fellow. I have swam my horse in the sea several times. I should be glad of an answer. ‘ I am, yours, etc., ‘ Mori. and.’ * A smoking club at the Cheshire Cheese. Early Life in London and Margate 23 Of course, he fell in love. Morland was the last man in the world to omit to do that. Mrs. Hill’s lady’s- maid was his inamorata, and, according to a letter he wrote to Dawe, she was ‘ one of the sweetest creatures that was ever seen by man.’ Her height was no objec- tion. ‘ She is upwards of six feet in height, and so extremely handsome that I have fell desperately in love, and, what is charming, I find it returned. She has not been long come from Liverpool, and is but seventeen years of age.’ This letter was written from Margate in August, 1785, so Morland was then twenty-two years of age. He stated to Dawe that he would like to marry the lady’s- maid at once; but was deterred by Mrs. Hill’s announce- ment of her intention to go to Paris in September, the month following the date of his letter. However, as will be shown, he did not forget his first love, but remained attached to her for some time. Such amorous dalliance may, perhaps, be reflected in his paintings at this period, for during tnis year were published at London two stipple engravings by T. Gaugain after Morland. One was entitled ‘ How sweet’s the love that meets return,’ and the other, ‘The Lass of Living- stone.’ These fine engravings are among the earliest in the long series contained in the Print Room of the British Museum, as far as dates give us a clue to their publication.* With regard to the life led by Morland at Margate, he is quite frank, as a letter to Dawe shows. He says : ‘ Now I will inform you how I amuse myself. First, I get up in the morning, after being called several times. ’Tis generally about ten o’clock. Then I take a gulp of gin, as I have got some made me a present. Then I gang me down to breakfast with a young gentleman, some nobleman’s brother ; but I forget the * A large number of prints after Morland have no date. 24 George Morland name. I was to find my own breakfast, or to go and breakfast with Mrs. Hill ; but as he invites me, ’tis more convenient to have it in the house. At four o’clock dinner is sent to me : after that comes my hairdresser ; then dress and go and take a little ride upon the sands, if ’tis a fine day ; if not fine, why, then I only ride up the town, down Church-field, through Cecil Square, and into the stable again. Then I drink tea with my companion and sup at Mrs. Hill’s, though these two nights I have not been out of doors by reason of it being so stormy. There was a violent storm of wind this morning, and the sea was covered with breakers. There is plenty of diversion here for the polite world, such as dancing, coffee-houses, bathing-houses, play- houses, etc.’ No reference is made here to the portraits which his patroness specially brought him down from London to paint. She recommended him, however, freely to her friends, and in consequence he was kept very busy and made a good deal of money. Among other portraits, he painted that of Mr. Wedderburn, afterwards Lord Loughborough and the Master of Ceremonies ; but 4 gin and purl ’ influenced the painter too much one day, and he ruined his lordship’s embroidered coat by allowing the melted tallow of a lighted candle to fall upon it. Morland, however, got tired of Mrs. Hill and 4 the society of her old maids ’ (as he called them), and rushed back to London for a holiday. He entered the Cheshire Cheese shaking a purse of guineas in the faces of his old comrades, and declaring that he could make as many as he liked. There was, besides, a strong attraction for him in London at this time. His charmer was now settled there, and lived with her brother. Calling a coach, Morland asked one of his friends to accompany him and see the finest girl in the Early Life in London and Margate 25 world. They arrived in state at the fair one’s house, and she condescended to go out with Morland next day. He introduced her to any of his friends whom he met, and shortly afterwards he left for Margate. Arrived there, he took a lodging for himself in a house, part of which was occupied by Mr. Sherborne, a brother of Lord Digby. Mr. Sherborne having heard Morland play on the violin, an instrument on which he also per- formed, and liking his appearance, invited him to play violin duets with him. Morland’s charm of manner was such that all succumbed to it. As his friend Dawe remarks : * He was indeed blessed with that happy art which unlocks every door and every bosom.’ Mr. Sherborne not merely accompanied him on the violin, but took drawing lessons from him and ordered several pictures. It was not only in such refined society that Morland chose to shine. His boisterous, convivial nature drove him to the King’s Head, the Margate representative of the Cheshire Cheese, and there he would sing many a merry stave, and play on his violin as well. Fond of riding, he naturally found his way to the racecourse, and soon donned the jockey’s cap. ‘ You must know,’ he wrote to Dawe, ‘ I have commenced a new business of jockey to the races. I was sent for to Mount Pleasant by the gentlemen of the turf to ride a race for the silver cup, as I am thought to be the best horseman here. I went there, and was weighed, and afterwards dressed in the tight striped jacket and jockey’s cap, and lifted on the horse, led to the start, placed in the rank and file ; three parts of the people out of four laid great bets that I should win the cup, etc. Then the drums beat, and we started. ’Twas a four-mile heat, and the first three miles I could not keep the horse behind them, being so spirited an animal. By that means he exhausted himself, and I soon had the mortification to 26 George Morland see them come galloping past me, hissing and laughing, whilst I was spurring his guts out.’ Then followed a terrible row. The enraged backers of Morland’s horse resolved to chastise the artist -jockey for losing the race. A mob of horsemen rode at him and commenced to thrash him. They reckoned, how- ever, without their man. ‘ Finding I could not get away,’ says Morland, ‘ I directly pulled off my jacket, laid hold of the bridle, and offered battle to the man who began hrst, though he was big enough to eat me. Several gentlemen rode in, and all the mob turned over to me, and I was led away in triumph with shouts.’ He did not always fare so well. At another race at Margate he rode for a gentleman, and won the heat so completely that, when he arrived at the winning-post, the other horses were nearly half a mile behind. The scene which followed is best told in Morland’s own words, and shows how badly conducted English races often were during the last century, those people who lost seeming to wish to wreak their vengeance upon either the jockey they backed or the jockey who won the race. Morland was now in the latter capacity. ‘ Upon which,’ he says, ‘ near 400 sailors, smugglers, fishermen, etc., set upon me with sticks, stones, wag- goners’ whips, fists, etc. ; and one man, an innkeeper here, took me by the thigh and pulled me off the horse. I could not defend myself. The sounds I heard all round were : “ Kill him !” “ Strip him !” “ Throw him in the sea!” “Cut off his large tail!” and a hundred other sentences rather worse than the first. I got from them once and ran into the booth. Some men threw me out amongst the mob again. I was then worse than ever. Michiner rode in to me, dismounted, and took me up in his arms half beat to pieces, kept crying to the mob to keep back, and that his name was Michiner and he would notice them. At last, a party Early Life in London and Margate 27 of light-horsemen and several gentlemen and their ser- vants, some postboys, hairdressers, bakers, and several other people I knew, armed themselves with sticks, etc., ran in to my assistance, and brought me a horse, though the mob pressed so hard ’twas long before I could mount. After I was mounted, and got to some distance, I missed my hat. At last I saw a man waving a hat at me. I rode to him and found him to be a person I knew very well. He found means to get it me whilst two sailors were fighting who should have it.’ That night, at the King’s Head, Morland was rather a hero, for his comrades there held in horror the ‘ parcel of blackguards ’ who had been laying sixpences and shillings against the horse Morland rode, and then, when he won, tried to avenge their losses on him. After ‘ three crowns’ worth of punch at the King’s Head,’ he and his friends sallied forth to chastise some of the blackguards, and Morland had a very disagree- able encounter with a stout sailor who carried a bludgeon. Our artist had a stick with a sword in it, and was about to draw it, when some of his companions arrived to his rescue, and the sailor * got his gruel.’ Philip Dawe, a member of the Congress at the Cheshire Cheese, received these letters and pre- served them. What he thought of Morland we do not know, but his son George Dawe, in his Bio- graphy, looks sadly on Morland’s doings at Margate, and forgets that frolics and follies are the accom- paniments of youth, and that Morland was at that time probably no worse than most young men of his day. What Dawe was himself at the period of ‘ Sturm und Drang ’ in a young man’s life, history does not record. Without denying the blemishes in Mor- land’s character, we should remember his peculiar position. A jealously guarded boy, he is suddenly launched on life as an artist, mingling with the gay George Morland 28 companions young artists generally associate with. Athletic and fond of sport, a first-rate horseman and pressed to ride in races, he becomes acquainted with a class of people which never did good to any young man. It is certainly not surprising that Morland deteriorated under these influences, and developed habits which embittered the rest of his life. At the same time, there is no evidence that he was worse than other young men who were of artistic and sporting instincts. The popularity which he enjoyed at Mar- gate showed good qualities of itself ; and the simplicity and candour of Morland’s letters to Dawe evince a boyish love of fun and frolic which only precisians would censure. CHAPTER IV. A TRIP TO FRANCE, AND MARRIAGE. The year 1785 proved an interesting one in our artist's career. He was twenty-two years of age, and whilst he had painted a great deal, he was also known to the print- sellers by the two engravings already mentioned. For- tunately for him, his mind was to be broadened by a foreign tour. It was not an extensive one, for in these days travelling facilities were extremely small. Morland embarked on this voyage with much enthusiasm and plenty of good resolution^ The following letter to Dawe shows the state of society at Margate at this time, and that Morland was busily engaged as an artist there, and looked forward to profiting by a tour abroad : ‘ Last Monday week almost everybody in Margate was drunk, by reason of the Freemasons’ meeting and fox-hunt, and all my male sitters disappointed me.* Some sent me word they were engaged ; some not very well ; others could not get their hair dressed. But I found it was one general disorder. This was next morning. * I shall be able to makef many dresses in France, as we are going to a town of more resort than Paris, * ‘The drinking of the last century went far beyond anything ever reached. All classes alike drank. They began to drink hard somewhere about the year 1730, and they kept it up for a hundred years with great spirit.’ — Walter Besant’s ‘ London,’ 1892. f Paint. 3 ° George Morland considering ’tis so little a way from Calais. There are six hundred English families in it already. I shall make many drawings of their inns, etc.’ On a stormy day in October, 1785, Mrs. Hill, accom- panied by Morland, sailed from Dover to Calais. If anyone desires to know how people in those days crossed that angry sea, they should look at a picture by Turner in the National Gallery, entitled ‘The English Packet entering Calais.’ Its load of suffering humanity, all cooped together in an open boat, proves that it required some pluck in those days to travel. Morland and his friend, however, had a singularly rapid passage. The following letter was written by him to a London chum from the Port Royal Inn, St. Omer, October 28, 1785 : ‘ Dicky, ‘ I doubt if you will be able to read this, as the P'rench pens are so bad, the legs of the tables so uneven, and the paper so coarse. I am now sitting, by myself, over a bottle of claret, in a great room about sixteen feet high, starved with cold ; a fireplace as large as a moderate room in London, but has not, by the colour of it, felt the warmth of a flame these dozen years ; a parcel of French waiters who, as I cannot talk French, impose upon me at pleasure : these are not half my grievances, but too numerous to write about at present. We set out from Dover last Monday at one in the forenoon, and had the most amazing quick passage known these twelve years. ’Twas no longer than one hour and thirty-two minutes from pier to pier. The sea ran very high, and frequently washed quite over us. Mrs. Hill came down below to avoid the spray, and she was no sooner down than a great sea poured through one of the weather-ports and wetted her from head to foot. I was the second sick on board, N A Trip to France, and Marriage 31 and the first that got well. After my sickness began and I had a good , I went down, tumbled into my hammock, and slept sound midst straining and groan- ing. However, I slept till I heard “ Welcome to Calais, gentlemen and ladies !” I flew out upon deck, and was surprised to find myself surrounded by Frenchmen, and quite a different country about me. Extraordinary, everything should be so different in so short a distance as twenty-one miles !’ The letter then proceeds to narrate how they landed and found a coach which M. Dessein, the same maitre d'holel as Sterne speaks of, had sent to bring them to his inn, the Hotel d’Angleterre. They passed through the fishmarket, which put them in mind of Billingsgate, ‘as the women looked just as fat and saucy.’ As for the little French boys, they insulted our travellers by loud cries, showing their contempt for the English race. When they arrived at the inn, their first business was to get dry, and then Morland’s curiosity led him to walk about the town. Coming down the Rue du Rem- part, some soldiers were flying a kite, and Morland, not observing its string, tripped over it, and * got abused in all sorts of French jargon.’ With regard to his bed at the inn, he remarks it ‘ was so very high, I was obliged to jump into it.’ Next morning, after breakfast, our travellers set out for St. Omer in a coach and four. Arriving at apart- ments there that afternoon, Morland called upon many of the English he had known at Margate, and about eight o’clock (very early for him !) ‘went to bed in a room as big as Westminster Hall, with two beds.’ ‘ ’Tis rather impossible,’ he remarks, ‘ to find a bed- room in France with only one bed. So that makes good what Sterne says in the conclusion of his 3 2 George Morland “Sentimental Journey”: and 'tis very common for gentle- men and ladies to lay in the same room at the inns.’ That Morland’s talent as a portrait-painter had pre- ceded him to St. Omer is evident from the following remark : ‘ I have very pressing invitations to stay and paint portraits by many gentlemen and marquisses here ; and there are already upwards of 600 English families, besides many more daily coming, all people of fortune ; upon which I have promised to return as soon as possible, and I have already many commissions to bring with me from England.’ This does not show any want of industry on the part of Morland, who seemed willing enough to work when employed. For- tunately, however, he did not develop into a mere money-making portrait-painter, the travelling photo- grapher of those days, but obeyed the voice of his own nature, wild and uncivilized though that might be, and devoted himself afterwards to rustic scenes, which now are cherished, whilst all his portraits are forgotten. He made numerous sketches of the people he saw during this French tour. Dawe tells us that ‘ his sketches made in France were extremely interesting from the power he possessed of seizing and displaying, in a lively manner, the peculiarities of the French people.’ He seems to have liked France very much. ‘ ’Tis a doubt,’ he wrote, ‘if ever I come to England any more, ’tis such a delightful country [France]. No danger of robbing, and travelling very cheap ; and a person may live very well for £30 per ann., and many have not more — people who ran away in the Rebellion [of 1745] and have continued here ever since .... I bought a fine satin waistcoat yesterday for a quarter price of what it would have cost in London. Leathern breeches are only half a guinea per pair, shoes three shillings, cotton stockings half a crown ; worsted stock- ings are dear and very bad. They make them of one A Trip to France, and Marriage 33 piece, without any distinction for the foot. That must be formed by putting the stocking on.’ What made him leave France, which he liked so well, is not stated. Dawe hints that it was his restless disposi- tion. He left St. Omer on board of a passenger barge which plied between Calais and St. Omer, for the price of twenty-four sous, equal to one shilling. The only objec- tionable company in these barges consisted of ‘ a set of friars called Roquilets, the most nasty set of people in the world. They never change their clothes until they drop off their backs ; when they are so lousy, ’tis impossible they can bear them on themselves; they then send them to be baked, to kill the lice. The use of this set of fellows is, in case of a fire, they are to venture their lives in putting it out. They never put on any linen, and only dress in a sort of coarse brown flannel. They are very numerous, and have a pretty good college.’ But these well-educated, although filthy, religious firemen were not the only curiosities in France at that time. ‘ There is very little to be heard in the town except drums and bells, and little to be seen except priests and soldiers, as the genteel people never walk out on foot, and there are only two coaches for hire. You may have fourpenny fares. They only charge accord- ing to the distance. The women never have any hats, and in the hardest rain they only throw their gowns over their heads.’ The gown was used by these French- women as the plaid was by Scotswomen of the same period and even at the present day. That Morland did not forget his friends of the Cheshire Cheese is proved by his remark : * Upon my arrival in England, I shall come up to London, and shall certainly pay Congress a visit and give them some sort of a treat for supper.’ So, in spite of all the fine company he met and the commissions he received, both in Margate and St. 3 34 George Morland Omer, he returned to London, and doubtless was present at many merry meetings of Congress at the Cheshire Cheese. But matrimonial projects also engaged his mind. His Jenny, of Margate, was still in London, residing with her brother. Morland proposed to and was accepted by her, and the banns of marriage were duly published. Then dismal forebodings overwhelmed him. He felt he had no established income on which to keep a wife. How was he to get free from his engagement ? Dawe tells us that Morland prevailed on a military friend to call on Jenny’s brother and inform him that Morland had come to the conclusion that neither his health nor his circumstances would permit him to con- clude the marriage. At the same time, if the brother and sister took a different opinion, Morland was wait- ing at Gray’s Inn Coffee House ready to fulfil his engagement. Jenny’s brother went to Morland, con- demned his conduct, and broke off the match. It was, perhaps, fortunate for Morland, as an artist, that this occurred, for shortly afterwards he made the ac- quaintance of, and married, a lady whose brother was an eminent engraver, and was destined to give to Morland’s pictures world-wide celebrity. This brother was William Ward, who then lived at Kensal Green, on the Harrow Road. Morland paid him, at first, frequent visits, and latterly lodged at his house. Ward was a teacher of engraving, as well as an engraver, and among his pupils was his brother, James Ward, afterwards a Royal Academician, who first became known by his mezzo- tints. James Ward was a great admirer of Morland’s style of painting, and wished to become his apprentice, but Morland declined. However, several of James Ward’s paintings were sold as the productions of Mor- land. In 1794, James Ward was appointed painter and engraver to the Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV.). The Vernon Gallery contained his fine picture of ‘ De Tabley Park,’ Cheshire, but his masterpiece is A Trip to France, and Marriage 35 said to be the large picture of an Alderney bull, in the National Gallery, painted to rival Paul Potter’s bull. Morland had entered a truly artistic milieu. An artist himself, he now lived with those to whom Art was, intellectually and professionally, everything. The Wards were friends of his family, and no more suitable match could be conceived for Morland than his friend William Ward’s sister Anne. He was married to her in July, 1786, and, doubtless, never was marriage con- sidered more happy or more prudent. Pretty Anne Ward, however, little knew the character of her mate, or what vicissitudes she would yet experience through her connection with him. William Ward apparently could not live alone, and, becoming enamoured of Morland's sister, Maria, pro- posed to her and was accepted. Their marriage followed Morland’s in about a month ; and, as if to mark the perfect friendship and happiness occasioned by this double marriage, the young couples took one house between them and began married life under the brightest auspices. Two pictures by Morland were inspired, perhaps, by this, the happiest period of his existence. One is entitled ‘ Valentine’s Day,’ and the other ‘ The Happy Family.’ Fine engravings of both were executed by J. Dean, and were published at London during the year following Morland’s marriage. It was whilst living with William Ward, shortly be- fore his marriage, that Morland painted two sets of com- panion pictures, viz., ‘ The Idle Mechanic ’ and ‘ The Industrious Mechanic,’ and ‘The Idle Laundress’ and ‘ The Industrious Cottager.’ The two latter were engraved by W. Blake, and published at London in 1803. After his marriage, and whilst he and his wife were living in the same house with Mr. and Mrs. William Ward, Morland painted what is known as his ‘ Lsetitia ’ series of pictures. Laetitia was a young lady who 3 6 George Morland was carefully brought up, comfortably housed, and who possessed everything but good sense and prudence. She was led astray without difficulty, and eloped to London with a lover who, of course, deserted her. The wretched girl is represented as innocent and happy ; then miserable and degraded ; and finally, as returning penitent to her parents’ home. Her sad story is told in six pictures, which were engraved by J. R. Smith, and published at London in 1811. Morland appears as a moralist in such pictures as those he executed immediately before and immediately after marriage. He chastises indolence and vice, he extols industry and virtue. Would that the excellent precepts which he sought so carefully to impress upon others had sunk more deeply into his own breast ! It is not altogether surprising to learn that the hap- piness of the two young menages, housed under one roof, did not last very long. A house with two masters and two mistresses is one very much divided against itself and cannot stand. Jars began, w'hich led to rup- ture, and in three months Mr. and Mrs: George Morland left the Wards and removed to a small house on that part of the Hampstead Road now called Camden Town. ‘At this time,’ says Dawe, ‘one of Morland’s favourite amusements was riding on the box of the Hampstead, Highgate, or Barnet stage-coaches. This was the commencement of his acquaintance with coach- men, post-boys, and similar characters, to whom he always behaved wdth liberality, and became at length so well known among them that he could have been conveyed to any part of the kingdom free of expense.’ Being an excellent rider, Morland was naturally fond of horses. He now became acquainted with inns, stables, coachmen, post-boys, and grooms — places and people he afterwards immortalized in his paintings Thus he was drawn by his natural tastes to select that branch of art in which he was destined to excel. CHAPTER V. CAMDEN TOWN, AND MORLAND’S EARLIER PAINTINGS AND PRINTS. When Morland resided in Camden Town, it was, of course, a considerable way out of London. His first dwelling there was a cottage, but he shortly afterwards removed to a better house, at the corner of Warren Place. There he took pupils, three in number ; but there also he made the acquaintance of an evil genius, a gentleman of the name of Irwin. Irwin was allowed to stay with Morland on condition that he would sell Morland’s pictures to the dealers, a task our artist loathed. But not only did Irwin pro- cure him money in this way, he also obtained loans from his brother, who was a landowner, and shared them with Morland. Thus the latter acquired habits of extravagance, which ill befitted a newly married artist, whose income depended upon his brush. It was in Camden Town also that Morland made the acquaintance of another evil genius, one Brooks, a shoemaker, a jolly fellow no doubt, but the worst com- panion Morland could have selected. In the latter’s picture entitled ‘ The Sportsman’s Return,’ which was engraved by William Ward, and published in London in 1792, we have a portrait of Brooks, sitting in his shoemaker’s box* at an inn door — a big man with a * Morland also represents a cobbler in a box at an inn door in his pictures entitled ‘ The Halting-place’ (in the Louvre), and ‘The 38 George Morland rubicund face and broad grin, a somewhat sensual John Bull in fact, who would rather drag young men down than elevate them. But it must not be supposed that Morland spent all his time gambling with Irwin, or boozing with Brooks. He worked very hard indeed at Camden Town ; and it is pleasant to reflect that the rupture between the two young menages extended no further than that separate dwellings were thought desirable. So far as Morland and his brother-in-law, William Ward, were concerned, there is no evidence of anything but friendship, for they were hard at work together, the one painting, and the other engraving his friend’s pictures. The year 1788 was a particularly busy year for Morland and his engravers and publishers.* * Morland kept no fewer than eleven engravers busy on pictures which were engraved and published during this year. His brother-in-law, William Ward, took three in hand, viz., a mezzotint entitled ‘ The Pledge of Love ’ — a lady regarding a love token — and two stipple engravings entitled * Variety ’ and ‘ Constancy.’ A mezzotint entitled * Children playing at Soldiers,’ one of Mor- land’s earliest charming juvenile scenes, was produced by G. Keating. J. Dean engraved three sterner pictures, viz., ‘Justice,’ an arrest; ‘The Triumph of Benevolence,’ a debtor released ; and ‘ The Widow.’ Two mezzotints, showing another side of life, appeared by John Young, engraver to the Prince of Wales, viz., ‘ Seduction,’ and ‘ Credulous Innocence,’ which have been already described. f W. Nutter engraved the scene of Roger courting Kitty, entitled ‘ The Strangers at Home whilst J. R. Smith produced two companion Public-house Door.’ Dietrich, an eighteenth century German painter in Morland’s style, has a similarly lodged cobbler in his ‘ Knife Grinder’ picture. * See Chronological Catalogue, p. 145. f Introductory chapter. Morland’s Earlier Paintings and Prints 39 prints, ‘ Delia in Town,’ and ‘ Delia in the Country.’ There were two nautical subjects by Morland engraved and published during 1788, viz., ‘Anxiety; or, the Ship at Sea,’ and ‘Mutual Joy; or, the Ship in Harbour.’ There were other pictures by other engravers. In this one year, Morland occupied the engravers with no fewer than thirty -two carefully -finished pictures, some of which form most admirable engrav- ings. Yet he seems to have lived easily, even carelessly, all the while, and the dark shadows of Irwin and Brooks continually flitted across his path. How did Morland find time for all this elaborate work ? Even the most careful and correct member of the Royal Academy could not have excelled it in amount or quality. The fact is that true genius works with an ease, rapidity, and finish which ordinary mortals cannot attempt, much less understand. The latter resemble very clumsily made machines, which work with many a harsh note and turn out poor stuff after all. True genius resembles a perfectly fashioned mechanism which, with the greatest ease, produces the most exquisite results. Shakspeare led a merry life among his play-actors and actresses, yet left behind him a dramatic treasury whose unfathomable riches the world still regards with wonder, reverence and awe. Walter Scott lived so entirely the life of a country gentleman, that, when Washington Irving visited him at Abbotsford, he could not discover when Scott found opportunity to write those matchless ‘ Waverley Novels,’ which were issuing at that time and holding Europe spell-bound. Yet both Shakspeare and Scott, being true geniuses, could produce the most perfect work with the greatest ease, at times and under conditions which the ordinary mortal would have found impossible. 40 George Morland During 1789, Morland was as busily engaged as in the previous year, and he certainly kept his brother-in-law very busy, too. No fewer than seven mezzotints by William Ward, after Morland, were published during this year, viz., ‘ An Ass Race’; ‘Juvenile Navigators,’ children sailing a toy ship, a very pretty scene ; * Chil- dren Bird-nesting’; then the two prints previously described,* entitled ‘The Fruits of Early Industry and (Economy,’ and ‘ The Effects of Youthful Extrava- gance and Idleness ’; a picture of two young ladies reclining, entitled ‘ The Pleasures of Retirement and ‘ A Visit to the Boarding-school,’ which, although a subject unsuited to the artist and showing his earliest style, also displays his powers of delineation. There was also published the engraving of a painting repre- senting ‘ A Mad Bull,’ for which, although it contains twenty figures, Morland only got half a guinea, the purchaser selling it within six months for five guineas. Then there was produced in the same year (1789) an etching by T. Rowlandson, after Morland, entitled * The List’ning Lover,’ whilst T. Gaugain contributed three stipple engravings, viz., two companion pictures representing ‘ Louisa,’ and a print entitled ‘ Guinea- pigs,’ one of those early studies of animals in which Morland excelled. The celebrated ‘ Laetitia Series ’ by J. R. Smith, and others, made a total of twenty-three Morland prints appearing in 1789. At the end of this year Morland had to leave Camden Town, as will be afterwards explained; but we may go on with an account of the appearance of engravings of his earlier paintings, being those of his best period, so that we may have them all before us in one chapter. Next year (1790) was also one of great activity, being productive of no fewer than twenty-eight engravings after Morland, e.g. : * Snipe shooting,’ an etching by T. * Introductory chapter. Morland’s Earlier Paintings and Prints 41 Rowlandson, and the same subject for the French market engraved by A. Suntach, and entitled ‘ La Chasse de la Becassine four engravings by J. Fittler, representing ‘ Travellers Reposing,’ * Sliding,’ * Virtue in Danger,’ and * Pedlars ’; ' The Soldier’s Return,’ an officer return- ing to his family, engraved by G. Graham ; two clever pictures, engraved by E. Scott, representing ‘ Boys Robbing an Orchard,’* and * The Angry Farmer’ with the naughty boys caught and at his mercy ; two beauti- ful companion engravings by B. Duterreau, entitled ‘ The Farmer’s Door,’ and ‘ The Squire’s Door,’ a pair afterwards engraved by Levilly for the French market; an amusing picture of ‘ Dancing Dogs,’ engraved by T. Gaugain ; ‘A Rural Feast,’ by J. Dean; besides Morland’s well-known * Tea-garden ;’+ and three more sombre scenes, viz., * Temptation,’ an officer offering his purse to a girl selling spicenuts, etc.; ‘The Miseries of Idleness,’ a family in poverty ; and ‘ The Comforts of Industry,’ a happy family circle. If we consider the wide scope of these paintings, we must admit Morland to be a many-sided man. All subjects seemed equally easy for him to portray — country scenes and sports, children at play, animals, social parties, heartrending scenes. His facile pencil could depict them all successfully. But the special style which the public look for in ‘ Morland pictures ’ was still undeveloped. Pictures of genteel life were not suited to Morland ; pictures of a moralizing order were also not his best. To paint rural nature, with its rustics and its animals, that was Morland’s forte. Healthy lads and lasses, or stable interiors, or farm- yards with pigs lazily reclining as if to complete a * Sir Charles Tennant exhibited the original painting of * Boys Robbing an Orchard ’ at the Annual Exhibition of the Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts in March, 1889. t Published by the Graphic as a separate sheet, March 23, 1889. 42 George Morland picture of comfort, idleness and happiness, these were the paintings to be afterwards instantly hailed as ‘ Morlands.’ Yet we have seen how wide a scope our artist had, and that he was by no means, as some ignorantly suppose, a painter only of farmyards, pigs, and stables. We have seen that not a single picture of this class was engraved during his earlier years of work, and we cannot believe that he had time or willing- ness to paint more than were engraved. In 1791, in William Ward’s two fine mezzotint en- gravings of ‘ Cottagers ’ and ‘ Travellers,’ we have the beginning of that really strong * Morland style ’ which the public know and love. Among the group of cottagers may be distinguished Morland, his wife, and others. In the same year he painted his ‘ Peasant and Pigs ’ (in the author’s possession), likewise in the characteristic * Morland style,’ a painting engraved by J. R. Smith, the print being published at London in 1803. Again, in four engravings, published during 1791 by G. Keating, we obtain a specimen of Morland’s power of telling a story in four pictures, the first of which is ‘Trepanning a Recruit,’ the second, ‘Recruit De- serted,’ the third, ‘ Deserter taking Leave of his Wife,’ and the fourth, ‘ Deserter Pardon’d ’ — all fine pictures, but quite the opposite of Morland’s rustic style, a remark which applies likewise to his ‘ Sportsman Enamour’d ; or, the Wife in Danger,’ also engraved in 1791. During this year were published several engrav- ings of sporting scenes by Morland, engraved by A. Suntach for the French market, and entitled, ‘ La Chasse du Canard ’ (duck), ‘ La Chasse de la Bdcasse ’ (woodcock), and * La Chasse du Lievre ’ (hare). J. R. Smith also engraved ‘ African Hospitality ’ and ‘ Slave Trade,’ Morland having exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1788 a painting on this subject. Morland’s Earlier Paintings and Prints 43 It was in this year (1791) that Morland’s great picture appeared. This was ‘The Farmer’s Stable,’ Morland’s chef-d'oeuvre, which now hangs in the National Gallery, London. It was engraved in mezzotint by William Ward in 1792. Not only is this Morland’s largest painting, but it is one of his most carefully finished. It also represents him at his best, for no painter has ever excelled him in such subjects. Morland painted this picture for a pupil named David Brown, who gave him forty guineas for it. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy and greatly admired, much to Morland’s satis- faction. Indeed, it was considered the best picture there, and was sold at the close for upwards of a hundred guineas. We wonder what its value now would be ! Well finished though ‘ The Farmer’s Stable ’ was, Morland took still more care with a sub- sequent painting called ‘ The Straw Yard,’ which, how- ever, did not meet with the same success. Morland found the labour he expended on ‘ The Straw Yard ’ very irksome, and when writing to a friend of its com- pletion, added, ‘ No more “ Straw Yards ” for me !’ — a sentiment akin to that uttered by Sheridan when, having, after long delay, completed the MS. of his ‘ School for Scandal,’ he added to it the words, * Finished at last, thank God !’ Another admirable painting by Morland, engraved during 1792, is ‘ Rubbing down the Post-horse,’ a picture instinct with life, and proclaiming Morland a master in this line of art. This picture and another entitled ‘Watering the Cart-horse/ were painted for Mr. Wedd, Morland’s solicitor, who paid only fifteen guineas for the pair ; but it must be remembered that Morland painted them both in one day, such was his facility of execution. He, however, believed in rapid work ; and his remark that his happiest pictures were those which he had studied least, may be compared 44 George Morland with Sir Walter Scott’s statement : ‘ The works and passages in which I have succeeded have uniformly been written with the greatest rapidity. . . . The parts in which I have come feebly off were much the more laboured.’* A ‘ Boy and Pigs,’ drawn in 1792, shows strongly the rustic tendency of the artist. It was etched by J. Wright in 1794. In 1792, however, appeared numerous etchings, by J. Baldrey, of studies of rural objects by Morland. To appreciate the skill of Morland’s pencil, we have only to look at these studies of pigs, sheep, men, donkeys, horses, children, carts, and carthorses, all of which would make admirable studies for schools and sketching - classes to-day. Finally, in 1792, we reach the gipsies, a subject which was peculiarly attractive to Morland. In Ward’s engraving of ‘ Gipsies ’ we see a man and dog asleep, whilst a woman, boy, and girl complete the group. Ward also engraved this year * The Sportsman’s Return,’ showing the artist entering an inn and holding up a hare to jolly Brooks, the cobbler, seated in his box at the inn door. Morland was evidently launched now on the road where his true artistic talents lay, and where his roving disposition led. He had already acquired such fame that in 1793 Messrs. D. Orme and Co. opened a Morland Gallery at 14, Old Bond Street, and issued from there, among other things, an interesting folio containing nineteen pages of sketches by the new master. It will be remembered that this was not the first ‘ Morland Gallery,’ and that, when toiling in the prison-house of the Irish-Turk dealer when young, Morland had filled a picture gallery, the admission to see which was half a crown. But the prison-house he now was in was * Introduction to ‘ Fortunes of Nigel.’ Morland’s Earlier Paintings and Prints 45 that of no picture-dealer, but of his own sins and follies. If Morland could have but kept steady, now that his feet were firmly planted on the ladder of fame, it would have been better for him, for his poor wife, for British Art. Let us go on, however, and see how this remarkable man worked. In a single year he would produce over a score of paintings, which engravers would reproduce and circulate broadcast over England, France, and Germany. Five hundred pair of his ‘ Dancing Dogs ’ and * Selling Guinea-pigs ’ were sold in a few weeks. ‘When the four plates of the “ Deserter” were published,’ says Dawe, * a single dealer immediately gave an order for nine dozen sets. The “ Effects of Extravagance,” with its companion, were twice engraved, and they have been lately copied in the chalk manner at Paris. Indeed, the demand for his prints was so great in France, that they were frequently re-engraved there, and he received from that country advantageous pro- posals either to go there to paint, or to send over his pictures.’ Dawe considers that Morland reached his zenith about the year 1790 : ‘ he was then able to paint what- ever he chose, and to bestow on his pictures as much time as he thought proper.’ Certainly the engravings of his paintings issued from 1788 to 1797 are marvellous in their number, excellence, and variety, and this may be considered the period of his greatest strength. In 1793, numerous sketches and studies by Morland were engraved and published. As to paintings, a pair entitled ‘ Fishermen ’ and ‘ Smugglers ’ were produced in mezzotint by James Ward, R.A., another brother-in- law of Morland. J. R. Smith engraved Morland’s ‘ Return from Market,’ representing a cart with girls at the door of the * Blue Bell,’ a favourite hostelry of the artist. J. Grozer engraved ‘The Happy Cottagers’ 4 6 George Morland and ‘ The Gipsies’ Tent.’ A portfolio of Morland’s * Original Sketches from Nature ’ was published by T. Simpson, and its title-page shows the artist sketch- ing a cow and a calf. This is not to be confounded with the ‘Sketches by G. Morland’ published by Orme, the title-page of which exhibits the artist sketching pigs ; nor with another book published by J. Harris entitled ‘ Sketches by G. Morland,’ whose title-page represents him sitting under a tree sketching horses. During 1794, sketches and studies by Morland were again abundantly produced. J. Wright etched his fox-hunting scenes, a sport which Morland naturally enjoyed very much. The author possesses a small painting by Morland (which was engraved and the print published at London in 1824) representing a hunting scene, a prominent rider being apparently a jolly sport- ing parson. J. Grozer engraved an admirable picture entitled ‘Youth diverting Age’; whilst J. R. Smith reproduced ‘ Rubbing down the Post-horse,’ and also a spirited painting of ‘ Fighting Dogs.’ William Ward engraved ‘The First of September, Evening,’ a fine sporting scene ; and an engraving of ‘ Children feeding Goats ’ also appeared. In 1795, more hunting scenes were etched by J. Wright, whilst J. Grozer engraved a pair of sporting subjects, viz., ‘Morning; or, the Benevolent Sportsman’ (giving alms to gipsies) and ‘ Evening; or, the Sports- man’s Return ’ (holding up a pheasant). Two en- gravings by R. M. Meadows also appeared, entitled ‘ Gathering Wood ’ and ‘ Gathering Fruit.’ William Ward engraved in mezzotint a painting by Morland having the same title as his masterpiece, ‘ The Farmer’s Stable,’ but representing another scene, including an old white horse, goats, etc. During this year (1795) J. R. Smith published a series of engravings by William Ward after Morland, numbered in Arabic numerals, a Morland’s Earlier Paintings and Prints 4 7 thus: No. 5, ‘The Farmer's Stable.’ In 1801 he III published another series, also engraved by William Ward, numbered in Roman numerals, thus: No. XII., ‘ The Public-house Door.’ In 1796, J. W. Reynolds engraved * A Bear Hunt ’ by Morland, showing our artist in another field ; whilst William Ward engraved a powerful picture entitled ‘ The Storm,’ and another in quite a different style called * The Dram.’ During 1796, also, were published two fine companion engravings by D. Orme, viz., ‘ Morning; or, the Higlers preparing for Market,’ and ‘ Evening ; or, the Post-boy’s Return.’ Pictures like these latter represent Morland at his best. During 1797, J. R. Smith contributed ‘ The Horse Feeder,’ and William Ward ‘ Inside of a Country Ale- house,’ representing a sportsman, dogs, etc., a picture which was followed in 1801 by Ward’s engraving of the outside of a country alehouse, entitled ‘ The Public- house Door.’ C. Josi engraved in 1797 two typical Morlands, ‘ The Labourer’s Luncheon ’ and ‘ The Peasant’s Repast,’ whilst two amusing pictures were engraved by R. Clamp. One, entitled ‘Jack in the Bilboes,’ represented a victim of the Press-gang, then a national institution. The other was called ‘ The Contented Waterman,’ showing a sailor living ashore in bliss, signalized by the lines : ‘ My cot was snug, Well fill’d my keg, My grunter in the sty.’ The foregoing resume of some examples of prints after Morland’s earlier paintings shows what a busy life he then led, and how arduously he must have worked, in spite of all the drawbacks under which he laboured, and which will be afterwards described. From an unknown artist he grew to be quite a fashionable painter, run after 4 8 George Morland not merely in England, but in France and Germany as well. Had he had any saving in his nature, he could have made a handsome fortune. But he was a regular money-spinner, and, provided he had sufficient for the day, he never thought of the morrow. Indeed, so little did he value money, that when he heard that his friend Irwin often paid him seven guineas for a picture, and sold it to a dealer for fifteen, Morland only laughed. It may, perhaps, be considered that in this chapter and throughout this volume, too much prominence is given to prints after paintings by Morland. But there are substantial reasons for this. In the first place, as the prints specially referred to are dated and the paintings generally are not, the former enable us to arrive approximately at the period when the latter appeared, and thus we can follow the life of our artist by means of his works. In the second place, there are many paintings said to be by Morland, and sold as such, which were not painted by him. On the other hand, prints issued during Mor- land’s lifetime, or by well-known engravers or publishers, may, with some safety, be accepted as reproductions of genuine works by him. At the same time, we must not regard a print after Morland as invariably an accurate reproduction of his painting. For example, take the picture entitled ‘ Boys Robbing an Orchard,’ and compare the original paint- ing with the engraving. In the former, the boys are represented as true country boys, with healthy, robust, and thoroughly unconventional faces and figures. Evi- dently, they were painted from nature. In the engraving, they are represented as pretty little gentlemen, with delicate and refined faces, and resembling rather pages in waiting at a Royal court than wild, country boys plundering apple trees. Here, the engraver (E. Scott, who engraved only four Morlands) desired to produce Morland’s Earlier Paintings and Prints 49 a pretty picture, and did not reproduce Morland’s rustics as he found them in Morland’s painting.* It is but fair to say, however, that other engravers did ample justice to any painting entrusted to them, and that Morland’s fame is largely due to the admirable style in which his pictures were engraved and published broad- cast throughout Europe. They will now be found for sale in many parts of the Continent ; and the author discovered, on pricing prints after Morland for sale at Dresden, that the prices there were, if anything, higher than those stated in London. * This painting was sold at Christie’s, in May, 1888, for ,£798. 4 CHAPTER VI. PADDINGTON GLORY, AND DISASTER. Undoubtedly, Morland’s pictures of children are those which make the most effective appeal to the heart and taste. The juveniles are represented not merely natur- ally, but gracefully. The gaucherie and angularity which distinguish many artists’ paintings of children are wanting ; whilst Morland’s children have all the appearance of children, and are not represented with the old faces which some artists give them. Dawe tells us how Morland painted children. ‘ When painting his juvenile subjects, he would invite the children of the neighbourhood to play about in his room, and made sketches of them whenever any inter- esting situations occurred; justly observing that, to take them thus, in their unconscious moments, is the best mode of studying their peculiar attitudes, and to catch a thousand various graces of which it is im- possible to conceive a perfect idea in any other way. Grown persons may be placed in appropriate postures, but with children this is not practicable.’ Morland’s first picture of children is said to have been his ‘ Children playing at Blind Man’s Buff,’ which he sold to Mr. J. R. Smith for twelve guineas. So great was Morland’s joy at unexpectedly receiving this sum, that he instantly repaired to his friend Brooks and, after three cheers had been given, they adjourned PEASANT AND PIGS. Engraved by John Raphael Smith, 1791. Paddington Glory, and Disaster 5 1 to a neighbouring alehouse, and drank twelve glasses of gin in honour of the event. Morland subsequently painted ‘ Children playing at Soldiers,’ ‘Children Nutting,’ ‘Children Bird-nesting,’ and ‘Juvenile Navigators,’ all of which met with much success. Owing to the ease with which Morland now sold his paintings, and the constant demand for engrav- ings of them, he made a great deal of money. Unfor- tunately, he spent it as soon as he got it, for he had no notion of economy. His nature, also, was so generous, that he willingly paid his companions’ ex- penses as well as his own if they made any country excursions together. On one occasion he rode to Whitby, in Yorkshire, and was much affected by the sublimity of its rugged coast. At other times, as his hunting scenes bear witness, he was following the hounds. He was likewise a keen sportsman and fond of shooting, as his sporting pictures attest. Morland also liked to give entertainments to those less successful than himself, or to whose aid he was indebted for his fame. Thus he would preside at the Britannia tavern over large supper parties, the cost of which he himself defrayed, given by him to the wide circle of friends he had made during his artistic career. Then were assembled the painters of his acquaintance, the dealers who patronized him, the engravers who engraved his paintings, and the publishers who pub- lished them. Colourists and apprentices were also included ; and, as the night wore on, Morland and his friends grew very merry, and sometimes engaged in frolics which shocked the sober-minded Dawe. One of these is related by the latter with a tone of austerity which it scarcely merits. Morland was return- ing home from a supper-party early in the morning, 52 George Morland when he observed a watchman apparently asleep. Hap- pening to be armed with pistols, and resolved to awaken the watchman, Morland let one off close to the slumber- ing guardian’s ear. The effect was magical. The func- tionary woke, seized his musket, and pursued Morland, who ran off, but was compelled to stand by the announcement that, if he did not instantly stop, the watchman would fire at him. He did stop, and, on giving his name, was allowed to proceed home. In these old bygone days of ‘watchmen,’ gentlemen sometimes ‘served the office of constable,’ and w’ere called ‘ head boroughs.’ Out of a desire to see life and enjoy a littlebrief authority, Morland undertook toserve theoffice of constable for a neighbour gratis. As long as the weather w'as fine, Morland found constabulary duty pleasant enough, but he greatly longed for cover when the winter began. Still, he made something out of this ‘ foolish engagement,’ as Dawe calls it. In the course of his official peregrinations he came upon the very men he wanted for his pictures of ‘ The Deserter.’ He met a sergeant, drummer, and soldier on their w T ay to Dover in pursuit of deserters. The opportunity was not to be lost ; so he took them off to the Britannia and gave them as much ale, wine, and tobacco as they wanted. In return, they told him all about recruiting and the punishment of deserters, besides allowing him to sketch them, and thus obtain most valuable details for his forthcoming series of pic- tures. He even kept them all the next day (Sunday) in his painting-room, and completed the studies com- menced in the tavern. Surely these poor soldiers never before met with so generous and artistic a police-con- stable, and must have left for Dover with exalted ideas of the force. In Rowlandson’s portrait of Morland, he is repre- sented standing * before the fire in one of those public- Paddington Glory, and Disaster 53 house parlours which were his favourite haunts.’* Possibly this was the very Britannia where he so regally entertained his publishers and engravers, and where he treated the soldiers who furnished such excel- lent models for his ‘ Deserter ’ pictures. But in December, 1789, Morland had other things to think of than magnificent repasts to friends. His affairs then became embarrassed owing to a variety of circumstances ; and he had to leave Camden Town and take lodgings ‘ within the verge of the Court,’ at that time considered a sanctuary for debtors. His attorney was Mr. Wedd, who, perhaps, thus obtained ‘ one of the choicest collections of Morland’s pictures ; having had,’ remarks Dawe, ‘ in consequence of his connection with the artist, an opportunity of selecting many of his best performances.’ In this collection were two miniatures painted by Morland on the lids of snuff-boxes, the one a landscape in water-colours on ivory, and the other the interior of a stable, in oil, on copper. No doubt, Morland paid his lawyer’s bill in this manner; and his solicitor helped him to extricate himself from all his difficulties, and to pay all his creditors in full. On his return a free man to society, he took rooms in Leicester Street, and received numerous commissions for paintings from private individuals. Hitherto, he had painted almost entirely for publishers who got his pictures engraved. Dawe informs us that the subjects of many of these, being domestic scenes, were not congenial to the artist, who preferred rural subjects. Owing to the commissions he now received, he was able to gratify this taste ; and the first painting he executed was ‘ Gipsies kindling a Fire,' painted for Colonel Stuart, * The Illustrated London News of March 28, 1891, reproduced this drawing by Morland’s boon-companion, Rowlandson. The original water colour is in the ‘White Room’ of the British Museum, and the frontispiece of this volume is a reproduction. 54 George Morland who gave him forty guineas, a much larger price than he had ever received from picture-dealers or publishers. ‘ Our artist’s reputation,’ says Dawe, ‘ now increased to such a degree that he could have sold any number of paintings at his own price. Among other offers which he received at this period, was one for painting a room of pictures for the Prince of Wales, in which, for some reason or other, he did not think proper to engage.’ Dawe attributes Morland’s downward course at this time to his ‘ reluctance to mix with genteel society, on account of the restraints which it imposed,’ and his preference for associates ‘ with whom he could act as he pleased.’ These men encouraged our artist in his bad habits, in the hope of getting paintings from him which they could sell at a profit to themselves. Thus Morland became the centre of a mercenary gang who plied him with every pleasure in order to get as much money out of him as they could. Collins, another friend and biographer of Morland, refers to him as * a thoughtless, imprudent young man, whose ignorance of the crooked ways of his own species could only be equalled by his utter contempt of money when he earned it.’ He adds: ‘ There was, generally speaking, a constant market at his very elbow, and a frequent contention round his easel for every picture that was ready to be removed from it.’ Collins declares that Morland had few competitors in the ‘ several pursuits of riding, music, drinking, smoking, and painting.’ Yet a third friend and biographer, Hassell, exclaims : ‘ Gay, unsuspecting, and generous, George, while he gave a free scope to his natural inclinations, was quickly surrounded by parasites — shameless, unprincipled men — who, whilst they seemed only intent upon praising his masterly genius and fancy for painting, were in reality practising with considerable dexterity and Paddington Glory, and Disaster 55 success the most fraudulent arts to deprive him of his well-earned property, and deteriorate his health and morals.’ One reason why Morland did not object to the peculiar system under which he now worked, and the inferior company he kept, was that he could paint as he pleased. When gentlemen gave him commissions, they often interfered in a manner which vexed his artistic soul. ‘ There,’ he once exclaimed, ‘ is a picture which Mr. returned to me to have a fine brilliant sky painted in, saying he will allow me five guineas for ultramarine. It will spoil the picture ; and the absurdity of it is that he will not suffer that tree to be touched, but expects me to paint between the leaves !’ Nor was he bitten with the Englishman’s proverbial love for a lord. Whilst travelling to the Kentish coast, Blagdon tells us, Morland was staying at a house with a relative named Bob. A nobleman called to give him a commission for a picture, but would not at first state his name. Bob told him he could not see Morland unless he gave his name, so his lordship said his name was Lord D y ; whereupon Morland, from a garret- window, was heard exclaiming, ‘ Oh, d lords ! I paint for no lords ! Shut the door, Bob, and bring up Rattler and the puppy.’ For a man fond of rural subjects to reside in a great city seems an absurdity, and Morland soon chafed at the monotony of Leicester Street. During his rides out of town he occasionally put up at the White Lion hostelry in Paddington, a place much frequented by drovers. The landlord was a jolly fellow, and was just the sort of man to have a flowing bowl with our artist when the latter felt disposed. So Morland removed to a house situated directly opposite the White Lion, promising himself admirable opportunities of sketching from his windows the men, cattle, and horses congre- 56 George Morland gated about the alehouse. He thus had a moving scene after his own heart perpetually before him, and no one could do greater justice to it. The proximity of the White Lion had, however, its drawbacks as well as its advantages. Artistically, nothing could be better ; for not only was it a picturesque hostelry, but it furnished our painter with free studies of the very kind he wanted. Morally, however, the close proximity of an alehouse was, to a man of Morland’s habits and disposition, a distinct danger and injury. His old generous custom of entertaining people revived. His fondness for riding led him to keep nearly a dozen horses standing at livery at the inn. ‘His acquaintances on the North road,’ says Allan Cunningham,* ‘ were numerous ; he knew the driver of every coach, and the pedigree of the horses; and, taking his stand at Bob Bellamy’s inn at Highgate, would halloo to the gentlemen of the whip as they made their appearance, and treat them to gin and brandy.’ His love of sport made him frequent all the bull-baiting, boxing, and other matches in the neigh- bourhood, and filled his house with sporting acquaint- ances of the least desirable kind. * So much,’ says Dawe, * was his easel surrounded by characters of this description, that he had a wooden frame placed across his room similar to that in a police office, with a bar that lifted up, allowing those to pass with whom he had business. ... In this manner he painted some of his best pictures, while his companions were carousing on gin and red herrings around him.’ He formed such a high opinion of the noble art of self-defence, that he actually hired a room where sparring could be engaged in in the most comfortable way. Presiding over this academy of boxing, he provided the pugilists with refreshments, and awarded prizes to the * ‘ Eminent British Painters,’ ii. 228. Paddington Glory, and Disaster 57 victors. Morland occasionally donned the gloves him- self, and had a set-to with the Duke of Hamilton, which his Grace won easily. Finding the house opposite the White Lion too small, he removed to another in Winchester Row, Paddington. In the garden of this house he kept all sorts of animals — foxes, goats, pigs, dogs, monkeys, squirrels, guinea-pigs, dormice, besides a donkey and an old horse, which latter frequently appears in his pictures. His eccentric conduct with a pig is related by his biographer Hassell, who says : ‘ As I was walk- ing towards Paddington on a summer morning, to inquire about the health of a relation, I saw a man posting on before me with a sucking-pig, which he carried in his arms like a child. The piteous squeaks of the little animal, and the singular mode of conveyance, drew spectators to door and window ; the person, how- ever, who carried it minded no one, but to every dog that barked — and there were not a few — he set down the pig, pitted him against the dog, and then followed the chase which was sure to ensue. In this manner he went through several streets in Marylebone, and at last, stopping at the door of one of my friends, was instantly admitted. I also knocked and entered, but my surprise was great on finding this original sitting with the pig still under his arm, and still greater when I was introduced to Morland the painter.’ Whilst staying at Paddington, Morland’s domestic expenses became considerable, for his establishment of servants included two grooms and a footman. Of course he painted busily and well, but the proceeds of sale of his pictures did not suffice to keep up the style in which he now lived. It is true, also, he kept pupils, but these probably learnt more of the world of sport than that of art. In short, the inevitable hour arrived when, his ex- 58 George Morland chequer empty and his creditors clamorous, Morland had to take flight from Paddington, and to terminate abruptly the glorious life he had led there. A contretemps with a bun-baker’s son led more immediately to the catastrophe. The baker, ambitious to place his son in Government service, sent the young man with a large sum to purchase an appointment, as the manner then was. The youth was unable to effect a purchase, and visited sundry alehouses on his way home. He likewise honoured Morland with a visit, and found him painting a fine landscape, which the budding Government func- tionary greatly admired. Morland, always hard up, appreciated the visit all the more that the youth showed him the large sum in his possession ; so he induced the latter, after more wine, to lend him this sum on his giving him a written promise of the picture when finished, as a cover for the accommodation. The young man gave Morland the money, and went home so intoxicated that it was only next morning that he could explain to his father what had become of the cash. The bun-baker was furious, and the production of Morland’s written promise by no means assuaged his wrath. He endeavoured to find the painter, but the latter had disappeared ; and, when he was found, all the money was spent. Paddington was now no longer a safe abode for him ; so, after having incurred debts there to the extent of £4,000, he retired to a farm-house at Enderby, in Leicestershire, where he and his wife lived for some time. It should be added, on behalf of this otherwise strange man, that, throughout all their vicissitudes, Morland and his wife had always a sincere affection for each other, and that no infidelity on his part ever clouded their married life. CHAPTER VII. LEICESTERSHIRE, AND CHARLOTTE STREET, FITZROY SQUARE. Shorn of glory though he might be, Morland must have found residence in a farmhouse most congenial for his art. No painter could more accurately or tastefully delineate the varied life of a farm. There were the country lads and lasses he so often represents ; there were the chubby children he delights to draw ; there were the sheep, horses and pigs which are so familiar on his canvases. And no doubt Morland made excel- lent use of his enforced retirement at the Leicestershire farm, and worked a great deal better and harder than when he painted surrounded by prize-fighters and jockeys in his house opposite the White Lion at Pad- dington. The period corresponding to his retreat at Enderby, 1790-1791, is the very best in the artist’s career. It was then, to repeat Dawe’s words, that ‘ he was able to paint whatever he chose, and to bestow on his pictures as much time as he thought proper.’ Then, too, appeared his distinctly rural style, in which he revelled in rustic subjects and depicted them in a manner which has never been excelled. If we might venture to describe, chronologically, the gradual development of Morland’s artistic powers, we 60 George Morland should perhaps tabulate his successive styles as follows : 1. Society subjects, in which he is not always suc- cessful. 2. Juvenile subjects, in which he is excellent. 3. Rural subjects, in which he is unsurpassed. We thus see the artist gradually rising from subjects which he did not care for, and which he felt he did not excel in, to subjects at which he worked with a will, and which he depicted so admirably. A strange, wild man himself, he was not fitted for the portrayal of scenes of fashionable or genteel life ; but he was thoroughly at home with children, and no one ever painted them better. It is in the delineation of peasant nature, however — its haunts, its homes, its surroundings — that the pencil of George Morland rarely meets its equal, and never its master — a nature which corresponds with that of the painter himself, free, prodigal, merry, lusty, strong. Let us remember, however, that Morland painted English, and not French, peasants. The ingrained economy and miserly habits of the latter are generally unknown to the former. For, as M. Taine points out, the former are descended from the Anglo-Saxons, a race, in his opinion, of a reckless and prodigal, yet prodigiously powerful kind; going forth conquering and to conquer, yet often wasting their resources instead of hoarding them; and, whilst subduing the world, being often subject themselves to habits of drunkenness and improvidence which horrify the sober and penurious French.* * ‘ History of English Literature,’ book i., chap. i. M. Taine remarks : ‘ People of the Latin race never, at a first glance, saw in the Anglo-Saxons aught but large gross beasts, clumsy and ridiculous when not dangerous and enraged. . . . Up to the end of the eighteenth century ’ (/. e. in Morland’s time) ‘ drunkenness was the recreation of the higher ranks ; it is still that of the lower.' Leicestershire, and Charlotte Street 61 Taking the works which Morland painted about the years 1789 to 1792, but not later, and applying our rule of division of his three styles as before mentioned, the following may be cited as specimens of paintings by Morland when in his prime : 1. Society Subjects : The Soldier’s Farewell and Return. The Squire’s Door The Miseries of Idleness ) The Comforts of Industry ) Louisa The ‘ Laetitia ’ series The ‘Deserter’ series Engraved or Etched by G. Graham, 1790. B. Duterreau, 1790. FI. Hudson, 1790. T. Gaugain, 1789. J. R. Smith, 1789. G. Keating, 1791. 2. Juvenile Subjects : Children playing at Soldiers Children Birdnesting 1 Juvenile Navigators ) Boys robbing an Orchard ) The Angry Farmer ... ; Studies of Children ... G. Keating, 1788. ... Wm. Ward, 1789. ... E. Scott, 1790. ... J. Baldrey, 1792. 3. Rural Subjects : Pheasant, Partridge, Duck, Snipe, \ and Woodcock shooting, and ! T. Rowlandson, 1790. Hare -hunting (English and I A. Suntach, 1790-91. French titles) J A Rural Feast A Tea-Garden Travellers Reposing Sliding Virtue in Danger Pedlars The Farmer’s Door Guinea-pigs ... Dancing Dogs Cottagers ) Travellers J *The Benevolent Sportsman ... J. Dean, 1790. .. F. D. Soiron, 1790. ... J. Fittler, 1790. ... B. Duterreau, 1790. | T. Gaugain, 1789-90. ... Wm. Ward, 1791. ... J. Grozer, 1795. * Dawe says ‘ Gypsies kindling a Fire’ and this were painted as companions, for Colonel Stuart. The companion engravings , 62 George Morland 3. Rural Subjects ( Continued ) : The Carrier’s Stable Peasant and Pigs (painted 1791) ••• Rubbing down the Post-horse Watering the Cart-horse Boy and Pigs ) Shepherds J Studies of Rural Subjects Gipsies J The Farmers Stable (in National > Gallery, London) J The Angler’s Repast A Party Angling The Happy Cottagers ) The Gipsies’ Tent ... > Return from Market Fishermen ) Smugglers > Selling Fish (painted 1793) Hunting Scenes ‘Original Sketches from Nature’ ... Studies of Rustic Subjects Engraved or Etched by Wm. Ward, 1792. J. R. Smith, 1803. J. R. Smith, 1794. J. R. Smith, 1799. J. Wright, 1794. J Baldrey, 1792. Wm. Ward, 1792. Wm. Ward, 1780. G. Keating, 1789. J. Grozer, 1793. J. R. Smith, 1793. James Ward, R.A., 1793. J. R. Smith, 1799. E. Bell, 1800. Published by T. Simpson, 1 793 „ „ Harris, 1792-6. Of course, the above is only a sample of Morland’s work as evidenced by engravings. In addition to paintings which were afterwards engraved, and which were often painted to be engraved, Morland produced others for private friends and patrons, which sometimes found their way into secluded parts of England, and turn up now and then to the surprise and delight of the connoisseur.* * The latter had, however, better be wary of so-called ‘ Morlands,’ for the great and increasing however, by J. Grozer (published in 1795), are ‘ Morning ; or, The Benevolent Sportsman,’ and ‘ Evening ; or, The Sportsman’s Return.’ In the latter the sportsman holds up a pheasant, whereas in another ‘ Sportsman’s Return,’ by Morland, he holds up a hare. * Thus, the original of ‘ Selling Fish,’ painted by Morland in 1793 for Mr. John Greaves, J.P., Irlam Hall, Lancashire, was Leicestershire, and Charlotte Street 63 demand for them has led to an industrious, ingenious, but not in the least scrupulous, class of artists of the humbler kind turning a dishonest penny by palming off paintings resembling those of Morland as veritably his.* * This went on even during the lifetime of Morland, as his biographer Hassell tells us. * I once saw,’ said the latter, ‘ twelve copies from a small picture of Morland’s at one time in a dealer’s shop, with the original in the centre, the proprietor of which, with great gravity and unblushing assurance, inquired if I could distinguish the difference !’ On which Allan Cunningham com- ments, t ‘ With reptiles such as these, Genius ought never to come into communion. It must be confessed, however, that Morland was not incommoded in his intercourse with them by any over-righteous notions as to money matters. In the course of the years 1790, 1791 and 1792, when his cleverest pictures were painted, the admiring dealers swarmed round him with offers of pecuniary assistance to any amount. George put his hands into their pockets without the least ceremony. He was a joyful borrower, and took what- ever was offered without scruple or hesitation. He made no nice distinctions ; for he accepted from all, and he held out to all the pleasing prospect of seven- fold remuneration from the pencil.’ sold at Oxton, Birkenhead, by Mrs. Greaves- Banning in January, 1893, one hundred years after it was painted. * Even the most respectable and experienced auctioneers are hoaxed. A painting which was sold a few years ago as a Morland turned out, on being cleaned, to have on it the signature of Sir John Watson Gordon, P.R.S.A., R.A. A manufactory of ‘Morlands’ is said to exist in London, and its locality has been pointed out to the Author. f ‘ British Painters,’ ii. 224. 64 George Morland Cunningham informs us that Morland’s wife, ‘ a woman of sense and beauty, endeavoured to reclaim him ’ from his habits of profusion and conviviality, but it was no use. He also says that it was by invitation from Mr. Claude Lorraine Smith, a gentleman of Leicestershire, that Morland went on a visit there with Brooks, and that Morland hunted with Smith, and enjoyed the foxhunters’ dinners afterwards. ‘ His sudden disappearance from London excited general alarm in the whole righteous race of picture-dealers ; no one knew what had become of him, and a waggish companion insinuated that he was gone to France.’ Morland emerged from his Leicestershire retreat in 1791, an arrangement having been come to with his principal creditors. His debts amounted to £ 3,700 , and on his agreeing to pay his creditors £120 per month, they took for him a house in Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square, London. They knew that to put the artist in prison would only be to kill the goose with the golden eggs; whereas if they gave him the means of painting, and if he worked industriously, there was a fair chance of his being able to pay off his debts. But they made one condition. He must reform. No more prize- fighters, jockeys, or Paddington acquaintances must enter his abode. In the genteel lodgings now taken for him, such visitors would be at once obnoxious to the neighbours and hurtful to himself. His wife must no longer have to complain of her husband that ‘ He brought strange gentlemen home to dine, And said they were in the Fancy line.’ So, amid such genteel surroundings, the reformed Morland set to work, and painted for Colonel Stuart ‘ The Benevolent Sportsman,’ a painting which he finished in a week, and for which he received seventy guineas, a large price for him in those days. He like- Leicestershire, and Charlotte Street 65 wise painted for his solicitor, Mr. Wedd, two small pictures for fifteen guineas, viz., * Watering the Cart-horse ’ and ‘ Rubbing down the Post-horse.’ His business increased so much that he frequently earned one hundred guineas a week, so that his creditors felt quite sure of their £120 per month. Dawe mentions that Morland found that cash came in more quickly by his painting small pictures, and thus those of a larger size were not painted so much as formerly. He was surrounded by new acquaintances, who were as infatuated as his old ones by his artistic talent and his attractive manners. Among these new acquaintances was a gentleman who possessed the art of ventriloquism in no ordinary degree. He and Morland went together to the great fishmarket at Billingsgate, and the artist, in order to cheapen a salmon, declared it was not fresh. The fish- woman loudly resented this, whereupon Morland asked her whether she would credit his assertion if she heard the fish itself declare it. ‘By J — s !’ she replied, ‘you are a fool to say the salmon can speak.’ However, Morland begged her to hold the fish to her ear, which she did, laughing, and called to a neighbour to come and hear a salmon talk. Their surprise may be imagined when they heard the fish distinctly address the woman in the following words : ‘ You know I stink, you lying b .’ The women became terrified, a crowd col- lected, and Morland and his friend were glad to beat a retreat, as fast as possible, to a neighbouring public- house. Another story displays at once Morland’s playfulness and the great value his friends placed on his paintings. He and Williams, the engraver, were once returning from Deal to London, and arrived hungry, thirsty, and penniless at the Black Bull, near Canterbury. Morland expressed to the landlord his entire ignorance of the 5 66 George Morland name of the hostelry. ‘ It’s the Black Bull, sir,’ replied the landlord, nettled that his house should be unknown. ‘ Don’t you see the sign ?’ ‘ Yes,’ retorted Morland, ‘ but the black bull is vanished and gone. I will paint you a capital new one for a crown.’ The landlord admitted that his sign required repainting; and whilst, at Morland’s request, he sent to Canterbury for ‘ proper paint and a good brush,’ he placed an excellent dinner before our travellers, who ate heartily. When the mes- senger returned, Morland painted a splendid ‘ Black Bull ’ on the sign, and thus paid for his dinner. Poor Williams was allowed to go, on promising to pay his share afterwards. Arrived in London, Morland related his adventure at the Hole in the Wall Tavern, in Fleet Street, whereupon a person, who overheard it, at once rode off to the Black Bull, and purchased the sign for ten guineas. Yet another story is told (by Collins) of a practical joke played by Morland upon some morose old fisher- men whom he disliked, and who had set fixed lines in the hope of a haul. George went one night, drew up their lines, tied old wigs, shoes, and mopheads to the hooks, and then lay in wait, remarking to a friend : ‘ The old bugaboes will not now be able to say, with some others of their profession, that they had toiled all the night, and had taken nothing.’ Morland’s creditors soon found that they were engaged in a herculean task in attempting to accustom him to genteel life in Charlotte Street. It was not suited to the man — smoky London weighted the spirits of a lover of the country like Morland — so we are not surprised to learn that he often made excursions to rural England, his companions being his pupil, T. Hand, Brooks, the Camden Town shoemaker, and a man named Burn. These comrades conveyed his pictures to London, where they obtained good prices. Dawe tells Leicestershire, and Charlotte Street 67 us how Morland studied and painted during such rambles. ‘ In these excursions, his chief amusements were to mix with the peasants of the places where he made any stay, and to visit their cottages and play with their children, to whom he often gave money ; thus he procured frequent opportunities for observing their manners, and occasionally assisted his memory by making slight sketches of their attitudes, dresses, furni- ture, and whatever seemed likely to be useful in his art. The appearance of Nature also attracted his notice and employed his pencil.’ George Morland mingling familiarly with peasants, playing with their children, and sketching rural scenes, — all this is a very pleasant picture, and shows us the rustic painter in his element. Evidently he was no superfine critic, or morose misanthrope. He had grave faults, but his heart was good. He spent idle moments, but he loved his art, and lost no opportunity of improv- ing it. Thus, he would join parties of sportsmen, not merel) for the sport, but to create those sporting pictures which were afterwards engraved for the English and French markets. When he went to the sea-coast, fishermen, sailors, and smugglers came under his ever- watchful eye, just as the peasants had done before. Or he would join a gipsy encampment, and paint those inimitable gipsy pictures which are now so prized. Blagdon tells the following story of one of Morland’s outings of this kind : A gipsy woman, whom an artist was once sketching in a country churchyard, asked him if he knew one George Morland. ‘ Lord love him !’ she exclaimed, ‘ I wish I could find him out. He lived with us three days last summer, upon Harrow Hill, and drawed the picture of a child of mine that’s since dead. And now the gentleman who begot the child would give twenty guineas for the picture.’ 68 George Morland ‘ Whatever might be his situation,’ says Dawe, * whether he was riding on horseback, or in a stage- coach,* or sitting surrounded by vulgar companions, his mind was seldom wholly inattentive, though it dis- played at the time nothing but an eagerness to partake of the amusement that was passing, in which he appeared to be as deeply engaged as any of the company ; for he never mentioned to others the result of his serious and useful reflections. Possessed of much strength of observation, and active in the exercise of it, among every description of company he derived some advantage. In short, he seemed averse to seek knowledge in any other academy than that of Nature.’ As a psychological study, if for no other reason, Morland is thus an interesting man. Rude, wild, un- cultivated in many ways, he was yet a keen observer, and noted the smallest traits of character. Fond of jollity, he was also fond of work, provided that that work lay in a path which he liked ; surrounded by rough men and accustomed to bad language and be- haviour, he was an affectionate husband and a lover of children. Finally, although making jockeys and peasants his friends, he remained always himself a gentleman, and could move, and occasionally did move, in the best circles of society. In 1793, 1794, and 1796, Morland made successive arrangements with his creditors whereby he gradually reduced the sum to be paid them to only ten pounds per month. He had, in all, paid them nine shillings and five pence in the pound, and pacified them by presents of pictures and by the smooth words which he * Sir Walter Scott observes in the ‘ Fortunes of Nigel’ that he (Scott) never found himself in the company of the stupidest of all possible companions in a post-chaise or mail-coach without deriving some information or ideas which he would have regretted not to have learned. Leicestershire, and Charlotte Street 69 seemed always to have at his command. So fascinating was he, that he actually induced a creditor to sign his discharge, although the man had been hunting him with bailiffs to put him in prison. Such a life as he led, however, could not fail to tell upon him, for he felt that the burden of debt was one he could not cast off. Despondency led to drink, and drink undermined his constitution. His once happy home was disturbed, his affectionate wife, to whom he was really much attached, was in tears. Ruin marked him for its own ; and the close of his life at Charlotte Street was a melancholy sequel to the happiness and glory of the past. Fearful to go outside his house in case of arrest by his creditors, the enforced confinement told upon his health, which had been kept vigorous by outdoor exercise. Resort to stimulants still further enfeebled his constitution. He rose early, at seven o’clock, and breakfasted off beefsteak and onions, with purl and gin, or a pot of porter — truly an Elizabethan breakfast. Tea he did not drink ; he considered it pernicious. But he indulged in stronger and much more pernicious liquor throughout the day. He cooked his own food, and ate it off a chair by the side of his easel. In the room in which he painted pigeons were flying about, and dogs and pigs were gambolling — a sad travesty of the farm- yards in which he rejoiced, and where his heart ever was. At last, residence in Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square, became impossible for financial reasons, and because Morland’s creditors watched the house so narrowly. How he escaped is not related ; but he managed to remove to Chelsea, where he contrived to lie low for some time, safe from the clutches of those who would have taken advantage of the law as it then existed, and have imprisoned him for debt. For, it will be observed, 7 ° George Morland the law was much more severe against debtors then than it is now.* An impecunious artist like Morland could now walk about freely, and do his work undeterred by the awful suspicion' that bailiffs were at his heels, and that every moment he might be seized and hurried off to prison. At the same time, on the principle that ‘ an Englishman’s house is his castle,’ a man could not be arrested in his own dwelling. That was why Morland stayed indoors. But staying indoors, especially to a man like Morland, who was accustomed to outdoor exercise, undermined his health ; and he had recourse to stimulants, which gradually sapped his strength. Whilst we cannot imagine what pleasure it could give anyone to clap George Morland into gaol, we can understand the folly of imprisoning a painter who was only able to redeem his debts by being allowed the free exercise of his art. Partly, however, from revenge, partly to wring money out of Morland’s friends, several of his creditors resolved upon his imprisonment ; and we can only regret that a man, able and willing like him to paint so admirably, should have lived at a time when the terrors of the law were able to quench and destroy so bright a genius. * In England, imprisonment for debt was abolished by the Debtors’ Act of 1869, except in certain cases. SELLING FISH. By George Morland. Engraved by John Raphael Smith, 1799. CHAPTER VIII. LONDON HIDING-PLACES, AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT. Debtors like Morland, hiding from the bailiffs, were in a perilous position, for anyone knowing their where- abouts was able to make something by giving informa- tion. Morland did not lack a base friend of this descrip- tion, a fellow whom he had asked to visit him at his Chelsea retreat, and whom he had promised a picture worth five guineas. The Judas called, got the picture, assured him of his friendship, and next morning Morland was arrested. Being bailed out by a friend, Morland next retired to Lambeth, where he lodged in the house of a waterman, whom he affectionately termed ‘ my Dicky/ The latter used to row him over in the evening to the Charing Cross side, and, under the mantle of night, Morland was able to mix with his fellow-men. Even his waterman’s lodging was, however, discovered, so he removed to a furnished house at East Sheen, where another ungrateful friend betrayed him. After another arresting creditor had been pacified, he removed to Queen Anne Street East, where he resided for three months. It is said that, to escape observation and discovery, he took lodgings directly opposite Portland Chapel, so that no one living on the other side of the street could see him. That he was not penniless is, how- ever, evident from the fact of the lodgings being good, 72 George Morland and from his keeping a man-servant, whose Puritanism amused his master. Mori and’ s father died in Stephen Street, Rathbone Place, in November, 1797, aged eighty-five, and his son was advised to claim the vacant baronetcy of Morland, already referred to. Our artist, however, declined to do so, partly because the baronetcy was financially worthless, and partly because he considered the title ‘ George Morland, painter’ quite as good as ‘Sir George Morland, Baronet.’ As the artist himself exclaimed, ‘ Sir George Morland ! It sounds well, but it won’t do. Plain George Morland will always sell my pictures; and there is more honour in being a fine painter than in being a fine gentleman.’ He was evidently, however, quite satisfied in his own mind that he was the heir to the baronetcy, and that he would have got it if he had claimed it. But personal safety, not baronetcies, was his first consideration, for his creditors had unleashed the dogs of the law, and they were everywhere in pursuit of him. It is a miserable story. The poor artist was regularly hunted from cover to cover, like a fox by a pack of hounds. From Queen Anne Street he fled to the residence of his engraver, Mr. J. Grozer. It must have been a sad day for the latter to see the painter of such rural happiness as ‘ The Happy Cottagers ’ and ‘ The Gipsies’ Tent,’ which he had engraved in 1793, fleeing to him for refuge like a hunted animal. Then he fled to the house of his father-in-law, Mr. Ward ; then to that of his brother, Henry Morland; then back to Mr. Ward’s ; then to China Row, Walcot Place ; then to Poplar Road, Newington ; then to Kennington Green, where he lodged with a zealous Methodist cobbler who sermonised him ; then to the house of Mr. Merle, carver and gilder, Leadenhall Street ; and finally to Hackney. It is certainly not surprising to learn that all this hot London Hiding-places, and Isle of Wight 73 pursuit weakened his nerves, and destroyed any steadi- ness he still possessed ; although we are told he worked very hard indeed when at Mr. Merle’s, rising daily at six o’clock, and painting till three or four in the after- noon. When at Hackney, he observed the officers approaching his lodging to arrest him, so he fled across the fields to London. The officers entered to find only the artist’s wife, who, poor soul! had not deserted him. They broke open every locked drawer in the house, and searched the premises thoroughly for valuables, but could find nothing but unfinished pictures. The brutality of this visit was such that Morland’s solicitor, Mr. Wedd, recovered twenty guineas, on threatening to raise an action of trespass against the Bank which the officers represented.* After this he was permitted to stay six months at Hackney, and then he removed to the house of his brother Henry, in Dean Street, which was his head- quarters for some time. Then he moved to Fountain Place, City Road, and whilst there an incident occurred which showed how often pride and poverty are found together, and how a poor gentleman can frequently do a handsome thing regardless of the cost. Mr. Serjeant Cochill had often expressed a wish to see Morland paint, and, having a painting by Morland which had been accidentally injured, asked Mr. Wedd if * It is but fair to add that Allan Cunningham gives another explanation of the extraordinary action of the Bank, by stating that from ‘ his anxious looks and secluded manners of life, some of his charitable neighbours ’ at Hackney hinted to the Bank that possibly Morland might be a maker of forged notes ; that the directors of the Bank believed this strange story, and ‘ despatched two of their * most dexterous emissaries ’ to effect the capture of the suspected forger ; and that, on discovering him to be Morland the painter, they ‘ presented him with a couple of banknotes of £ 20 each, by way of compensation for the alarm they had given him.’ 74 George Morland he could prevail on his artist-client to call at his house to touch the picture. Morland readily complied, but on the express condition that he should receive no fee or reward. He finished the painting after several hours’ work, and the Serjeant was so pleased that he offered him a purse of guineas. Nothing, however, would induce Morland to accept it ; yet, so fearful was he lest his resolution should break down, that he whispered to Mr. Wedd not to leave him. The latter accordingly explained to the Serjeant the condition on which Morland had consented to touch his picture. He would not even accept the Serjeant’s invitation to stay to dinner, although we are told he afterwards went with Mr. Wedd and dined very extravagantly at Old Slaughter’s Coffee-house. This was not the last meeting, however, between Morland and Serjeant Cochill, for our artist, two years afterwards, became mixed up in a suit at the instance of a Mr. Clifton against Captain Cunningham, of the Royal Waggon Train. The suit arose out of a scuffle which occurred between Clifton and Cunningham, and Morland became a party to it as the latter’s friend. Morland had engaged Serjeant Cochill as his and Cun- ningham’s counsel ; but, a compromise being effected, it was now the Serjeant’s turn to be magnanimous. In lieu of a fee, he agreed to accept a drawing by Morland, so our artist sent him one endorsed, ‘ Clifton versus Cunningham. Brief for the defendant, Mr. Serjeant Cochill. Wedd, attorney.’ The Serjeant declared that this was the most valuable fee he had ever received. We have now arrived at the year 1799, which marks a new departure in Morland’s life and habits. Instead of murky London, with its manifold temptations, he was to reside in the beautiful Isle of Wight, then far from London owing to the want of easy communica- tion. To this day the isle presents picturesque features London Hiding-places, and Isle of Wight 75 which have often disappeared in the more populous parts of England. Not that it has entirely escaped the modern builder. The charming old houses, built of stone and thatched, in the Freshwater district, put to shame the modern brick tenements which have sprung up round Totland Bay. It seems as if decreed that the nine- teenth century, which came in picturesquely arrayed, should go out in a blaze of architectural ugliness and vulgarity. Mrs. Morland being unwell, and Morland himself being worried by the low companions who disturbed his work and destroyed his health, they accepted the offer of their medical man, Mr. Lynn, a surgeon in Westminster, who generously placed at their service a picturesque cottage which he possessed near Cowes. In April, 1799, Mrs. Morland went there with her servant, and her husband and his man Simpson soon followed. Dawe makes an objection to Morland going to the Isle of Wight for retirement, and yet keeping * the apartment in which he painted filled from morning till night with sailors, fishermen, and smugglers.’ Yet how, or who, was Morland to paint else ? As a story related further on proves, he but followed the dictates of his own style of art in collecting these men, however objection- able they seem to Dawe, whose own classic bent is revealed in his picture of ‘ Achilles, Frantic for the Loss of Patroclus, rejecting the Consolation of Thetis ’ (‘ Iliad,’ lib.xviii.), a painting which gained the Academy gold medal in 1803. The world would rather have one painting of sailors, fishermen, or smugglers by Morland, than a hundred Achilles canvases by Dawe. Take, for example, two paintings by Morland, both engraved by J. R. Smith, mezzotint engraver to the Prince of Wales, and published in 1799. One is ‘ The Fisherman’s Hut,’ and the other is ‘ Selling Fish.’ ?6 George Morland The latter was painted in 1793, but both display the artist’s homely yet powerful style, and show that, before he went to the Isle of Wight, he had made the acquaint- ance of fishermen. In 1800 appeared, under the title of ‘ Fishermen,’ a fine coast scene with fishermen, boats, and dogs, engraved by John Yoiyig, engraver to the Prince of Wales, and ‘ The Fisherman’s Dog,’ engraved by S. W. Reynolds; whilst in 1802 William Ward produced ‘ Sailors’ Conversation,’ a scene be- tween four sailors and a girl at the door of an inn. A fine picture of ‘ Fishermen Going Out ’ was engraved by S. W. Reynolds in 1805. Next year appeared a small ‘Coast Scene,’ and William Ward’s mezzotint ‘The Contented Waterman ’ — also an engraving of a well- known painting, ‘ Fishermen on Shore,’ representing two men toasting a fisher-lass as she passes. A mezzotint by William Ward, published so late as 1814, entitled ‘ Bathing Horses,’ may close this brief notice of some of Morland’s pictures done near the seashore. One would have imagined that, in the Isle of Wight, Morland would have been safe from his London creditors, but unfortunately such was not the case. His Cowes retreat was divulged by some toper in a public-house, and Morland’s brother was just in time to warn the artist of the possibility of his arrest. Hastily leaving Cowes, the latter and his man Simpson took refuge in Yarmouth, a picturesque town on the Solent, not very far from Cowes, and also in the Isle of Wight. There they lodged with an old smuggler named George Cole ; but, as if misfortune dogged our painter’s footsteps everywhere, he had not been long in Yar- mouth when he and his man, and also Morland’s brother, were arrested as spies by an order from General Don, commanding this district of the isle. Their arrest was sudden and dramatic. Morland was breakfasting with his brother and servant at six London Hiding-places, and Isle of Wight 77 o’clock one morning, when a lieutenant and eight soldiers of the Dorset militia entered, grounded their pieces, and declared them all prisoners. The zealous militiamen had observed our artist sketching the coast at Yarmouth ; and, being in all things warlike, they could arrive at no other conclusion than that he was sketching the coast defences for the information of the French Government, and to assist a French invasion. They accordingly marched the suspected artist, his brother, and his servant off to Newport, the island capital, twelve miles distant ; and the weather being hot and dry, and the artist’s heavy portfolio of sketches (which contained the criminatory evidence against him) being carried by the prisoners, the latter appeared in sorry plight before the island justices. To complete the indignity, they were hooted at as traitors whilst on the road to Newport. Fortunately, Morland had received, from Dr. Lynn, a letter of introduction to a well-known gentleman in the Isle of Wight, and this saved him. With a stern admonition to make no more sketches in the isle, he was dismissed from the justices’ court. This ridiculous affair will remind the reader of an episode in Richard Doyle’s inimitable ‘ Brown, Jones, and Robinson,’ where the whole party were arrested and tried because Brown chose to make sketches in Austrian territory. However, the injunction to sketch no more in the Isle of Wight seems to have lain light on Morland ; for, whilst staying with the old smuggler at Yarmouth, he painted, for Mr. Wedd, two of his finest coast scenes — the one a view of the Needles, and the other of Freshwater Gate, into which he introduced „ the portraits of various people of the districts. Allan Cunningham says* that a friend once found Morland at Freshwater Gate, ‘ in a low public-house * ‘ Lives of British Painters,’ 1830, vol. ii., p. 222. 7 8 George Morland called The Cabin. Sailors, rustics, and fishermen were seated round him in a kind of ring, the roof-tree rung with laughter and song, and Morland, with manifest reluctance, left their company for the conversation of his friend. “George,” said his monitor, “you must have reasons for keeping such company.” “ Reasons, and good ones,” said the artist, laughing ; “ see, where could I find such a picture as that, unless among the originals of The Cabin ?” He held up his sketch-book and showed a correct delineation of the very scene in which he had so lately been the presiding spirit. One of his best pictures contains this facsimile of the tap- room, with its guests and furniture.’ Freshwater Gate is a hamlet situated on the seashore close to the more inland village of Freshwater. The Cabin public-house has vanished, and the only inn known to have once existed at Freshwater Gate was the Mermaid, the site of which is now occupied by the Albion Hotel. In all probability, Morland lived at the Mermaid. The author was informed by an old fisherman of Freshwater that he assisted, when a boy, at the pulling down of the Mermaid, and that his grandmother had secured its sign, a mermaid carved in wood. One day the fisherman’s aunt wanted firewood, and actually broke up and burnt the old sign — a bit of ruthless destruction which the fisherman said he had never ceased to regret. Curiously enough, the fisherman had two good coloured engravings, by William Ward (1790), of Morland’s ‘Jack in the Bilboes’ and ‘The Contented Waterman ’ which, he said, had descended to him. Since Morland’s day, Freshwater has become a fashionable watering-place, but its picturesque scenery remains just as he loved to depict it. There are still the chalk cliffs, the splendid sea, the grassy downs, the old thatched stone cottages, situated amid a luxuriant London Hiding-places, and Isle of Wight 79 tangle of trees, shrubs, and flowers. The Poet Laureate of England came to this district and lived long and happily among its lovely scenery and homely people. Farringford, Lord Tennyson’s seat, is close to Fresh- water; and it is known that the illustrious poet felt, like Morland, most at home among the common people of the locality. He fled from a Cockney tourist as Morland did from a London dun. In times to come, Farringford will be a place of pilgrimage for all lovers of English poetry ; and people will go there to visit the haunts of Tennyson, just as they go to Stratford-on-Avon to visit those of Shake- speare. It is pleasant to think that one of the most English of all poets was, like one of the most English of all painters, attracted to the same locality; and it is still more pleasant to know that the place possesses imperishable beauties which all lovers of poetry and art may still enjoy. CHAPTER IX. ‘alas, poor yorick!’ The last years of the life of George Morland are sad reading. Returning to London in November, 1799, he thought he might live in safety in lodgings at Vauxhall, but he was mistaken. The bailiffs found him out, arrested him, and took him to King’s Bench Prison. He immediately ‘ obtained the rules’; that is, permission to live within a certain district allotted to debtors. His house was in Lambeth Road, St. George’s Fields, and his wife and brother lived with him. At this period in his artistic life his industry was extraordinary. From his brother’s books we learn that he executed four hundred and ninety-two paintings during the last eight years of his life, and Dawe thinks we may add three hundred more painted for other persons. ‘ In addition to these,’ the latter continues, ‘ he made probably upwards of a thousand drawings within that period, as it was customary for him to produce one almost every evening.’ The sad thing is that this talented and hardworking man should be either living in a debtors’ sanctuary or chased by bailiffs during these eight last years of his life, when he produced seven hundred and ninety-two paintings and a thousand drawings, which, at present prices, would have made his fortune. True, debt may have impelled him to this extraordinary labour during ‘ Alas, poor Yorick !* 8 1 the last years of his life. It was the sense of his indebtedness, and his noble desire to clear off his incumbrances, which caused Sir Walter Scott to work like a slave during his last years. The unnatural strain drove Scott to madness. It drove Morland to drink. We are told by Dawe that, after ‘obtaining the rules/ Morland lived a more regular, though not a more temperate life. He kept open house and every day sat down to a good table at which his wife presided. This was the last flash of conviviality which he en- joyed, and it was dearly paid for. When he rose in the morning his hand trembled, and he was afraid to touch a picture in case he should spoil it. He resorted to drink to steady his hand. Occa- sionally he was unable to stand, and was supported by his man-servant whilst painting. But Dawe denies the truth of the saying that Morland painted best when intoxicated. On the contrary, Morland requested a friend not to look at one of his pictures because, he said, he was half drunk when he painted it. Yet, writing in 1830 his ‘ Lives of the Most Eminent British Painters,’ Allan Cunningham, ignorant or regardless of Dawe’s contradiction, asserts that ‘ Morland’s pictures were mostly produced under the influence of intoxica- tion.’ It is surprising that he should add that the paintings executed by this intoxicated man ‘want nothing which Art can bestow, or the most fastidious eye desire.’ That Morland ultimately drank far too much, that his pictures then produced are bad, and that drink hurried him to the grave, are, however, facts which cannot be denied. He had a stroke of apoplexy, shortly after his release in 1802, which stopped all work. He removed to the Black Bull at Highgate, where he had been advised to go for the sake of the air ; but in two 6 82 George Morland months he was back at his brother’s in Dean Street, and painted at various houses in the neighbourhood. His wife resided in lodgings at Paddington for the benefit of her health, her husband allowing her two or three guineas a week, which he paid regularly. He occasionally visited her lodgings, and once painted, says Dawe, a curious picture of the garret, with himself at work, and his man Gibbs, who was a cook, frying sausages. It was intended as a companion to that which Sir Joshua Reynolds painted of the kitchen of his house in Leicester Square, a house which had actually been the residence at one time of Morland’s father, and now was that of the President of the Royal Academy. Morland’s father once living in a fine house in the then fashionable Leicester Square — Morland’s son and his wife living in a garret at Paddington : this is an example of the vicissitudes in the lives of families, show- ing how one family rises and the other sinks. Joshua Reynolds, the son of a school-master of Plympton, becoming a distinguished portrait-painter and President of the Royal Academy, dying in his house in Leicester Square, and being buried with great pomp in St. Paul’s Cathedral, is the social antithesis of poor George Morland, who was well born and heir to a Baronetcy, who started well and painted well, but lived badly, and died a beggar. It is told of Morland during his last years, that ‘his paralytic affection deprived him for a time of the use of his left hand, and rendered him incapable of holding his palette. He was constantly reduced to the necessity of making drawings which his man sold for what he could get. From mere habit he became so expert at these sketches that he would often execute them at a public- house, when half asleep, to raise a little money.’ For the last time he was arrested for debt. His ‘Alas, poor Yorick !’ 83 creditor was a publican to whom was due, with costs, about ten pounds.* He was hurried off to a sponging- house in Eyre Street Hill, Cold Bath Fields, and there he made a last effort, with the aid of drink, to paint or sketch a few pictures. But his strength failed him. He was seized with a fit whilst making his last sketch, that of a bank and a tree, which afterwards passed into the possession of his mother. A brain-fever followed, and George Morland expired on October 29, 1804, aged only forty-two. His wife, on hearing the news, gave a loud shriek, was seized with convulsive fits, and expired four days afterwards. They had had an unfortunate career, but not an altogether unhappy life, for they were always attached to each other. Often they had spoken of death, and they always had said that, if one of them died, the other would not long survive. Their presentiment came true at last, for they died within four days of each other. Nor were they separated after death, for they were buried side by side in the burial-ground of St. James’s Chapel. The very year (1804) that Morland passed away, and the three years that followed, witnessed a fresh setting- in of public appreciation of the dead painter. In 1804 three etchings appeared by Thomas Williamson of Morland’s charming pictures, entitled ‘ Lazy Shepherds — “Go mind them ” ‘ First Love — “Well, I shall have my mother after me ” and ‘ The Young Dealer — “ Well, what will you give ?”’ T. Vivares etched a picture of an ass and pigs, with a boy. Orme published an etching of a group conversing. Three engravings of duck, * For a paltry sum like this a brutal creditor threatened to arrest Morland’s immortal contemporary, Robert Burns. Shortly before Burns’ death, he wrote a piteous letter to a friend imploring him to send him five pounds to prevent a creditor putting him in gaol. The original is in the museum of the Corporation of Edinburgh. 8 4 George Morland woodcock, and pheasant shooting appeared, also one of * The Setters.’ E. Scott engraved ‘ Boys bathing.’ During the year (1805) which followed the death of Morland, his friend William Collins published at London his * Memoirs of a Picture,’ in the second volume of which is given a biography of Morland, and a description of * several of Morland’s best works not generally known.’ This work was published in i2mo. in three volumes. In 1805 Thomas Williamson etched Morland’s ‘Woodman,’ ‘Travellers Reposing,’ ‘Tired Gipsies,’ ‘Rustic Cares — “chuck, chuck, chuck!”’ (a man followed by three pigs), ‘ Summer’s Evening,’ and ‘ Winter’s Morning,’ forming together one of the most delightful galleries of rural pictures. T. Vivares etched a portrait of ‘ George Morland, from the draw- ing by himself.’ The artist is seated under a tree at the door of the Blue Bell Inn. He is smoking and drinking, his palette at his side, a dog at his feet, and a pig in the foreground. J. Dean engraved ‘Fishermen going out,’ and ‘ Paying the Horseler,’ (hostler), two fine works ; whilst J. Scott reproduced a ‘ Pointer and Hare ’ and ‘ The Farmyard.’ A ‘ Frostpiece’ and ‘Winter Scene’ by Morland were also engraved. In 1806 we have a small ‘ Coast Scene’ and ‘Studies of Dogs,’ also T. Williamson’s etchings of ‘ Wood- cutters ’ and ‘ Cottagers in Winter.’ Orme published several etchings of studies, and S. W. Reynolds engraved ‘ Morland’s Emblematical Palette.’ William Ward reproduced ‘ The Contented Waterman,’ ‘ The Shepherds,’ ‘ Setters,’ ‘ The Turnpike Gate,’ ‘ The Warriner ’ (an old man with dead rabbits at a cottage door), ‘ Rabbits,’ ‘ Guinea-pigs,’ and ‘ The Thatcher,’ — eight mezzotints in one year, showing that the dead Morland was yet a living power in the land. The artist’s ‘ Fishermen on Shore’ was also engraved. This ‘ Alas, poor Yorick !’ «S fine engraving, by Hilton, represents two men toasting a fisher-lass as she passes, a subject which Morland depicted in more than one painting. In 1806 also appeared the life of Morland by F. W. Blagdon, an oblong folio containing fifteen pages of letterpress, followed by twenty full-page engravings after Morland. During the same year (1806) were published, in quarto, the ‘ Memoirs of the Life of George Morland,’ by his friend J. Hassell, to which is prefixed a portrait of Morland from a drawing made by Mrs. S. Jones in 1792, also a cow and cottage drawn by Morland. This volume contains a * Catalogue of the Works of Morland,’ giving the subject, engraver, manner of engraving, size (inches by inches), form, where described in the volume, price, and by whom originally published. In an appendix we find ‘ Remarks on the Leading Beauties of the Principal Pictures,’ ninety-three in number, * in the Morland Gallery ’ in Bond Street. This ‘Morland Gallery’ was on view in 1806. In 1891 an interesting gallery, also in Bond Street, was arranged by Messrs. Dowdeswell, who exhibited over thirty excellent paintings by Morland ; whilst in i 893-94 Messrs. J. and A. Vokins, Great Portland Street, exhibited upwards of three hundred mezzotint and other engravings after Morland, and published a special catalogue of them. Thus, the memory of George Morland, ninety years after his death, was being per- petuated by galleries and special catalogues, showing the power of a deceased artist when ‘ his Art was Nature.’ With justice, Morland’s biographer Blagdon applied to him Dryden’s lines on Kneller : ‘Such are thy pictures, Morland, such thy skill, That Nature seems obedient to thy will, Comes out and meets thy pencil in the draught, Lives there, and wants but words to speak her thought.’ 86 George Morland In 1807, Orme published a portfolio of * Sketches by G. Morland,’ the title-page of which represents the artist sketching pigs. J. R. Smith engraved a ‘ Boy and Pigs,’ ‘Rabbits eating,’ and ‘Guinea-pigs,’ during the same year. In this year also appeared in one volume, royal octavo, ‘ The Life of George Morland, with Remarks on his Works, by G. Dawe,’ published at London by Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, Poultry, 1807. A fine portrait of Morland, engraved by Charles Picart, from a painting in 1792 by J. R. Smith, forms the frontispiece of this interesting work, which also contains engravings of sketches by Morland in the possession of Mr. Wedd, his solicitor. It may be added that a most unreliable portrait of Morland by Robert Muller, engraved by W. C. Edwards, appears in vol. ii. of Allan Cunningham’s ‘ Lives of the Most Eminent British Painters,’ etc., published in 1830. It represents him as a stout man with flabby cheeks, and is not like contemporary portraits. Por- traits of the artist, by the artist himself, are interspersed throughout his works ; whilst his friend Rowlandson made a characteristic one of Morland standing with his back to the fireplace of an inn parlour. From all these portraits we gather that Morland was a tall, good-looking man, of fine, if somewhat sensuous, features, and with the air of a gentleman devoted to plea- sure and sport. Again, in Rowlandson’s water-colour sketch, we observe that Morland was then dressed in a green coat, and top-boots, and we perceive that he had splendid dark eyes and an intellectual face. He was one of ‘Nature’s own nobility,’ with all their virtues and all their faults ; and if, in his worship of Nature, he often stumbled and at last fell, let us not forget that he left to posterity, in his vast gallery of pictures from Nature, a monument of his genius, industry, and worth. APPENDIX Part Part L— PAINTINGS BY MORLAND. II .— ENGRAVINGS AFTER MORLAND. GIPSIES. By George Morland. Engraved by William Ward 1792. APPENDIX. PART I. PAINTINGS BY NORLAND. A. PAINTINGS BY GEORGE MORLAND EXHIBITED PUBLICLY IN GREAT BRITAIN. In the year 1778 ‘ Two Landscapes, stained drawings,’ were exhibited at the Exhibition of the Royal Academy by ‘ Master G. Morland.’ He was then only fifteen years of age, and he is entered, without address, in the list of ‘ honorary ’ artists at the end of the Academy’s catalogue. Next year, ‘A Drawing with a Poker ’ was exhibited by ‘George Morland, Junior, No. 4, Millbank Row.’ The audacity of the title of this picture is of a piece with the artist’s age — only sixteen. There is also this year a picture by ‘ — Morland, No. 4, Millbank Row,’ entitled ‘ A Portrait in Crayons.’ This was probably exhibited by Morland’s father, a painter in crayons. In 1780, ‘ G. Morland, Junior, No. 14, Stephen Street, Tottenham Court Road,’ exhibited ‘ Land- scape, a drawing’; whilst next year ‘ G. Morland, No. 14, Stephen Street, Rathbone Place,’ exhibited a * Hovel, with Asses,’ showing that even at the age of eighteen Morland took to sketching rustic subjects in 9° George Morland which he afterwards excelled. This same year (1781) his brother, H. Morland, at same address, exhibited ‘ A Dairymaid, crayons.’ Morland did not exhibit again till 1784, when, at the same address, he is entered in the catalogue as exhibit- ing two works, ‘ A Fog in September ’ and ‘ Vicar of Wakefield (vol. i., chap, viii.).’ Next year he exhibited no fewer than seven works, including six ‘ sketches ’ and ‘ Maria, Lavinia, and the Chelsea Pensioner (see “Adventures of an Hackney Coach,” vol. i.).’ His sister Maria (also residing at 14, Stephen Street) ex- hibited a picture under the naif title, ‘ Portrait of a Child hugging a Guinea-pig.’ Next year Morland exhibited ‘ The Flowery Banks of the Shannon,’ and the same year, and also at the same address (14, Stephen Street), his brother Henry exhibited the ‘ Distressed Architect,’ and his sister Maria exhibited ‘A Girl Washing.’ In 1788 Morland, who now resided at ‘No. 9, Warren Place, Hampstead Road,’ exhibited ‘ Execrable Human Traffick ; or, The Affectionate Slaves,’ a subject which was then engaging public attention, as in 1787 a society for the suppression of the slave-trade was formed in London, William Wilberforce being the most active Parliamentary leader in the cause of Abolition. In 1794 the French Convention decreed the abolition of slavery throughout the French colonies; but the British Act was not passed till 1807. Engravings after Mor- land’s paintings on this subject were published in 1791 both in France and England. It was in 1791 that Morland’s masterpiece, cata- logued as * Inside of a Stable,’ was exhibited, and was purchased from the Exhibition by the Rev. Sir Henry Bate Dudley, Bart. It is now, fortunately, in the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, having been ac- quired by the Trustees in 1877, as a gift from Sir Paintings at the Royal Academy 9 1 H. B. Dudley’s nephew, Mr. Thomas Birch Wolfe. When Morland exhibited it he resided at ‘ No. 20, Win- chester Row, Edgware Road,’ and his age was twenty- eight, an early age for a chef d' ceuvre. Spurred on, perhaps, by the flattering reception his great work obtained, Morland exhibited next year (1792) five pictures showing his mastery of various branches of painting. These works were entitled 4 A Shipwreck,’ 4 Goats,’ 4 A Farmyard,’ 4 Benevolent Sportsman,’ and 4 The Sportsman’s Return.’ Engrav- ings of the three last were published in 1795. Morland resided in 1792 at 4 No. 63, Charlotte Street, Rathbone Place,’ and had at this moment, perhaps, attained his highest position as an artist. His brother Henry, re- siding at 4 No. 6, Carlisle Street, Soho,’ exhibited this year 4 A Summer Shower ’ and 4 Lighting a Person Home by a Lanthorn called a Moon.’ In 1794 Morland, residing at 4 No. 5, Gerrard Street, Soho,’ exhibited three works, entitled 4 Bargaining for Sheep,’ 4 Interior of a Stable,’ and 4 A Farrier’s Shop.’ In 1797 he had removed to 4 No. 28, Gerrard Street,’ and from there he sent to the Academy’s Exhibition no fewer than seven canvases, viz. : 4 Landscape and Figures,’ 4 Thirsty Millers,’ 4 Landscape and Figures,’ 4 Pigs,’ 4 Sea-beach,’ 4 Landscape and Figures,’ and 4 Sand- cart.’ In 1799, residing at 4 28, Red Lion Square,’ Morland exhibited two 4 Landscapes and Figures,’ and 4 Christ- mas Week ’; whilst 1804 witnessed his last appearance as an exhibitor at the Royal Academy, and under the suggestive address 4 19, Rolls Buildings, Fetter Lane.’ He then exhibited three works, viz., 4 Saving the Remains of a Wreck,’ 4 The Fish Market,’ and 4 A Landscape, with Hounds in Full Chase.’ As a record of industry, Morland’s exhibits at the Royal Academy are not, perhaps, remarkable ; but the 92 George Morland fact remains that he began exhibiting at the age of fifteen, and went on exhibiting till the year of his death, 1804. We must remember, too, that, unlike the case of most artists, Morland’s industry and success are not to be gauged by his appearances at the Royal Academy. The enormous number of engravings after paintings by him which were never exhibited, although many were displayed at successive * Morland Galleries ’ in London, attest the diligence with which he followed his calling, and the immense success which he achieved as an artist — a success which is as much appreciated now as ever, for, as an eminent critic remarked in 1889, ‘ In all the range of British art, there are few things better than a good Morland.’* At the same time, a success such as Morland’s, and the value put upon his paintings, have, as formerly pointed out, made connoisseurs very wary indeed of accepting every ‘ Morland ’ exhibited as the work of the Master. In this chapter, therefore, I shall refer only to a few exhibitions of the very highest class, in which the Morlands exhibited have been passed as genuine by the best authorities. First, let us look at the paintings by Morland in the National Galleries at London and Edinburgh. There are only two Morlands in the London gallery, but, fortunately, one is the artist’s masterpiece, and, for him, a very large picture, viz., No. 1030, ‘ The Inside of a Stable.’ The catalogue describes it as follows : * Said to be that of the White Lion at Paddington. t Two horses and a pony are being led by a boy into a stable ; * W. E. Henley in ‘ A Century of Artists,’ a Memorial of the Loan Collection of Painting and Sculpture, International Exhibition, Glasgow, 1888. f George Dawe, R.A., writing in 1807, states this as a fact, and describes this picture under the title ‘The Farmer’s Stable’ in Appendix C, p. 108. Paintings at National Galleries 93 to the left, a man is stooping and collecting together some straw. On canvas, 4 feet 9 inches high, by 6 feet 7 j inches wide. Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1791 ; it was purchased from the Exhibition by the Rev. Sir Henry Bate Dudley, Bart., and was presented to the National Gallery by his nephew, Mr. Thomas Birch Wolfe, in 1877.’ The other, a very small ex- ample, is No. 1067, ‘A Quarry, with Peasants,’ described as follows : ‘ Broken ground, with a high, gravelly bank, studded with scrub. In the further foreground, some labourers are at their noonday meal ; near them is a range of baskets ; in the distance, some blue hills ; above, a summer sky, with soft, white clouds. On wood, 7 inches high by 9 inches wide. Sold at Mr. Jesse Curling’s sale in 1856. Purchased at the sale of Mr. J. H. Anderdon’s pictures in 1879.’ No. 1030 is prominently signed, whilst No. 1067 is unsigned. In the National Gallery of Scotland, at Edinburgh, there is only one example of Morland, a poor and un- pleasing one. It is catalogued : * “ The Stable Door (a Study).” Canvas ; 15 inches by 13 inches, oblong. Purchased at the sale of the late James T. Gibson Craig’s collection.’ Two horses, the nearest a white scraggy one saddled, are drinking at a trough. Two men, one in a blue coat with a glass in his hand, the other in post-boy attire, stand behind at the door of a thatch-covered stable. Blue sky to right. Signed * G. Morland.’ Let us, in the second place, look at the examples of Morland to be found in the South Kensington Museum. There are two very excellent Morlands there, viz., (1) * The Reckoning,’ representing a gentleman in a stable paying a boy for a glass of beer. A bull-terrier is tethered to a stall. There are other two dogs, and a man and a boy ; the last-named holds a white horse. (2) ‘Johnny going to the Fair.’ This is a very pleasing 94 George Morland picture, and has been engraved. Johnny takes leave of an elderly woman looking out at a door, at which sits a young woman holding a blue ribbon tied in a true- lovers’ knot. There is a third painting by Morland, entitled ‘ A Girl fondling a Dove.’ In the third place, let us turn to the catalogue of the famous Art Treasures Exhibition, held at Man- chester in 1857, and see what pictures by George Mor- land were exhibited there. He was represented by the following ten canvases, the name of the owner of each being annexed : ... F. Pigou, Esq. ... Bonamy Dobrce, jun., Esq. ... Ditto. ... J. H. Galton, Esq. A. Dennistoun, Esq. Gipsy Encampment Sheep (described p. 95) A Horse Children playing at Soldiers* African Hospitality The Englishman’s Return for African Hospitality (These are the two pictures engraved and published by J. R. Smith, in 1791.) Gipsies ... ... ... ... J. Tollemache, Esq. Rustic Scene ... ... ... Ditto. Cottage Scene ... ... ... Ditto. The Recruit ... ... ... Christopher Bushcll, Esq. In a critical notice of the Exhibition which appeared during 1857, the Manchester Guardian, a writer remarks : ‘ Perhaps the best example of Morland in this collection, though it is one of the most unpretending, is the “ White Horse in a Shed ” (catalogued simply “ A Horse ”), contributed by Mr. Bonamy Dobree.’ Let us, in the fourth place, look at the Morlands exhibited at the two Winter Exhibitions of the Gros- venor Gallery in 1887-88 and 1888-89, in which, thanks * Sold at Christie’s in June, 1889, for £735. Paintings at Grosvenor Gallery 95 to the patriotic initiative of Sir Coutts Lindsay, Bart., a ‘ Century of British Art, from 1737 to 1837,’ was very adequately represented. In the former of these important Exhibitions no fewer than twenty-eight paintings by George Morland were exhibited, and, in the catalogue, were described as follows, the notes being by Mr. F. G. Stephens : ist September (Evening), 28 x 3 5^ i n. Lent by W. Fuller Maitland, Esq., M.P. The Stable, 28x35 > n - ••• ••• Lent by R. Rankin, Esq. A man in a white smock-frock, carrying a corn-sieve and a basket, enters a stable on our right, and is followed by a brown and white pony, and a dog. Straw lies in front on our right of the open door. This picture is engraved. The Stable, ii^x 14^ in. ...Lent by Bonamy Dobree, Esq. The Inn Parlour, 1 x 14J in. Lent by Bonamy Dobree, Esq. The Keeper’s Home, 12 x 14^ in Lent by James Orrock, Esq. Old Water Mill with Figures, 27 x 35^ in. Lent by Richard Gibbs, Esq. The Corn-bin, 25x30m. ...Lent by Bonamy Dobree, Esq. Interior of a stable, where two men are taking — probably- stealing — corn from a large bin placed below a window on our left ; two horses arc in stalls, on our right ; the nearer horse, which is white, turns his head and pulls at his halter while he tries to watch the men. Sheep in a Barn, 27^X35^^. ... I, ent by Bonamy Dobree, Esq. Two rams are crouched on straw, a sheep stands between them ; the blue sky is seen through the open doorway. Exhibited at Manchester in 1857. Idleness, 9| x 1 ii in. ... Lent by Sir Charles Tennant, Bart. The interior of a room with blue walls. A young woman, painted from the artist’s pretty wife, sits at a table with one hand lying idle upon it, the other hand lies in her lap ; she is nearly in profile to our right, and her face, with an indo- lent smile on the plump features, is turned towards us. She 9 6 George Morland wears a large white mob-cap, bound with a broad lilac ribbon, and a loose white dressing-gown over a lilac petticoat. Diligence, 9^ x i i| in. ... Lent by Sir Charles Tennant, Bart. Interior. A small whole-length figure — for which Morland’s pretty wife sat. Sitting in profile to our left, and between a table and the window, she is knitting a piece of work which is pinned to her knee ; she wears a very large black hat, abundant brown hair falling on her shoulders, a white fichu. A green spencer, reaching to her feet, being open in the front, shows a white petticoat and red slipper ; near her feet a white work-basket stands on the blue carpet. Landscape, with Soldiers on a Bridge, ii£x 13^ in. Lent by Richard Gibbs, Esq. A bridge of one arch crosses a stream, near the middle of the picture ; on the bridge two soldiers — one riding — and two other persons are travelling towards our right ; a high woody bank is on our right in front ; background of dense forest. The White Horse, 2o| x 27 in. ... Lent by Louis Huth, Esq. The Interior of a Stable, 24A x 30 in. Lent by William Garnett, Esq. The Pig-sty, 23^x29 in. ... ... ...Lent by Mrs. Ford. Two large black-and-white pigs in a sty, one side of which, being open, shows a blue sky ; a child looks in. The Artist in his Studio, 24^ x 29^ in. Lent by W. H. Matthews, Esq. The Soldier’s Return, 7x10 in Lent by W. W. Lewis, Esq. Gipsies, 6| x 9 in. ... ... Lent by W. W. Lewis, Esq. A Landscape, 5^ x 8 in. ... ... Lent by W. W. Lewis, Esq. This painting is by John Rathbone (born 1750, died 1807) and George Morland. Winter, 4^ x 7 in. ... ... Lent by W. W. Lewis, Esq. Group of Pigs, 19^ x 25^ in. ...Lent by Bonamy Dobrec, Esq. Paintings at Grosvenor Gallery 97 Returning from Work, g|x in Lent by A. Andrews, Esq. [Now in the Author’s possession. It is a well-finished picture, and represents a woman, in a red cloak, carrying a bundle of faggots on her right shoulder. In her left hand she holds a carpenter’s basket. She wears blue stockings and buckled shoes ; a boy in a blue cloak follows her, also a black-and- white hairy dog. An oak tree to right bears Morland’s signature, but no date. Behind, to left, are cottages, one red-tiled. — R. R.] Old Clothes ! 1 1 J x 14.^ in. ... Lent by John Cleland, Esq. * The Find,’ ioi x 15 in. ... Lent by Sir Charles Tennant, Bart. The Full Cry, io£ x i 5 in. Lent by Sir Charles Tennant, Bart. T he Woodland Cottage, 17^ X 23^ in. Lent by John Cleland, Esq. A great beech, in its autumnal foliage, stands in the middle of the picture and leans towards our right ; under its boughs, on that side, a small cottage appears ; near the trunk a man reclines on the ground ; near him are two women and a child. Landscape and Figures, 12 x 15 in. Lent by Richard Gibbs, Esq. The Bonnie Fishwife, 17x21 in. Lent by Thomas Hardcastle, Esq. Selling Fish, 17 x 21 in. ... Lent by Thomas Hardcastle, Esq In the fifth place let us look at the twelve Morlands shown in the Winter Exhibition of the Grosvenor Gallery, during 1 888-89, and which, in the revised edition of the catalogue, were described as follows — the notes being by Mr. Walter Armstrong : The Kite entangled, 20^ x 26^ in. ... Lent by Mrs. Thwaites. A kite has become entangled in the upper branches of an oak. A young man in blue clambers up to release it, while 7 9 8 George Morland another, in red, endeavours to free the tail with a stick. A third youth sits under the tree, while a small boy, the owner of the toy, clasps his hands in anxiety for its fate.'*' Engraved by J. R. Smith. Partridge-shooting, ioj x 1 5 in. ... Lent by Col. Hollway. A stubble-field, with two shooters loading, and a brace of pointers. On the right, a man on a white horse ; on the left, a cottage.t Partridge-shooting, io|x 15 in. ... Lent by Col. Hollway. Stubble-field, with trees and cottage in the distance. In the foreground a man shooting a partridge, a keeper with a white pony, a second ‘ gun,’ and a brace of pointers.! Belinda ; or, The Billet-Doux, 9^ x in. Lent by A. T. Hollingsworth, Esq. In a sunlit room, a girl in white lies upon a sofa covered with red. Her legs are stretched to the right, her head is turned over her left shoulder, and she seems to look with surprise at a piece of jewellery, which lies on a table to the left. The table-cloth is blue. A spaniel plays upon the girl’s knee. A glimpse of landscape is seen through a window in the background^ Engraved by Burrows. The Miniature, 9J x i i J in. Lent by A. T. Hollingsworth, Esq. A girl, turned to the left, is seated under an oak ; in her left hand she holds a miniature, at which she gazes ; in her right is an open letter. She wears a large blue hat with white feathers, a white dress, a black pelerine, and a tartan scarf.|| Engraved by W. Ward. Caroline of Lichtfeld, 9^ x i in. Lent by A. T. Hollingsworth, Esq. A girl is seated on the ground under a silver birch ; she is * Unsigned ; ! Unsigned; (1 Unsigned; very fine. — R. R. faded.— R. R. fine. — R. R. t Unsigned; faded. — R. R. § Unsigned; fine. — R. R. Paintings at Grosvenor Gallery 99 turned to the left. She wears a large black hat and feathers, a yellowish-white dress, and a large pink sash. On the right a glimpse of water.* * * § Engraved by J. R. Smith. The Poachers, 9| x 1 1^ in. ... ... Lent by Mr. J. P. Crush. In a disused and overgrown sand-pit two men are conversing. One is standing, and holds a rabbit in both hands ; the other, seated, has a gun behind him. A lurcher stands motionless near the latter, and a second rabbit lies near his feet. A partially clouded sky.f Youth diverting Age, 9^ x 1 1 ^ in. ...Lent by W. Simpson, Esq. A farmer and his wife sit beneath a Morland tree, facing to the left. At their feet, three children play with a mask and a dog.J Engraved by J. Grozer. The Carrier’s Stable, 19^ x 25^ in. Lent by A. T. Hollingsworth, Esq. To the right a man takes by the hand a woman, who seems to have brought him some beer. Farther into the stable, a second man lies asleep on some straw. To the left, a white pony and a chestnut horse are feeding from rack and manger. § Engraved by William Ward. Cottagers ( Portraits of Morland himself and his wife Nancy, nee Ward, with others'), 19! x 2 5 J in. ... Lender’s name not stated. Under a tree, with the foliage of an oak and the trunk of a beech, a family of seven persons is gathered. In the centre, a young woman and her husband are busied with their youngest child. On the right an old woman sews, and a child rides on the back of another. On the left, a boy and two pigs. Background, a farm cottage.|| Engraved by William Ward. * Unsigned ; artificial. — R. R. f Signed ‘ G. Morland.’ — R. R. t Unsigned; a gem. — R. R. § Signed ‘ G. Morland Pinx 1 - 1791.’ Fine. — R. R. 11 Unsigned. — R.R. Sold at Christie’s in 1888 for £120 15s. I oo George Morland Nurse and Children in the Fields, 2o£ x 26| in. Lent by Mrs. Thwaitcs. A lady, seated under a ragged tree, with three children. She is turned to the left, and seems to be engaged in explaining the botany of a flower. A young child sits on a bank beside her ; an older girl stands close by, and a boy, lounging on the ground at his mother’s side, holds up a wild-flower for her inspection. The boy’s large black hat lies in the centre of the foreground, and the lady’s behind her.* Engraved by G. Keating. The Artist’s Portrait, 19^ x 23 £ in. Lent by J. W. Knight, Esq. Bust portrait of a fair-haired boy in black coat and white muslin cravat. The hair cut square across the forehead, and falling in curls on the shoulders. Three-quarters to the fight. f At this Exhibition the works of Morland formed one of the most striking features of the gallery. ‘Not at any rate for ten years,’ said one art critic, ‘ has that ne’er-do-well but gifted artist maintained his ground so well in any London exhibition. He is sometimes written about as if he had depicted only the debasing scenes of pot-house life. The fact is that he did much more than that ; and, moreover, that the connection between him and Gainsborough, that has been noted by one accomplished writer on English art, is by no means so fanciful a thing as other critics have supposed. The “ Lost Kite,”! for example, is as pure and delight- ful a piece of unpretentious art as could well be wished for. It is, no doubt, mannered in composition, but that was a defect common to the school, while the freshness of the whole scene plainly proves that the painter might have become a very prominent figure in the history of * Unsigned ; fine. — R. R. f Unsigned ; fine. — R. R. t Otherwise called ‘ The Kite entangled ’ (p. 97). Paintings at Burlington House ioi British art had sordid habits not completely mastered him.’* In the sixth place we may glance at several excellent pictures by Morland, including his famous * Straw- yard,’ which were exhibited in London, at Burlington House, in an exhibition of Old Masters, during the spring of 1892. There was first of all * The Straw- yard,’ painted in 1792, the property of the Rev. Sir Talbot Baker, Bart. He also possessed ‘ A Seashore with Figures,’ painted by Morland, in 1793, a picture of ‘ Smugglers,’ and a fine ‘ Stable.’ Mr. Charles C. Barton exhibited two Morlands, viz., a landscape painted in 1796, and a landscape with figures. In the Exhibition of Old Masters, at Burlington House, during the spring of 1895, a ‘ Farm-yard ’ was the only Morland exhibited. Its canvas was 27^ by 36 inches, and the picture, which was lent by Mr. Martin H. Colnaghi, was described in the catalogue as follows : ‘ View of a farm-yard, in which are some pigs and a carthorse ; beyond them two men are enter- ing a shed, one of them carrying a sack. Signed and dated, “ G. Morland 1791.” ’ As the wild briar-rose forms the best stock from which to obtain our finest garden roses, so, if there is to be a British School of Art, it must be developed from a study of our own British Old Masters. Italian, Flemish, Dutch, and Spanish, Old Masters, and French and German New Masters, have no doubt carried the art of painting to great perfection ; but theirs is a foreign soil, and British artists copying them produce exotics, not native, and strong and healthy, works. Besides all this, Art is a profession as well as a delight, and painters paint to live, as well as live to paint. If they would take a leaf out of the truly British portfolio of Constable, Gainsborough and Morland, they would * Scotsman, January 21, 1889. 102 George Morland charm their circle (in other words, sell their pictures), much more certainly than by imitating a foreign style, examples of which can better be obtained from abroad. It may be narrowness, it may be insular pride, but the fact remains that the Englishman now, as always, prefers things belonging to his own country to those of any foreign land. Erasmus noticed this when he visited the England of Henry VIII., and afterwards wrote to a friend who meditated visiting England : ‘ Be specially careful to find no fault with English things or customs. They are proud of their country, as well they may be.’ B. HOW MORLAND SIGNED HIS PICTURES. It may interest intending Collectors to know how Morland signed such of his paintings as he felt inclined, or was asked, to sign. Many, if not most, are neither signed nor dated ; but it will be noted from the follow- ing examples that he had a method of signature from which he rarely departed. In Morland’s masterpiece, in the National Gallery, ‘ Inside of a Stable,’ the signature is printed on a torn white towel covering a window, thus : f A*! o i L a n 5 0 „ 28. „ —Smugglers 6 6 0 „ — The Gamekeeper •5 4 6 „ — Gossips - 7 7 0 „ — Return from Labour - 7 7 0 Paintings sold at Christie’s "3 £ J - d. February 6. M. — A Fishing Party - - 1 1 1 1 o „ 18. G.M. 1791. — A Sow and Pigs - 10 10 o 99 — The Tired Soldier 13 13 0 99 — Landscape, with fallen horse- man - 5 5 0 99 — Pair of Landscapes, with figures and horses - 22 1 0 99 24. — The Woodman’s Return 12 1 6 March 24. %9 — The Postboy’s Return, En- graved. Exhibited Burling- ton House, 1875. From A. Levy's Collection 745 10 0 99 — The Keeper’s Cottage 346 10 0 99 — The Tea - Garden. En- graved. Exhibited at Bur- lington House, 1886- 472 10 0 99 — A Gipsy Encampment 1 1 5 10 0 99 — A Cottage near a Wood, with cows, peasant, and a dog - 105 0 0 99 1792. — Feeding the Pigs 53 1 1 0 M. — Portrait of himself 4 >4 6 99 27. 99 — A Shooting Party 5 5 0 99 — Summer and Winter {a pair) 6 16 6 April 7 * G.M. — A Gipsy Encampment 12 12 0 99 12. M. — Woodcutters - 3 *5 0 99 14. G.M. — A Shepherdess with a Lamb ( oval) I 5 15 0 99 — Winter — The Woodman’s Return ... 1 10 0 99 — Caught in a Storm ( oval) 8 in. x 1 0 in. *9 *9 0 99 — Woodcock-shooting, i8/». x 24 in. - 45 3 0 — Landscape, with a cottage and woman washing, 3 \in. x 46 in.- 84 8 o o i 14 George Morland April 14. G. M. — Before the Wreck, and After the Wreck (a pair). The L J. engraved pictures „ — Returning from Work, 9^ in. x 1 1 i in. Exhibited at the 22 ' „ 20. Grosvenor Gallery - „ 1791. — A Sow and Pigs, and a White Horse and Dog in a 17 >7 May 5. Stable (2) „ — The Horse Fair, 28 in. x 36 in. Exhibited at Bur- 12 12 lington House, 1875 - „ — Robbing the Orchard, 28 in. 430 10 x 36 in. ... 798 0 „ 28. „ — Landscape, with figures 1 1 1 1 M. — A Shooting Party* 7 17 ,, — Summer and Winter ( a pair)* 6 6 June 2. G.M. 1794. — Charcoal-burners 252 0 „ I 795 - — The Cottage-door 241 10 „ 4 - „ — A Gipsy Encampment „ — A Horseman at a Cottage- 52 10 door .... >4 0 „ — A Donkey Race - „ — Rocky Coast Scene, with 3 0 figures and dog ,, — Landscape, with gipsy en- «7 6 » 22. campmcnt - „ — One of the Laztitia Series, 1 8 in. x 1 4^ in. Exhibited 24 1 3 at Burlington House, 1882 267 15 „ 3 °- „ — Winter .... 78 15 July 28. M. — Hunting Subjects (a pair) - 3 0 December „ — Summer and Winter ( a pair) 1. G.M. — Coast Scene, with boats and 13 >3 figures - - - - 16 16 „ — Snow Scene, with gipsies - 6 6 * Vide 27 March, 1888. d. o o o o o o 6 o o o o o o 6 6 o o o o o o Paintings sold at Christie’s i ] 5 December 1. G.M. — The Epping Hunt „ 8. „ — A Mower - „ 15. ,, — Landscape, with a shepherd and sheep - „ — Landscape, with donkeys and pigs - £ s. d. 173 5 o 515 6 250 5100 1889. January 5. G.M. — The Recruit; Deserted; Taking Leave of his Wife ; and Pardoned {a set of four) Old M . — A Girl with Strawberries - „ 12. G.M. — Peasants (a pair — watercolour) „ 1795. — Peasants with a Dog ( pencil ) .... „ 19. „ — Woodcutters - February 9. M. — A Sow and Pigs ( sold with another) - „ 23. G.M. — The Wreck ... April 6. — The Stable : interior, with a donkey and dogs — Winter Fuel ... — Mountain Scene in N. Wales, Exhibited at Burlington House , 1888 --- — The Windy Day : landscape, with a horseman, a horse and cart, and figures on a road .... — Landscape, with sportsmen 4 ° 19 4 o 4 4 1 o 11 11 3 10 1 1 o 26 5 9 19 12 12 336 o o o o o o 6 o 6 and dogs - - - 3 ° 9 0 „ 1 7 - „ 1800. — A Road Scene, with a horseman and other figures 12 0 0 M. — Cow and Sheep in a landscape 1 10 0 „ —Pigs 0 12 0 April 27. G.M. — Sheep in a landscape - 19 19 0 George Morland 1 1 6 £ /. d. Apri 27 • G.M., 1794. — A Woodman 16 5 6 May 2 5 - „ — Peasants in an Inn-yard, 9 in.' 1 1 »-* HM X „ — Interior of a Stable, 9} in . x - lOJ 11 \ in . - - -J June 8. ,, — The Sportsman 12 1 6 I M., after. — Interior of a Stable, and the companion - - - 6 16 6 99 22. G.M. — Children playing at Soldiers, z~j\in. x 3 5 J in. Engraved by Keating. Painted for Dean Markham of York. Exhib. at Manchester, 1857 735 0 0 99 22. ,, — River Scene, with peasants crossing a bridge ; 1 1 in. x 1 3 £ in. ; signed - 18 18 0 99 25 - M. — Farmyard, with pigs - 2 12 6 G.M. — An Inn-door - 7 7 0 99 29. „ — The Slave Trade, and the en- graving by Ward 73 10 0 „ — River Scene, with water-mill and figures - 23 2 0 July 6. ,, — Gathering Wood 1 1 1 1 0 99 20. „ — The Keeper’s Departure — ‘ The Flash in the Pan ’ - 68 5 0 99 27. M., after. — Pigs ----- 2 17 6 November 23. M. — A Farmyard, with donkeys - 2 2 0 „ — A Farmyard, with horses - 6 16 6 M. and lbbetson. — River Scene, with horses - 2 10 0 30. G.M. — Coast Scene, with boat, and fishermen drinking to a fishwoman, with dog 6 6 0 „ — Landscape, with shepherd boys and dog - - - 3136 „ — Rocky Coast Scene, with figures - - - - I 1 o ■ - - . Paintings sold at Christie’s ii 7 November 30. G.M. — Landscape, with two cows and calf, two figures on horseback, and a peasant woman in background „ — Wood-gatherers „ — Winter : a woman with sticks in her apron, a girl and dog „ — Coast Scene, with rock,thrcc^ figures, and dog „ — Landscape, with three figures [ and dog on a road - December 7. ., — Mountain Scene, N. Wales. Exhibited at Burlington £ s. d. ) 66 3 3 + »3 36 15 65 2 o o House, 1 888* - 27 16 6 „ — Winter Fuel - 22 1 0 „ — The Inn-door - 9 19 6 „ — The Stable - 5 ° 8 0 „ 14. M. — Figures at an Alehouse-door 8 8 0 1890. January 18. M. — Interior, with a horse and figures - 10 10 0 G.M. — Portrait of Capt. Crook, R.N. 8 8 0 „ —Pigs 4 5 0 „ 25. „ — Winter Scene, with figures - 2 2 0 February 1. „ — A Fishing Party 10 10 0 „ 1794. — Landscape, with sports- man, horse, and dogs ■ 5 ° 8 0 „ — Landscape, with sportsmen and dog — the eompanion - March 17. M.' — The Charcoal-burners! '9 8 6 „ 22. G.M. — A Gipsy and Child in a Wood 5 ° 8 0 „ 29. „ 1794. — Storm on the Coast of the Isle of Wight, with wreck of man-of-war 32 1 1 0 * Vide 6 April, 1889, 12 gs. f Vide 2 June, 1888, for original, £252. 1 1 8 George Morland March 29. G.M.— -Landscape, with peasants £ S. d. round a fire and other figures ; signed 1 2 12 0 99 ~~ —Mountainous Landscape, with anglers - 33 12 0 99 ~ —Landscape, with fishermen, boat, and dog 61 !9 0 99 ~ —Landscape, with carrier’s waggon - 15 15 0 99 1796. — Storm on the Isle of Wight coast ; signed 39 18 0 )) 1796. — Calm, Isle of Wight coast - 69 6 0 » 3 1 • M.- —Huntsman at the Fox Inn ; and The Death (2) 29 8 0 April 19. G.M., 1791. — Interior of a Stable, 1 1 \ in. x 1 4! in. 59 17 0 99 —A Winter Landscape, 1 5 in. x 1 8 in. 52 10 0 99 — The Inn-door, 40/tf. x 50 in. 3°9 15 0 99 —The Stye - 17 6 6 „ 22. 99 “ —Landscape, with peasants ( coloured chalks') 1 1 0 0 99 — The Pigsty ( drawing ) 0 18 0 99 — The Pigsty ( chalk drawing) - 2 5 0 99 — Peasants, with a donkey {ditto) 0 12 0 99 — Landscape, with gipsies {pencil) 1 4 0 May 10. 99 1792. — Ferreting Rabbits, 32^ in. x 46 in. 472 10 0 99 — Coast Scene, with boats and figures - S 2 10 0 99 — Peasants {a pair ), 6 in. x 8 ^ in. 2 1 0 0 ,, 23 - 99 — Coast Scene, with fishermen 39 18 0 June 21. M.- — An Interior, with a horse and figures - 25 4 0 July 7. G.M. — Mr. Phillips’ Dog ‘Friend,’ and the engraving by Ward 10 10 0 Paintings sold at Christie’s 1 19 July 7. 10. * 9 - 26. November 8. .. 13 - „ 22. G.M. — Cottage-door - ,, — Landscape, with sportsmen and dogs - „ 1 793- — The Ferry-boat ( pencil ) „ 1794. — Fish-seller, and com- panion ( a pair — pencil) „ — Coast Scene, with fishermen ; and a Landscape, with tra- velling peasants (2 drazvings) „ — Coast Scene, with wreck ; and the Woodcutter, sepia ( 2 ) - ' . - - ,, — Coast Scene, with fishermen ; and Pigs in a Sty (2 drawings) - ,, 1792. — The Deserter ,, — Sheep in a Landscape M. — A Lady seated ( pencil )\ ,, — Landscape, with cottages and figures ; and a Head of a Man (2) ... „ — Interior of a Stable ,, - Gleaners - „ — A Boy ; and a Girl in a Hat (2) - 29. G.M. — Landscape, with sportsmen and dogs - „ 1791. — The Unlucky Sports- man En- Dccember 4. — The Lucky Sportsman. graved - — Pigs in a Sty - — A Pair of Landscapes, with cottages and figures — Peasant and Dog, and the com- panion ( pencil ) £ s. d. 880 35 14 © 3 15 0 6 16 6 16 16 o 212 6 2100 136 10 o 8186 1 10 o 29 18 6 3 10 o 400 1 10 5 o 94 10 o 120 15 O 2 2 0 6 1 6 6 3 10 o I 20 George Morland £ s. a. December 6 . G.M. — Pair of Landscapes 4 14 6 „ — Peasants with Sheep - 32 1 1 0 M. — Pigs - 1 2 0 „ — A Farmyard - 1 12 0 J) 2 0 . ,, — A Hunting Subject - 1 10 0 t 1891. January > 7 - M. — A Sow and Pigs - 6 12 6 » 3 i. G.M. — Woodcutters - 25 4 0 March 6. „ — The Village Pedlar, Isle of Wight .... 4 H 6 IO. „ — Coast Scene, with wreck 5 5 0 14. „ — Landscape, with sportsmen and dogs, and a grey horse near a cottage - 346 10 0 „ — The Alehouse-door, 28 in. x 3 6 in. From Sir T. Baring's Collection - 535 10 0 „ — The Kennel, 18 in. x 24 in . ; signed - 44 2 0 16. M. — A Country Inn - 7 10 0 „ —A Pig (small) 1 0 0 24. ,, — A Stable-yard - 3 3 0 G.M. — A Boy and Dog - - - 15 *5 0 ,, — A Traveller in a Storm 9 9 0 „ — A Boy and Girl fishing 101 17 0 M. — A Landscape - G.M. — A Girl, seated, making a 1 1 0 Bouquet - «9 19 0 „ — Cottagers - „ — A Coast Scene, with horse- 6 0 0 men - 3 10 0 „ — A Man, White Horse, and Pony - - - 0 1 2 0 Paintings sold at Christie’s 121 L J. d. April 4. G.M. — A Sailor going Aloft - 1 1 1 1 0 „ — Landscape, with peasants and horses - 12 12 0 ,, — A Coast Scene - - - 2 7 6 0 1 )• „ — Cymon and Iphigenia 21 0 0 „ — A Sand-pit ... 29 8 0 it * 3 - „ — Interior of Stable, with grey horse, and a child and pony .... 8 18 6 May 2. „ 1798. — Sheep, \i\in. x 14^/ff. 1 10 5 0 »* 5 * „ — A Farm-yard, with horses and pigs - - - 2 5 4 0 >» 1 5 * „ — Washing-day ... H 7 0 0 ,, — Interior of a Stable, with grey horse and figures 16 16 0 „ — Landscape, with sportsmen and gipsies ( pencil) - 0 n / 0 M. — Cottage Interior 3 3 0 » 2 3 - G.M. — A Hunting Scene 30 9 0 „ — Coast Scene, with fishermen and boats ; signed - 5 ° 8 0 „ — Coast Scene, with a figure, and a horse and cows — Winter; signed - 59 «7 6 >» 2 5 * „ 1791. — Worn Out- 3 2 1 1 0 „ — Sheep .... 5 ° 8 0 „ — Old Horses ... 1 1 1 1 0 June 15. „ — The Amorous Peasant 65 2 0 „ — The Woodcutter 126 0 0 „ and J. C. Ibbetson. — Land- scape, with ruins, cattle, and figures ; signed - 2 5 4 0 „ — A Bull-dog and Spaniel 16 16 0 „ 2 7 - „ — Wood Scene, with Gipsy en- campment ; signed - 43 1 0 ,, — River Scene, with angler, and peasants on a road ( oval) io 5 0 0 122 George Morland July 8 . G.M. — Landscape, with two men £ S. d. rabbiting and a dog, 20 in. x 22 in. - - - - 35 H 0 „ — Winter Scene, with a child on a donkey, followed by a man with a dog - 131 5 0 „ 1791. — A Sand-pit, with figures and a dog, 9^ in. x 12 in. From Dr. Franks' Collection 64 1 0 ,, T 793 - — A Hunting Scene, 17 in. x 23 J in. ... 3°9 >5 0 „ — Full Cry, 6 in. x 7J /». 37 16 0 „ 18. „ — A Farm-yard, with cart, figures and animals ; signed and dated 1798 273 0 0 „ — A Hunting Subject 10 10 0 „ — A Farm-yard ... 57 15 0 M. — Landscape, with cottage 2 >5 0 „ 27. „ — Coast Scene ... 4 0 0 November 14. G.M. — Postillion at an Inn-door 40 >9 0 „ — Coast Scene, with boats and figures - - - - 5 1 5 6 „ — Rocky Coast Scene, with figures - - - - 3 ! 3 6 ,, — Landscape, with Gipsies 1 5 1 5 0 ., 28. M. — Landscape, with a peasant woman and child and donkey - - - - 4 8 0 December 12. G.M. — Exterior of a Cottage, with fisherman and boat - 23 2 0 „ — A Woodcutter •* 5 >5 6 ,, 19. M. — The Stye* - 1 15 0 „ — Landscape, with cottage and figures --- - 6 16 6 „ — Coast Scene, with vessel 4 >4 6 „ — Boys playing at Soldiers! 1 1 10 0 * Vide 19 April, 1890, for original, £\"] 6s. 6d. t Vide 22 June, 1889, for original, ^735. Paintings sold at Christie’s 123 January 1, February If !> If If March l< April 23. „ 30 - May 4. „ 2 + - 1892. £ s. 9. G.M. — A Village Scene- - - 3 3 16. M. — Pigs in a Sty - - - 313 „ — Coast Scene, with figures - 9 19 2. G.M. — The Swan Inn - - -130 „ — A Lady feeding Chickens - 22 5. M. — Peasants at a Cottage-door - 3 13 19. G.M. — Charity - - - - 3 10 „ — Inkle and Yarico - - 3 3 29. „ — The Harvest Waggon - - 4 0 ). „ — The Cornish Plunderers, 57 in. x 79 in. From S tan- dish Gallery. Mentioned in Hassell's ‘ Life of George Mori and' - - - 840 o ,, — Interiorof Public-house, with a female, and sailors smok- ing over a bowl of punch ; signed - - - - 3110 „ — Sheep in a Landscape- - 10 10 M. — Interior, with figures - - 55 „ — Peasants at a Cottage-door - 2 2 G.M. — Landscape, with figures - 3 3 M. — Farm-yard, with figures and animals - - - - 1 1 1 1 G.M. — A Country Scene, with pond, 12 in. x 1 6 in. - - - 54 1 2 ,, — River Scene, with shed and figures ; signed - - 63 o ,, — Landscape, with cottage and woman at a pond - - 69 6 „ — Portrait of the Artist [in pencil) 1 14 ,, 1794. — Watering Horses (in chalk); and a Rustic Scene, with woodcutter - 810 d- o 6 6 o o 6 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 1 24 George Morland May 31. G.M. — Interior of a Stable, with grey £ s. d. horse, and a child and pony* 22 I 0 99 — Coast Scene, with boat and figures .... 29 8 0 June 1 1. )1 1794. — A Farm-yard, with a butcher bargaining with a farmer for a group of three sheep on the left, a sow and pigs on the right, and a horse in a stable in the background ; signed +93 10 0 „ 1 3 - 99 — Landscape, with cottage and peasants .... 9 •9 6 „ 18. 99 — Noon-day Rest - - - 49 7 0 July 18. 99 — View near a Village, with peasants, cows and dog - 54 12 0 99 — A Hunting Scene, 54 in. x 73 in. Exhibited at Bur- lington House, 1882 - 5°4 0 0 9) — Landscape, with Gipsicst - 183 1 5 0 „ 22. 99 — Interior of a Stable, with a carter, grey horse and dogs 8 8 0 » 29 - 99 • — Portrait of a Gentleman 3 5 0 November 12. „ — In the Stable ... 2 5 0 ff 19. M. — Landscape, with shepherds and dogs ... 8 8 0 >9 26. „ — Woody Scene, with sow and donkey - 2 2 0 99 30. G.M. 1791. — Pigs ... 18 18 0 99 — A Sow and Pigs ... 18 18 0 * Fide 13 April, 1891, ,£8 1 8s. 6d. t Fide 14 November, 1891, 15 gs. PART II. ENGRA VINGS AFTER MORLAND. A. ENGRAVINGS AFTER PAINTINGS, OR SKETCHES, BY GEORGE MORLAND, IN THE PRINT-ROOM OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. BY RALPH RICHARDSON, lSg2. FIRST COLLECTION : PRINTS AND ETCHINGS. FIRST PORTFOLIO : MISCELLANEOUS ETCHINGS AND AQUATINTS. Place and Date of Publication. London, 1 8 1 1 . London, 1789. No title or date. Ditto. London, 1806. Paris, no date. No place or date. Ditto. London, 1812. Subject. 1. Snipe-shooting 2. A Mad Bull ... 3. Country Scene : horses, sheep, etc. ... 4. Ditto Church and cottages 5. Coast Scene {small) ... 6. La Halte. Inn-door. {Engraved by Rajon) 7. The Old Gamekeeper {small) 8. The Country Stable {small) ... 9. Tottenham Court Road Turnpike and St. James’s Chapel {small) George Morland 1 26 SECOND PORTFOLIO : SOFT GROUND ETCHINGS, MISCELLANEOUS ; ANONYMOUS. Subject. Place and Date of Publication. I. Asses ... No place or date 2. Pointer Dog pointing of publication. Ditto. 3. Horses and Sheep Ditto. 4. Ditto (on green paper) ... Ditto. 5. A Man asleep London, 1794. 6. Ditto, in a different attitude ... Ditto. 7. Country Boy and Dog ( coloured ) No date. 8. Women, Children, and Dog ( uncoloured ) No date. 9. Studies of Dogs Ditto. 10. Ditto of Game Ditto. II. Rustic Boys and Dog ... No place or date. 12. Country Scene : cart... Ditto. 13. Donkey Ditto. 14. Angler under Tree {small) Ditto. 15. Hunting — ‘ Full Cry ’ {small)... 1795 - 16. Man and Donkey {small) No date. 17. Woman going up Ladder {small) 1 795 - 18. Studies of Goat and Calves ... No date. 19. Ditto of Heads of Cattle Ditto. 20. Ditto ditto Ditto. 21. Studies of Horses’ Heads, etc. 1794. 22. Studies of Dogs {drawn 1791) London, 1806. 23. Lions’ Cubs ... No place or date. 24. Man on Horseback, and Woman, Boy, and Dog in a Storm No place or date. 25. Ruined Church Ditto. 26. Guinea-pigs and their Hutch Ditto. 27. Rustic Scene : cattle, etc. {small) 1795 - 28. A Sheep {small) No date. 29. Two Little Girls {small) Ditto. 30. Rustic Scene, with cart Ditto. 31. Two Sheep Ditto. British Museum Collection i 2 7 Subject. 32. Dogs fighting 33. Two Portraits of a Man, seated, one holding a pipe, another a gun 34.. Rustic Scene : two figures and dog ... 35. Rubbing down the Post-horse Place and Date of Publication. No date. No date. No date. 1792 - third PORTFOLIO : AQUATINTS BY S. ALKEN. 1. Sportsmen refreshing... ... ... London, 1801. 2. The Rabbit Warren : men with grey- hounds ... ... ... ... Ditto. FOURTH PORTFOLIO : ETCHINGS AND AQUATINTS BY T. ROWLANDSON. 1. The List’ning Lover (two copies) ... London, 1789. 2. Snipe-shooting : men and dogs in winter London, 1790. 3. Duck-shooting: men and dogs in boat London, 1792. Nos. 2 and 3 are companion pictures. FIFTH PORTFOLIO : ETCHINGS AND AQUATINTS BY THOMAS WILLIAMSON. 1. Business : cart and two horses 2. Pleasure : donkey-cart 3. Woodcutters : two boys and dog {fine print) ... 4. Woodcutters at Dinner: one boy looks down ; otherwise same as No. 3 ... 5. Morland’s Woodman : boy with dog in winter [fine print) 6. Cottagers in Winter : man, girl, and dog in winter {fine) 7. Travellers reposing: gipsies and two asses 8. Rustic Cares — ‘ Chuck, chuck, chuck’ : man followed by three pigs 9. Tired Gypsies No date. Ditto. London, 1806. London, 1803. London, 1805. London, 1806. London, 1805. London, 1805. London, 1805. 128 George Morland Place and Date of Subject. Publication. IO. Summer’s Evening : Angler watched by man and girl ... London, 1805. 1 1. Winter’s Morning: boys sliding, woman and child looking on ... London, 1805. 12. Lazy Shepherds — ‘ Go, mind them > London, 1804. 13 - The Young Dealer — ‘Well, what will you give ?’ two men looking at Pigs ... London, 1804. I+. First Love — ‘Well, I shall have my Mother after me man and woman at well ( sketched i8gi) ... London, 1804. SIXTH PORTFOLIO : ETCHINGS PUBLISHED BY JOHN P. THOMPSON I. Woodland Scene (two copies) • • • London, 1800. 2. River Scene ... • • • Ditto. 3 - Ruined Church • • • Ditto. +• Tree and Cottage ... Ditto. 5 - Ruined Tower Ditto. 6. Cattle crossing a Bridge ... Ditto. (Nos. I to 6 are small prints.) 7 - Two Boys fishing ... London, 1801. 8. Three Portraits of Countrymen ... Ditto. 9 - Two Portraits of Stablemen ... ... Ditto. SEVENTH PORTFOLIO : ETCHINGS BY T. VIVARES. i. Man feeding Pigs (small) ... No date. 2. Two Pointers (small) ... ... London, 1800. 3 - Kennel of Dogs (small) ... Ditto. 4 - Woman washing (small) ... Ditto. 5 - Study of Cat (small) ... ... Ditto. 6. Two Dogs in Kennel (small) ... ... Ditto. 7 - Woman and Child at a Door (small) ... Ditto. 8. Ass (small) • • • Ditto. 9 - Man and Woman in Wood (small ; sketched 1795) ... Ditto. British Museum Collection 1 29 Place and Date of Subject. Publication. 10. Man, Woman, and Boy on Road ( small) London, 1797. II. Two Dogs {small) London, 1800. 12. Dog ( small) Ditto. 13. Tree ( small) ... London, 1797. 14. A Cottage Interior : family at dinner... No date. 15. Dog with Bone : another dog behind... London, 1800. 16. Cattle crossing Bridge (two copies) ... Ditto. 17. Pigs eating Turnips ... No date. 18. Ass and Pigs, with Boy London, 1804. 19. George Morland, from the drawing by himself London, 1805. [G. M. is seated under a tree at the door of the Bluebell Inn. He is smoking and drinking. His palette is at his side, a dog at his feet, a pig in the foreground.] EIGHTH PORTFOLIO : ETCHINGS BY J. WRIGHT. 1. Huntsmen and Dogs ... London, *795 2. Full Cry London, * 79 + 3 - Fox about to be Killed Ditto. 4 - Fox-hunters and Dogs at Bluebell Door London, * 795 - 5 - Fox-hunters and Dogs leaving the Inn London, 1794 6. Ditto in a Wood Ditto. 7 - Boy and Pigs {drawn 1792) London, 1794 - 8. Shepherds ( drawn 1793) Ditto. NINTH PORTFOLIO I ETCHINGS PUBLISHED BY T. SIMPSON. I. ‘ Original Sketches from Nature ’ Title- page : Artist sketching cow and calf London, 1793 2. Woman and Child, Goat, etc.... Ditto. 3. Two Country Boys Ditto. 4. Two Boys, Girl’s Head, etc. ... Ditto. 5. Boy at Pump ... Ditto. 9 i3° George Morland i. 2. 3 - +• 6 . 7 - 8 . 9 - io. 1 1 . i. 2 . 3 +• 5 - 6 . 7 - 8 . TENTH PORTFOLIO : ETCHINGS PUBLISHED BY D. ORME. Place and Date of Subject. Publication. ‘ Sketches by G. Morland ’ Title-page : artist sketching pigs (two copies ; small) . . . No date. Girl with Bottle and Glass (study for No. IO ; small) . . . London, 1807. Group conversing (study for No. 8; small) ... London, 1806. Dog following a Man (small) ... ... London, 1807. Men in Cart, Child, etc. (small) • • • London, 1806. Donkey and Girl (small) ... London, 1 807. Ditto and Boy (small) ... London, 1806. Conversation : No. 3 Group, and Donkey (drawn 1792) ... London, 1804. Cart passing Wooded Scenery ... London, 1793. Old and Young Man, and Young Woman (drawn 1792) ... London, 1799. Country Lads at a Gate ... London, 1794. ELEVENTH PORTFOLIO I ETCHINGS BY J. BALDREY. Studies of Pigs, Sheep, etc. ... ... London, 1792. Ditto of Men, Donkey, etc. ... ... Ditto. Ditto of Horses, Sheep, etc. ... ... Ditto. Ditto of Cart, Wheelbarrow, etc. ... Ditto. Ditto of Men, Children, etc ... Ditto. Ditto of ditto ... ... Ditto. Ditto of Dog, Ass, etc. ... Ditto. Ditto of Cart-horses ... Ditto. TWELFTH PORTFOLIO I ETCHINGS PUBLISHED BY J. HARRIS. 1. River Scene ( small) ... 2. Woodland Scene ( small ) 3. Ditto (small) ... 4. Ruined Tower (small) No date. Ditto. London, 1796. Ditto. British Museum Collection British Museum Collection 131 Place and Date of Subject. Publication. 5 - Cottage, Tree, etc. [small) No date. 6. Rained Church [small) London, 1796. [All above in red ink. There is a collection in black 7- lnK. j ‘ Sketches by G. Morland ’ Title-page : Artist under tree sketching horses ... No date. 8. Studies of Men London, 1792. 9 - Man at Watering-trough : a woman seated near [drawn 1791) ... Ditto. 10. Studies of Horses, etc. Ditto. 1 1. Ditto of Sheep, etc. ... Ditto. 1 2. Ditto of Horses, etc. London, 1793. 1 3 - Ditto of Children, etc. Ditto. 14. Harrowing a Field Ditto. 15 - Studies of Greyhounds, etc. ... Ditto. 16. Ditto of Fisherwomen, etc. ... London, 1795. 17- Ditto of Men, etc. London, 1793. 18. Ditto of Children, etc. [a coloured and uncoloured copy) 1793 - 1 9 ‘ Studies of Men, etc. ... London, 1793. 20. Ditto of Two Men ... Ditto. 21. Ditto of Pigs, etc. London, 1794. 22. Group of Goats Ditto. 23. Rabbits earing a Carrot [a coloured and un coloured copy) Ditto. 24. Study of Boy and Girl Ditto. 2 5 - Ditto of Sheep Ditto. 26. Ditto of Men... Ditto. 2 7- Ditto of Men and Horse Ditto. 28. Studies of Dogs Ditto. 2 9. Mill-wheel and Anglers Ditto. 3 °- Church and Milkman Ditto. 3 >- Studies of Sheep Ditto. 3 2 - Ditto of Men and Girl London, 1795. 33 - Sloop in a Creek Ditto. 34 - Boat Ashore ... Ditto. 1 3 2 George Morland SECOND COLLECTION : MEZZOTINTS AFTER PAINTINGS BY MORLAND. FIRST PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY G. KEATING. Title. 1. * Children playing at Soldiers’ {fine) ... 2. ‘ Trepanning a Recruit,’ I .{fine) 3. ‘ Recruit deserted,’ II. {fine) ... 4. ‘ Deserter taking leave of his Wife,’ III. O') 5. ‘ Deserter pardon’d,’ IV. {fine) 6. ‘ The Cottager’s Wealth woman feed- ing pigs in a stable {fine) ... Place and Date of Publication. London, 1788. London, 1791. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. No date. SECOND PORTFOLIO \ ENGRAVINGS BY J. GROZER. 1. ‘ Youth diverting Age’ {fine)... 2. ‘ Morning ; or, The Benevolent Sports- man giving alms to gipsies {fine) 3. ‘ Evening ; or, The Sportsman’s Return ’: holding up a pheasant {fine) 4. ‘ The Happy Cottagers ’ {fine)... 5. ‘ The Gipsies’ Tent ’ {fine) London, 1794. London, 1795. Ditto. London, 1793. Ditto. THIRD PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY J. DEAN. 1. ‘Valentine’s Day’: girl, lad, and old woman {coloured and uncoloured; fine) 2. ‘ The Happy Family ’ {fine) ... 3. ‘ The Widow ’ {fine) ... 4. ‘Justice’: an arrest {fine) 5. ‘The Triumph of Benevolence’: a debtor released {fine) 6. ‘A Rural Feast’: a family at dinner O') London, 1787. Ditto. London, 1788. Ditto. Ditto. London, 1790. British Museum Collection *33 FOURTH PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY S. W. REYNOLDS. Title. 1. ‘A Bear Hunt* {fine)... 2. Stormy Shore {small) ... 3. ‘ Setters ’ {coloured and uncoloured) 4. ‘ The Fisherman’s Dog * 5. ‘ Morland’s Emblematical Palette ’ 6. ‘ Fisherman going out ’ {fine)... 7. * The Millers ’ 8. ‘ Paying the Horseler ’ {fine)... 9. ‘ A Land Storm ’ {fine) Place and Date of Publication. London, 1796. No date. London, 1799. London, 1800. London, 1806. London, 1805. London, 1 800. London, 1805. London, 1798. FIFTH PORTFOLIO I ENGRAVINGS BY J. R. SMITH, MEZZOTINTO ENGRAVER TO H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES. 1. ‘ Watering the Cart-horse’ {fine) 2. * Rubbing down the Post-horse ’ (two copies ; fine) 3. Boy and Pigs {fine) ... 4. Rabbits eating {fine) ... 5. Guinea-pigs eating {fine) 6. Girl, Boy, and Sheep {fine) ... 7. ‘Peasant and Pigs’ {fine) London, 1799. London, 1794. London, 1807. Ditto. Ditto. London, 1803. Ditto. [The Author possesses the original of No. 7, the canvas being 16 in. by 20 in. It represents a boy in felt hat, yellowish clothes, white neckcloth, and red waistcoat, leaning against the outside of a thatched pigsty. Beside him is a little girl in a blue frock, with a blue ribbon round her neck. Two pigs, one black, one yellow, drink out of a trough, their eyes being very roguish. A white-and-brown spaniel looks into the trough. An oak-tree is overhead, and water sparkles to right. A thatched cottage in background. The picture is signed ‘ G. Morland, 1791,’ and is carefully painted.] 8. ‘ The Fisherman’s Hut ’ {fine) 9. ‘ The Horse-Feeder ’ {fine) ... London, 1799. London, 1797. 1 34 George Morland Title. 10. ‘A Conversation’: boy, dog, donkey, and pigs ( fine ) 1 1. ‘ Selling Fish man on horseback buy- ing fish on seashore* (fine) 12. ‘ Feeding the Pigs ’ (fine) 13. ‘ Fighting Dogs ’ (fine) 14. ‘ Shepherd’s Meal ’ (fine) 15. ‘ Slave T rade ’ : slaves being shipped off (fi” e ) 16. ‘African Hospitality ’: negroes rescuing shipwrecked whites 17. ‘ Return from Market ’: cart with girls at Bluebell door (fine) 18. ‘ Milkmaid and Cowherd ’: also cattle and pigs (fine) Place and Date of Publication. London, 1803. London, 1799. London, 1801. London, 1794. London, 1803. London, 1814. Ditto. London, 1793. London, 1798. SIXTH PORTFOLIO : MEZZOTINTS BY J. R. SMITH, JUNIOR. 1. ‘Innocents alarm’d’: sportsman with gun and dogs in cottage (fine) ... London, 1803. 2. ‘ Breaking the Ice’: man, woman, and child drawing water from frozen pool ; donkey near them (fine) ... London, 1798. SEVENTH PORTFOLIO : MEZZOTINTS BY JAMES WARD. 1. ‘ Fishermen ’: coast scene (two copies ; fine) ... ... ... ... London, 1793. 2. ‘Smugglers’: landing casks from a boat (fine) ... ... ... ... Ditto. * The original painting, formerly the property of the late John Greaves, Esq., Irlam Hall, Lancashire, was sold at Oxton, Birkenhead, in January, 1893, for £112 7s. British Museum Collection 1 35 3 - +• 5 - 6 . 7 - 8 . 9 - io. 1 1 . 12 . 13 - H- !5- 16. EIGHTH PORTFOLIO : MEZZOTINTS BY WILLIAM WARD. Title. ‘ An Ass Race ’ (two copies ; coloured) ‘Stable Amusement’: men making dogs fight ( fine ) ‘Juvenile Navigators’: children sailing a toy ship {fine) ‘ Sailors’ Conversation ’: at door of inn, four sailors and girl (two copies ; fine) ‘Bathing Horses’: three horsesenter- ing sea {fine) ‘Giles, the Farmer’s Boy’: boy enter- ing cattle-shed in winter {fine) * The Last Litter ’: man, girl, and pigs (two copies ; fine) ... ‘ The Hard Bargain ’: man buying calf ; bulldog {fine) ‘ The Dram ’: girl pouring out dram at inn-door {fine) ‘The First of September, Evening’: sportsmen at inn-door with dogs and hare {fine) ... 4 The Farmer’s Stable ’: old white horse, goats, etc. {fine) ‘The Contented Waterman ’: group at cottage -door ; pig {fine) ... ‘The Shepherds’: carpenter, sheep, etc. {fine) ... ‘ The Farm-yard ’: man watering pig ; horses and dog {fine) ‘Cottagers’: group at cottage-door, said to be Morland, his wife, and others; pigs {fine) ‘The Storm’: man on horseback, woman and boy {fine) Place and Date of Publication. London, 1789. London, 1801. London, 1789. London, 1802. London, 1814. London, 1803. London, 1800. Ditto. London, 1796. London, 1794. London, 1795. London, 1806. Ditto. London, 1795. London, 1791, London, 1796. i3 6 George Morland • 7 - 1 8 . *9' 20 . 2 1 . 22 . 22 . 2 +. Date of Publication. London, 1806. Title. ‘Setters’: three dogs {fine) ... ‘The Anglers’ Repast’: ladies and gentlemen lunching on riverside ; negro footman {fne) ‘Travellers’: rustics eating in wood (fi ne ) ‘The Warrencr ’ : old man with dead rabbits ; cottage-door {fne) ‘ The Farmer’s Stable ’ {fne) [Morland’s chefd'cewjre in National Gallery, London.] No date. London, 1 79 1. London, 1806. London, 1792. 26. * 7 - 28. 29. 3 °- 3 1 - 32 - 33 - ‘Children Bird-nesting’ {fne) ‘ The Fruits of Early Industry and CEconomy’: merchant counting money; lady and children {fne) ... ‘The EfFects of Youthful Extravagance and Idleness’: man, two women, and boy, in penury {a larger copy published \x\ 1794 ; fine) ‘Alehouse Politicians ’: shepherd argu- ing with post-boys ; above fireplace, a scroll, ‘ Pay this Day ; I’ll treat to-morrow ’ {fine) ... ‘Gipsies’: man and dog asleep ; woman, boy, and girl {fine) ‘The Turnpike-gate’: man on white horse paying toll ; bull-dog {fine) * Rabbits ’ {fine) ‘Girl and Pigs’ {fine) ‘Girl and Calves’ {fine) ‘ The Pledge of Love ’: lady regarding love-token {fine) ... ‘Inside of a Country Alehouse’ : sports- man and dogs ; coachman holding hare {fine) ‘The Pleasures of Retirement’: two young ladies reclining {small) London, 1789. Ditto. Ditto. London, 1801. London, 1792. London, 1806. Ditto. London, 1802. Ditto. London, 1788. London, 1797. London, 1789. British Museum Collection i 37 Place and Date of Title. Publication. 34. ‘The Thatcher’: man thatching cot- tage ; horses and pig (two copies ; fne) London, 1 806. 35. ‘ Guinea-pigs ’ (fne) ... ... ... Ditto. NINTH PORTFOLIO : MEZZOTINTS BY JOHN YOUNG, ENGRAVER TO THE PRINCE OF WALES. 1. ‘ Seduction ’ : girl reading letter ; man bribing a woman (fne) ... ... London, 1788. 2. ‘Travellers’: man and woman have crossed a bridge (fine) ... ... London, 1802. 3. ‘ Credulous Innocence ’: woman tempt- ing a girl ; man outside (fine) ... London, 1788. 4. ‘Fishermen’: coast scene — fishermen, boats, dogs (fine) ... ... ... London, 1800. 5. ‘Rustic Ease’: man lying at cottage- door (fine) ... ... ... ... London, no date, 6. ‘Villagers’: woman, child, and dog crossing bridge (fine) ... ... London, 1803. TENTH PORTFOLIO : MISCELLANEOUS MEZZOTINTS. London, 1796. No place or date. Ditto. Ditto. London, 1791. No place or date. Ditto. London, 1788. London, 1801. Ditto. No place or date. 1. ‘ The Lover’s Retreat ’ 2. Young Man leaving Home ... 3. Woman and Girl talking at Cottage- door (fine) 4. Dog drinking at Cottage-door 5. ‘ The Sportsman Enamour’d ; or, The Wife in Danger ’ ... 6. ‘ The Banks of the Dec ’ 7. ‘Anxiety ; or, The Ship at Sea’ 8. ‘Mutual Joy ; or, The Ship in Harbour’ 9. ‘ Alehouse Kitchen ’ : post-boy standing looking at fire and smoking (fine)... 10. * Alehouse-door’: two rustics conversing (fi” e ) 11. ‘ The Frighten’d Horse ’ George Morland Title. 12. ‘ Fishermen in Distress ’ {coloured) 13. ‘TheCountry Butcher manand horse at door ; bulldog ( Jine ) 14. ‘Puss ' (coloured) 15. ‘The Miseries of Idleness a family in poverty {fine') 16. ‘ The Comforts of Industry a happy family circle {fine) 17. ‘Temptation’: an officer offering his purse to a girl selling spice - nuts, etc. {fine) ... 18. ‘Fishermen on Shore’: two men toast- ing a fisher lass as she passes {fine) 19. ‘ Morland’s Summer ’ {coloured) 20. ‘ Mother and Children ’ {fine) 21. Horses about to be Fed : two men getting corn out of box in stable (fi”f) 22. ‘ Playing with a Monkey ’: monkey is seated on fireside ; children and dog {fine) Place and Date of Publication. No place or date. London, 1802. London, 1810. London, 1790. Ditto. London, 1790. London, 1806. London, 1802. No place or date. Ditto. London, 1797. THIRD COLLECTION : STIPPLE AND LINE ENGRAVINGS AFTER MORLAND. first portfolio: stipple engravings; miscellaneous engravers. 1. ‘ Duck-shooting,’ I. 2. Ditto II. 3. Lady by Waterfall {small) 4. ‘Vocal Music ’ {small) 5. ‘ Coursing ’ 6. ‘ Woodcock and Pheasant Shooting ’ 7. ‘ The Benevolent Lady ’ {fine) 8. Girl and Boy talking... 9. Recruiting London, 1804. Ditto. No place or date. London, 1813. London, 1814. London, 1804. No place or date. Ditto. Ditto. British Museum Collection 1 39 Place and Date of Title. Publication. 10. Fish for Sale {fine) ... No place or date. 1 1. A Girl with Hat in Lap {small) • • • Ditto. 12. Penitent returning {coloured) ... . . . Ditto. 13 - Young Gentleman paying Money {coloured) ... Ditto. H- ‘Children feeding Goats’ . . . London, 1794 - 1 5 - ‘ The Setters ’ {small) ... . . . London, 1 804. 16. ‘ The Child of Nature ’ ... No place or date. 17 - ‘Friendship’ ... ... London, 1 795 - 18. Lady, Bird, and Dog {fine) ... ... No place or date. * 9 - Soldier and Children drinking Milk O') . . . Ditto. 20. ‘ Rest from Labour ’ ... • . • London, 1808. 21. A Tea-garden {fine) ... ... London, 179°. SECOND PORTFOLIO : LINE ENGRAVINGS. (i) BY J. SCOTT. 1. ‘ Pointer and Hare ’ [small) 2. * The Farm-yard ’ (smalt) (2) BY A. CABRIELLI. 1. ‘ Dressing for the Masquerade ’ {small)... 2. * The Tavern-Door ’ {small) London, 1805. Ditto. No place or date. Ditto. (3) BY A. SUNTACH. 1 . ‘La Chasse de la Becassine ’ (Snipe) {fine) 2. ‘La Chasse du Canard’ (Duck) 3. * La Chasse de la Becasse ’ (Woodcock) 4. ‘ La Chasse du Li£vre ’ (Hare) 5. 6, and 7. The Deserter’s Discovery, Departure and Pardon, ut supra Published 1790. Published 1791. Ditto. Ditto. No place or date. ( 4 ) BY 1. ‘ Travellers reposing ’ ... 2. ‘Sliding’ 3. ‘Virtue in Danger’ I. FITTLER. London, 1790. ... ... Ditto. ... ... Ditto. C\ 140 George Morland Title. 4. ‘Pedlars’ . ‘ The Bell ’ . ‘ The Turnpike ’ ( Nos. 1 to 6 are all small.') Place and Date of Publication. ... London, 1790. London, 1796. Ditto. (5) MISCELLANEOUS. 1. ‘Frost-piece’ ... ... ... ... London, 1805. 2. ‘ Hunting Scene, by Morland ’ ... London, 1824. [The Author possesses the original of No. 2, the canvas being 5^ in. by 7 in. A red-coated huntsman on a grey horse is followed by a clean-shaven, large-nosed huntsman wearing a blue coat and red collar, and mounted on a brown horse having a blue girth-band. In the distance are other red-coated huntsmen, to whom the first waves his cap and apparently halloos. A pollard oak is to the right, and a hillside and distant blue hills form the background. A woodcut after this picture formed an illustration to an edition of Wordsworth’s poems, perhaps in reference to ‘ Simon Lee, the old Huntsman,’ of whom the poet sang : ‘ No man like him the horn could sound, And hill and valley rang with glee When echo bandied, round and round, The halloo of Simon Lee.’] 3. The Market Girl 4. Winter Scene ... 5. Old White Horse 6. ‘Goldfinch ; or, The Road to Ruin’ ... 7. Door of the Swan Inn... 8. ‘ Changing Quarters ’ ... London, no date. London, 1805. No place or date. London, no date. No place or date. Ditto. THIRD PORTFOLIO I ENGRAVINGS BY W. BOND. 1. ‘ The Weary Sportsman’: man and three dogs {fine) ... ... ... ... London, 1803. 2. ‘ Shepherds Reposing ’ {fine) ... ... Ditto. British Museum Collection 141 FOURTH PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY W. NUTTER. Place and Date of Title. Publication. 1. ‘A Woman selling Fish ’ {fine) ... No place or date. 2. ‘The Strangers at Home’: Roger court- ing Kitty ( fine ) ... ... ... London, 1788. FIFTH PORTFOLIO I ENGRAVINGS BY G. GRAHAM. 1. ‘ The Angry Boy and Tired Dog ’ ... London, 1813. 2. ‘ The Young Nurse and Quiet Child ’ Ditto. 3. ‘ The Soldier’s Return ’ : an officer re- turning to his family ... ... London, 1790. SIXTH PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY E. SCOTT. 1. ‘Boys robbing an Orchard’ ( fine ; coloured) ... ... ... ... Ditto. 2. ‘ The Angry Farmer ’: the boys caught [Companion pictures] {fine; coloured) Ditto. 3. Young Bacchus (coloured). Published in Florence, no date. 4. ‘ Boys Bathing ’ (coloured) ... ... London, 1804. SEVENTH PORTFOLIO I ENGRAVINGS BY J. R. SMITH. 1. ‘ Delia in Town ’ ... ... ... London, 1788. 2. ‘ Delia in the Country ’ (two copies ; fine)... ... ... ... ... Ditto. 3-8. Six plates representing L.-etitia, who eloped, was deserted, and returned penitent {fine) ... ... ... London, 1811. EIGHTH PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY LEVILLY. 1. * The Squire’s Door ’ {fine) ... ... No place or date. 2. ‘ La Porte de la Ferme ’ {fine) ... Ditto. 3. ‘ Guinea-pigs ’ {fine) ... ... ... Ditto. NINTH PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY D. ORME. 1. ‘ Morning ; or, The Higlers preparing for Market’ {fine) ... ... ... No place or date. 2. ‘ Evening ; or, The Post-boy’s Return ’ [Companion pictures] {fine) ... Ditto. 142 George Morland TENTH PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY C. CATTON, JUNIOR. Place and Date of Title. Publication. 1. ‘ Snipe-shooting ’ {fine) ... ... No place or date. 2. ‘ Partridge-shooting ’ (fne) ... ... Ditto. [Both are coloured, and companions.] ELEVENTH PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY W. BLAKE. 1. ‘Industrious Cottager ' {fine)... ... London, 1803. 2. ‘The Idle Laundress: boy robbing clothes-line ’ {fine) ... ... Ditto. [Small companion pictures.] TWELFTH PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY F. BARTOLOZZI. 1. ‘ Constancy ’ {fine) ... ... ... No place or date. 2. ‘ Boys bathing ’ ... ... ... Ditto. THIRTEENTH PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY C. JOSI. 1. ‘ The Labourer’s Luncheon ’ {fne) ... London, 1797. 2. ‘ The Peasant’s Repast ’ {fine) ... Ditto. FOURTEENTH PORTFOLIO I ENGRAVINGS BY MLLE. ROLLET. 1. * A Tea-garden ’ {fne ; coloured ) ... No place or date. 2. ‘Traitc dcsN£gres' (The Slave Trade). Published at Paris during First Republic, no date. 3. ‘ L’Africain Hospitalier ’ (African Hospi- tality). Published at Paris during First Republic, no date. FIFTEENTH PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY R. M. MEADOWS. 1. ‘ Gathering Wood ’ {fine') ... ... London, 1795. 2. ‘ Gathering Fruit boy and girl {fine). Ditto. [Companion pictures.] SIXTEENTH PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY B. DUTERREAU. 1. ‘ The Farmer’s Door ’ (two copies \fine) London, 1790. 2. ‘ The Squire’s Door ’ {fine) ... ... Ditto. British Museum Collection H3 SEVENTEENTH PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY G. SHEPHEARD. Place and Date of Title. Publication. 1. ‘Dogs’(^K^/ coloured ) ... ... London, 1802. 2. An uncoloured copy. EIGHTEENTH PORTFOLIO : ENGRAVINGS BY R. CLAMP. 1. ‘Jackin the Bilboes the Press-gang {small, fine)... ... ... ... London, 1797. 2. ‘TheContented Waterman’ {small; fine) Ditto. ‘ My cot was snug, well fill’d my keg, my Gruntcr in the sty.’ NINETEENTH PORTFOLIO : STIPPLE ENGRAVINGS BY T. GAUGAIN. 1. ‘How Sweet’s the Love that meets return ’ {fine) 2. ‘ The Lass of Livingstone ’ {fine) 3. ‘Louisa’: two companion plates {fine) 4. ‘ Dancing Dogs ’ {fine) 5. ‘ Guinea-pigs ’ {fine) ... London, 1785. Ditto. London, 1789. London, 1790. London, 1789. TWENTIETH PORTFOLIO : STIPPLE ENGRAVINGS BY J. DEAN. 1. ‘The Tomb’... ... ... ... London, 1789. 2. The same, coloured TWENTY-FIRST PORTFOLIO : STIPPLE ENGRAVINGS BY W. WARD. 1. A Child under a Tree {fine) ... 2. ‘ The First Pledge of Love ’ {fine) 3. ‘ Variety ’ {fine) 4. ‘ Constancy ’ {fine) No place or date. Ditto. London, 1788. Ditto. Note. — The words quoted form the title as it is printed on the engraving. Where words are not quoted there, is no printed title. H4 George Morland B. CHRONOLOGICAL CATALOGUE OF ENGRAVINGS, ETCH- INGS, ETC., AFTER GEORGE MORLAND, SHOWING THE YEARS OF THEIR PUBLICATION, ETC. (ALL WERE PUBLISHED IN LONDON.) BY RALPH RICHARDSON, 1894. ABBREVIATIONS. M. = Mezzotint. C. = Chalk, or stipple. A. = Aquatint. L. = Line engraving. Col. = Coloured copies published. B. M. = In British Museum Collection as detailed in pp. 125-143. A brace connecting engravings signifies that they form a pair or series. 1780. Engraver. Publisher. The Angler’s Repast, B.M., M. ( re-issued 1789) ... ... W. Ward. J. R. Smith. 1783- Children Nutting, M ... E. Dayes. J. R. Smith. 1785. How Sweet’s the Love that meets Return, B.M., C. ... ... T. Gaugain. The Lass of Livingstone, B.M. ,C. Ditto. Love and Constancy rewarded, A. P. Dawe. The Gentle Shepherd, C. T. Gaugain. Ditto. W. Hinton. T. Merle. 1786. Tom Jones’ First Interview with Molly Scagrim, M. ... ... Wm. Ward. Wm. Holland. Chronological Catalogue of Engravings 145 1787. Engraver. Harley and Old Edwards ( from ‘ Man of Feeling ’), M. ... John Pettit. Valentine’s Day, B.M., col. M — J. Dean. Domestic Happiness, col. M. ... W. Ward. The Coquette at her Toilette, col. M. ... ... ... Ditto. The Happy Family, B.M. ... J. Dean. Publisher. W. Holland. J. Dean. W. Dickinson. Ditto. 1788. A Visit to the Child at Nurse, col. M. {for companion see first entry 1789) W. Ward. J. R. Smith. 'The Power of Justice, B.M., M J. Dean. J. Dean. The Triumph of Benevolence, { B.M., M Ditto. Ditto. Sportsman’s Hall, M. ... W. Ward. W. Holland. The Widow, B.M., M. J. Dean. J. Dean. Blind Man’s Buff, col. M. W. Ward. J. R. Smith. Children playing at Soldiers, B.M., M G. Keating. Ditto. The First Pledge of Love, C W. Ward. T. Prattent. Suspense, M. ... Ditto. ( Delia in the Country, B.M., -! C., col. J. R. Smith. J. R. Smith. 1 Delia in Town, B.M., C .,col. Ditto. Ditto. Anxiety ; or, The Ship at Sea, B.M., M P. Dawe. W. Dickinson - Mutual Joy; or, The Ship in 1. Harbour, B.M. , M. Ditto. Ditto. The Fair Seducer, C. ... E. J. Dumee. J. R. Smith. ( Variety, B.M., C., col. W. Ward. ( Constancy, B.M., C., col. ... W. Ward. W. Dickinson The Pledge of Love, B.M., col. M. ... ... ... ... Ditto. Ditto. Children Nutting, col. M. ... E. Dayes. 10 146 George Morland r Children fishing, col. M. 1 Children gathering Black- l berries, col. M. The Strangers at Home, B. M., Engraver. P. Dawe. P. Dawe. C / Spring, C I Summer, C. ... I Autumn, C. ... ' Winter, C. ... The Idle Laundress, C. ( Indulgence, C. ( Discipline, C. The Agreeable Surprise, M. ... On the Wings of Love, M. Seduction, B.M., M. ... Credulous Innocence, B.M., M W. Nutter. Wm. Ward. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. W. Blake. J. Prattcnt. Ditto. John Young. Ditto. 1789. A Visit to the Boarding School, col. M. ( for companion see first entry 1788) ... Juvenile Navigators, B.M., col. M j A Party angling, col. M. ( The Angler’s Repast, col. M. Youth diverting Age, M. A Mad Bull, B.M., A. An Ass Race, B.M., col. M. ... Children Birds’-nesting, B.M., col. M W. Ward. Ditto. G. Keating. W. Ward. J. Grozer. R. Dodd. W. Ward. Ditto. Louisa (two companion plates), B.M., C. ... ... ... T. Gaugain. The Pleasures of Retirement, B.M., M W. Ward. Guinea-pigs, B.M., C., col. ... T. Gaugain. Publisher. W. Dickinson. Ditto. E. M. Diemar. T. Prattcnt. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. J. R. Smith. J. Brydon. Ditto. C. Bowles. R. Saver. J. R. Smith. Ditto. Ditto. W. Dickinson. P. Cornman. Ditto. J. R. Smith. Ditto. J. T. Smith. T. Gaugain. Chronological Catalogue of Engravings 147 The L.'etitia Series, viz. : Engraver. Publisher. Plate 1. Domestic Happiness, C. J. R. Smith. J. R. Smith. „ 2. The Elopement, C. ... Ditto. Ditto. „ 3. The Virtuous Parent, C. „ 4. Dressing for the Mas- Ditto. Ditto. querade, C. ... Ditto. Ditto. „ 5. The Tavern -door, C. Ditto. Ditto. „ 6. The Fair Penitent, C. Ditto. Ditto. The Tomb, B.M., C., col. J. Dean. J. Dean. Refreshment, A. ' The Fruits of Early Industry W. Ward. P. Cornman. and CEconomy, B.M., M. - The Effects of Youthful Ex- travagance and Idleness, Ditto. T. Simpson. . B.M., M. Ditto. The List’ning Lover, B.M. ... Farmer’s Visit to his Married T. Rowlandson. Daughter in Town, C., col.... W. Bond. 1 79°- A Rural Feast, B.M., M. J. Dean. J. Dean. The Kite entangled, M. W. Ward. J. R. Smith. 1 Jack in the Bilboes, cot. M — 1 The Contented Waterman, Ditto. P. Cornman. ( col. M j The Squire’s Door, B.M., C., Ditto. Ditto. col. j The Farmer’s Door, B.M., B. Duterreau. J. R Smith. V C., col. Ditto. Ditto. 1 St. James’s Park, C., col. F. D. Soiron. T. Gaugain. ( A Tea-garden, B.M., C., col. Ditto. Ditto. Temptation, B.M., M. W. Humphrey. W. Dickinson Dancing Dogs, B.M., C., col. ... T. Gaugain. T. Gaugain. Shooting Series — etched by T. Rowlandson ; aquatint by S Aiken ; published by J. Harris and T. Merle : 1. Pheasant-shooting. 3. Duck-shooting. 2. Partridge-shooting. 4. Snipe-shooting, B. M. 148 George Morland Engraver. Publisher. Morning ; or, Thoughts on M. Colnagh Amusements for the Evening and Co. Affluence reduced, M. H. Hudson. J. R. Smith. r The Soldier’s Farewell, C.,col. J The Soldier’s Return, B.M., G. Graham. T. Simpson. [ col. Ditto. Ditto. Pedlars, B.M., L. J. Fittler. J. Fittler. Travellers reposing, B.M., L. Ditto. Ditto. Sliding, B.M., L. Ditto. P. Cornman. The Bell, L Ditto. J. Fittler. Virtue in Danger, B.M., L. ... The Miseries of Idleness, Ditto. P. Cornman. B.M., col. M The Comforts of Industry, H. Hudson. J. R. Smith. k B.M., col. M Ditto. Ditto. La Chasse de la Becassine (Snipe), B.M., L. ... ■ Boys robbing an Orchard, A. Suntach. B.M., col. M The Angry Farmer, B.M., E. Scott. 1 col. M. Ditto. I 79 I - Cottagers, B. M., M. ... W. Ward. T. Simpson. Travellers, B.M., M. ... Ditto. Ditto. The Recruit, or Deserter, Series : Plate 1. Trepanning a Recruit, B.M., M G. Keating. J. R. Smith. „ 2. Recruit deserted, B.M., M Ditto. Ditto. „ 3. Deserter taking leave of his Wife, B M., M. Ditto. Ditto. „ 4. Deserter pardoned, B.M., M Ditto. Ditto. f African Hospitality, M. J. R. Smith. Ditto. ) Slave Trade, M. Ditto. Ditto. A Christmas Gambol, M. Ditto. Ditto. Chronological Catalogue of Engravings 149 The Benevolent Lady, C. ( Changing Quarters, C. ( The Billeted Soldier, C. Girl and Calves, M. ... Nurse and Children in the Fields, M. ... The Sportsman Enamour’d ; or, The Wife in Danger, B. M., M. La Chassc du Canard (Duck), B.M., L La Chasse de la Becasse (Wood- cock), B.M., L. La Chasse du Lievre (Hare), B.M., L Engraver. Publisher. E. J. Dum£e. T. Prattcnt. J. Hogg. T. Simpson. Ditto. Ditto. W. Ward. Collins & Morgan ; Moore & Kirton. G. Keating. J. R. Smith. A. Suntach. Ditto. Ditto. I 79 2 - The Woodcutter, M. ... ... W. Ward. The Carrier’s Stable, M. Ditto. Thos. Macklin. /The Country Girl at Home, M M. C. Prestel. E. M. Diemar. The Country Girl in London, M Ditto. Ditto. The Country Stable, M. W. Ward. D. Orme & Co., The Barn-door, M. Ditto. E. Walker, & J. F. Tomkins. T. Simpson ; Dar- The Sportsman’s Return, M. ... Ditto. ling & Thompson. Thos. Macklin. The Shepherd’s Boy, M. Ditto. D. Orme & Co., The Farmer’s Stable, B.M., M. Ditto. E. Walker, & J. F. Tomkins. (Original in National Gallery, London.) Gipsies, B.M., M. ... ... Wm. Ward. T. Simpson. George Morland 1 5° Evening : Sportsmen refreshing, Engraver. Publisher. A Coursing, A. (Etched by G. S. Aiken. J. Vivarcs & Son. Morland) J. Read. Children feeding Goats, C. ... P. W. Tomkins. D. Orme & Co. and E. Walker. The Amorous Ploughman, col. T. Jones and Is. M J. Jenner. Jcnner. Gipsy Courtship, col. M. Rubbing down the Post-horse, B.M. Ditto. Ditto. Duck-shooting, B.M. ... T. Rowlandson. Studies of following, etched by J. Baldrey ; B.M. : Pigs, Sheep, etc. Men, Children, etc. Men, Donkey, etc. Ditto. Horses, Sheep, etc. Dog, Ass, etc. Cart, Wheelbarrow, etc. Cart-horses. Studies of following, the etchings published by J. Harris ; B.M. : Men. Man at Watering-trough, a Horses, etc. Sheep, etc. woman seated near. 1 793- Engraver. Publisher. Feeding the Pigs, M. ... J. R. Smith. J. R. Smith. Return from Market, B.M., M. Ditto. Ditto. The Happy Cottagers, B.M., M. J. Grozer. B. B. Evans. The Gipsies’ Tent, B.M., M Ditto. Ditto. ^ Smugglers, B.M., M. J. Ward. J. R. Smith. ( Fishermen, B.M., M Ditto. Ditto. Burning Weeds, M. ... J. Ward. B. Tabart. Cows, M. ‘Original Sketches from Nature E. Bell. E. Bell & J. Dixie. Title-page, B. M. Etching pub. by T. Simpson. Woman and Child, Goat, etc... Chronological Catalogue of Engravings 151 Two Country Boys ... ... Etching pub. by T. Simpson. Two Boys, Girl’s Head, etc. ... „ „ „ Boy at Pump „ „ „ Cart passing Wooded Scenery, B.M Studies of following, the B.M. : Horses, etc. Children, etc. Harrowing a Field. Greyhounds, etc. „ „ D. Orme. tchings published by J. Harris ; Fisherwomen, etc. Men, etc. Children, etc. Two Men. I 794- The Effects of Youthful Extra- vagance and Idleness, B.M., M Fighting Dogs, B.M., M. The Happy Family, M. TheFirst of September : Morn- ing, col. M. The First of September : Even- ing, B.M., col. M. ... A Man asleep, B.M. ... Studies of Horses’ Heads, etc., B.M Engraver. W. Ward. J. R. Smith. J. Dean. W. Ward. Ditto. Publisher. T. Simpson. J. R. Smith. T. Simpson and W. Ward. Foxhunters and Dogs leaving the Inn, B.M. ... ... ... Etching by J. Wright. Foxhunters and Dogs in a Wood, B.M Full Cry, B.M. ... ... „ „ Fox about to be Killed, B.M „ „ Boy and Pigs, B.M. ... ... ,, ,, Shepherds, B.M. ... ... ,, ,, Country Lads at a Gate, B.M. Etching published by D. Orme. 152 George Morland Studies of following, the etchings published by J. Harris B.M. : Pigs, etc. Group of Goats. Rabbits eating a Carrot. Boy and Girl. Sheep. Men. Men and Horse. Dogs. Church and Milkman. Engraver. Publisher. Youth diverting Age, B.M., M. J. Grozer. Rubbing down the Post-horse, B.M., M J. R. Smith. Children feeding Goats, B.M 1 795 - /Morning; or, The Benevolent J Sportsman, B.M., M. Evening; or, The Sportsman’s Return, B.M., M. The Farm-yard, B.M., M. The Farmer’s Stable, B.M., M. The Rustic Ballad, M. Hunting : Full Cry, B.M. Women going up Ladder, B.M. Rustic Scene : cattle, etc., B.M. Huntsmen and Dogs, B.M. Foxhunters and Dogs at Blue- bell Door, B.M. J. Grozer. J. Grozer. Ditto. W. Ward. Ditto. Ditto. J. R. Smith. Ditto. S. W. Reynolds. J. Read. Etching by J. Wright. J) 99 Studies of following, the etchings published by J. Harris B.M . : Men and Girl. Sloop in a Creek. Boat Ashore. Friendship, B.M. /Gathering Wood, B.M. ... R. M. Meadows. (Gathering Fruit, B.M. ... Ditto. Chronological Catalogue of Engravings 153 1796. The Fleecy Charge, M. Mutual Confidence ; or, The Sentimental Friends, M. A Bear Hunt, B.M., M. The Dram, B.M., M. ... The Storm, B.M., M The Turnpike, L. Delicate Embarrassment ; or The Rival Friends, M. The Kennel, M. Woodland, B.M. Ruined Tower, B.M. ... Ruined Church, B.M The Lovers’ Retreat, B.M., M The Bell, B.M., L. ... The Turnpike, B.M., L. Morning ; or. The Higlers preparing for Market, B.M., C., col. Evening ; or, The Post-boy’s Return, B.M., C., col. Engraver. Publisher. G. Shcpheard. T. Macklin. E. Bell. J. Grozer. S.W. Reynolds. S.W. Reynolds. W. Ward. J. R. Smith. Ditto. Ditto. J. Fittler. J. Fittler. E. Bell. J. Grozer. S.W. Reynolds. S.W. Reynolds. Etching published by J. Harris. J. Fittler. Ditto. D. Orme. Ditto. D. Orme. Ditto. 1797 - Playing at Dominoes, M. ... J. R. Reynolds. T. Ladd and Wm. Atkins. Playing with a Monkey, B.M., M. Ditto. Ditto. Inside of a Country Alehouse, B.M., M W. Ward. W. Ward. The Labourer’s Luncheon, 1 B.M., C C. Josi. The Peasant’s Repast, B.M., C. ... ... ... ... Ditto. The Corn-Bin, col. M. ... J. R. Smith. A Litter of Foxes (Animals by C. Loraine Smith, Landscape by G. Morland), M J. Grozer. J. R. Smith. Ditto. Ditto. J. Grozer. 1 54 George Morland Engraver. Publisher. Girl and Pigs, M. ... ... W. Ward. Collins & Morgan; Moore & Kirton. Man, Woman and Boy on Road, B.M. ... ... ... Etching by T. Vivares. Tree, B.M. The Horse-Feeder, B.M., M — j Jack in the Bilboes, B.M. The Contented Waterman, B.M >> J. R. Smith. R ' Cllmp - 1 cf W. Ward, Ditto. / ' 79 °' 1 798 - Breaking the Ice, B.M., M. ... J. R. Smith, jun. J. R. Smith. Milkmaid and Cowherd, B.M., M. ... ... ... ... J. R. Smith. Ditto. A Land Storm, B.M., M. ... S. W. Reynolds. 1 7 99 - The Fisherman’s Hut, B.M., M. J. R. Smith. J. R. Smith. Selling Fish, B.M., M. ... Ditto. Ditto. Gathering Wood, C. ... ... R. M. Meadows. Ditto. The Horse-Feeder, col. M. ... J. R. Smith. Ditto. Watering the Cart-horse, B.M., M. ... ... ... ... Ditto. Ditto. Rubbing down the Post-horse, M. Ditto. Ditto. Old and Young Man and Young Woman, B.M. ... ... Etching published by D. Orme. Setters, B.M., col. M. ... ... S. W. Reynolds. 1 800. The Fisherman’s Dog, B.M., M. The Poacher, M. The Last Litter, B.M., M. The Hard Bargain, B. M., M Woodland Scene, B.M. River Scene, „ Ruined Church, „ Tree and Cottage, „ Ruined Tower, „ S.W. Reynolds. S.W. Reynolds. Ditto. W. Jcffryes & Co. W. Ward. J. L. Cartwright. Ditto. Ditto. Etching pub. byj. P. Thompson. J) » » ») )) J) )» )) » » Chronological Catalogue of Engravings 155 Cattle crossing a Bridge, B.M — Two Pointers, „ Kennel of Dogs, ,, Woman washing, „ Study of Cat, „ Two Dogs in Kennel, „ Woman and Child at a Door, B.M. Ass, B.M. Man and Woman in Wood, B.M. Two Dogs, „ Dog, Dog with Bone, „ Cattle crossing Bridge, „ The Millers, B.M., M. Fishermen, B.M., M. ... Inside a Country Alehouse, B.M., col. M Hunting Scenes : Going Out, col. M. Going into Cover, „ The Check, „ The Death, „ Engraver. Publisher. Etching pub. by J. P. Thompson. Etching by T. Vivarcs. >> yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy S. W. Reynolds. John Young. W. Ward. E. Bell. yy yy yy 1801. The Shepherd, M. /"Selling Peas, M. \ Selling Cherries, M. [Alehouse-door, B. M., M. I Alehouse Kitchen, B.M., Alehouse Politicians, B.M., The Mail-coach, M. ... The Publichouse-door, col. Returning from Labour, col. The Rabbit Warren, B.M., Sportsmen refreshing, B.M., Stable Amusement, B.M., M . . . W. Barnard. W. Barnard. • . . E. Bell. T. Ladd. . . . Ditto. Ditto. ... R. S. Syer. J. R. Smith. M. Ditto. Ditto. M. W. Ward. Wards and Co. ... S.W. Reynolds. R. Ackerman. M. W. Ward. J. R. Smith. M. T. Burke. H. Macklin. , A. S. Aiken. J. R. Smith. A. Ditto. Ditto. .... W. Ward. Ditto. l 5 6 George Morland Engraver. Publisher. Two Boys fishing, B.M. ... Etching pub. by J. P. Thompson. Three Portraits of Countrymen, B.M. Two Portraits of Stablemen, B.M. 99 99 yy 99 99 99 Feeding the Pigs, B.M., M. ... J. R. Smith. 1802. Sailors’ Conversation, B.M., col. M The Country Butcher, B.M..M. The Flowing Bowl ; or, Sailors returned, M. The Brown Jug ; or, Wag- goner’s Farewell, M. Morland’s ‘Summer,’ B.M., col. M Morland’s ‘ Winter,’ col. M Girl and Pigs, B.M., M. Girl and Calves, B.M., M. Travellers, B.M., M. ... Dogs, B.M., col. W. Ward. T. Gosse. W. Barnard. Ditto. W. Barnard. W. Ward. Ditto. John Young. G. Shepheard. J. R. Smith. Ditto. W. Barnard. Ditto. W. J. Sargard, 1 803. Shepherds reposing, B.M., C Shepherd’s Meal, B.M., M. ... A Conversation, B.M., M. Cottage Family, M. Peasant and Pigs, B.M., M. ... A Visit to the Donkeys, M. ... Peasant Family, C., col. Giles, the Farmer’s Boy, B.M., col. M. Woodcutters at Dinner, B.M Girl, Boy, and Sheep, B.M., M. Villagers, B.M., M. ... The Weary Sportsman, B.M. ... W. Bond. J. R. Smith. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. W. Ward. J. Pierson. H. Macklin. J. R. Smith. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. H. Macklin. J. Pierson. W. Ward. H. Macklin. Thos. Williamson. J. R. Smith. John Young. W. Bond. Chronological Catalogue of Engravings 157 Engraver. Publisher. Industrious Cottager, B.M. ... W. Blake. The Idle Laundress, B.M. ... Ditto. Innocents alarm’d, B.M. , col. M. J. R. Smith, jun. H. Macklin. Ditto. Malgo. 1804. George Morland (died 1804), C. T. Gaugain. fThe Rustic Hovel, M. ... E. Bell. (The Cottage Sty, M.... Morland’s Ass, M. Lazy Shepherds : * Go, mind them,’ B.M. The Young Dealer: ‘ Well, what will you give ?’ B.M. First Love : ‘ Well, I shall have my mother after me,’ B.M Ass and Pigs, with Boy, B.M Conversation, B.M. Duck-shooting, I. and II., B.M. Woodcock and Pheasant Shoot- J. Stephens. E. Orme. Ditto. Ditto. Thos. Williamson. Ditto. Ditto. Etching by T. Vivares. Etching pub. by D. Orme. ing, B.M. The Setters, B.M. Boys bathing, B.M., col. George Morland, C. ... The Weary Sportsman, C. Fishermen going out, B.M., M. Partridge-shooting, M. The Attentive Shepherd, col. M. Morland’s Cottager, C., col. ... Morland’s Woodman, C., col., B.M The Frightened Horse, col. M. Pedlars, C., col. Paying the Horse-seller, B.M., col. M Frost-piece, B.M., C. ... ... E. Scott. 1805. H. Wares. E. Orme. W. Bond. H. Macklin. S. W. Reynolds. J. R. Smith. E. Jones. J. Cary. R. Brook. H. Macklin. T. Williamson. T. Williamson and Ditto. John Barrow. E. Bell. E. Orme. G. Shepheard. J. Pierson. S. W. Reynolds. H. Macklin. Jas. Cundce. > 5 » George Morland Engraver. Publisher. Travellers reposing, B.M. ... Thos. Williamson. Rustic Cares : ‘Chuck, chuck. chuck,’ B.M. Tired Gypsies, B.M. ... Summer’s Evening, B.M. Winter’s Morning, B.M. George Morland, B.M. Pointer and Hare, B.M., L. The Farm-yard, B.M., L. Winter Scene, B.M. ... ... Ditto. Ditto. ... Ditto. Ditto. ... Etching by T. Vivarcs from the Drawing by G. Morland. ... J. Scott. Ditto. 1806. George Morland, M. ... ... J. R. Smith. J. R. Smith. Morland’s Emblematical Palette, B.M. The Turnpike-gate, M.B., M. Pigs, C j' Rabbits, B.M., M. ... [ Guinea-pigs, B.M., M. The Warrencr, B.M., M. Fishermen on Shore, B.M., M. Setters, B.M., M. Boy and Pigs, M. The Thatcher, B.M., M. Coast Scene, B.M. Studies of Dogs, B.M Woodcutters, B.M. Cottagers in Winter, B.M. Men in Cart, Child, etc., B.M. Donkey and Boy, B.M. The Contented Waterman, S. W. Reynolds. J. Linnell. W. Ward. Ditto. R M. Meadows. W. T. Strutt. W. Ward. Ditto. Ditto. W. Hilton. W. Ward. W. T. Annis. J. Linnell. Ditto. Henry Morland. J. R. Smith. J. Linnell. H. Macklin. Wm. Ward. G. Morland. Thos. Williamson. Ditto. Etching published by D. Orme. 99 99 99 B.M., M The Shepherds, B.M., M. The Pigsty, M. Guinea-pigs, M. ... Wm. Ward. ... Ditto. 1807. ... J. R. Smith. T. Palser. ... Ditto. Ditto. Chronological Catalogue of Engravings 159 Engraver. Publisher. Girl with Bottle and Glass, B.M. ... ... ... Etching published by D. Orme. Dog following a Man, B.M. ... „ „ „ Donkey and Girl, B.M. ... ,, ,, „ Boy and Pigs, B.M., M. ... J. R. Smith. Rabbits eating, B.M., M. ... Ditto. Guinea-pigs eating, B.M., M. Ditto. 1808. Rest from Labour, B.M., C. ... T. Burke. R. Lambe. Puss alarmed, M. ... ... P. Dawe. Ditto. 1810. The Country Butcher, M. ... W. Barnard. J. Higham. Puss, B.M., M. ... ... T. Hodgctt. H. Morland. 181 1. The Cottage Fireside, M. ... W. Barnard. c Fishermen preparing to go J out, A. ... ... ... — Jakes. ( The Fishermen returning, A. Ditto. Snipe-shooting, B.M. ... The Laetitia Series of 1789 republished, B.M. ... ... J. R. Smith. Thos. Palscr. J. Deeley. Ditto. 1812. Tottenham Court Road Turn- pike, and St. James’s Chapel, B.M. 1813. The Angry Boy and Tired Dog, B.M., C. ... ... ... G. Graham. T. Palser. The Young Nurse and Quiet Child, B.M., C. ... ... Ditto. Ditto. Vocal Music, B.M., C. ... J. Baldrey. Ditto. George Morland 1 60 1814. Engraver. Bathing Horses, B.M., M. ... W. Ward, f African Hospitality, B. M., M. J. R. Smith. ( Slave Trade, B.M., M. ... Ditto. Coursing, B.M., C. Publisher. R. Lambe. f Originally pub- ( lished 1791. 1816. Gathering Fruit, C. ... ... R. M. Meadows. T. Palscr. 1817. Morland’s Land-Storm, C. ... T. Williamson. T. Palser. 1824. Hunting Scene, B.M. ... 1889. 1 Supplement of A Tea-garden ( originally pub- | The Graphic lished 1790), C., col.... ... F. D. Soiron. of March 23, ( 1889. NOTE. PROPRIETORS OF PAINTINGS BY MORLAND. It would be interesting to know who now possess the original paintings by George Morland, from which the engravings mentioned in the foregoing long Chronological Catalogue were executed. The entries in the preceding British Museum Cata- logue (Appendix, pages 125-143) may also assist identification. Most of Morland’s paintings arc probably in private residences throughout the United Kingdom, the United States, or else- where. For a future edition, the Author would feel much obliged by any information on the subject being sent to him at the address which is given below'. He particularly desires to ascertain the following details regarding any painting from which one of the engravings mentioned in the foregoing Chrono- logical Catalogue was in all probability executed, viz. : (1) The year and title of the relative engraving, as stated in the Chronological Catalogue, or the title, etc., in the preceding British Museum Catalogue. (2) The size, in inches, of the canvas of the original paint- ing. (3) The signature and date, if any, on the canvas. (4) The full name and postal address of the present pro- prietor of the painting. (5) If the painting was engraved, but the engraving is not mentioned in the foregoing Chronological Catalogue, or the preceding British Museum Catalogue, kindly mention — in addition to the above details, (2), (3), and (4) — the title, style, and engraver of the engraving, and its publisher, and date and place of publication. R. R. Gattonside House, Melrose, Scotland, April, 1895. II 162 George Morland C. SALE OF ENGRAVINGS AFTER MORLAND. Messrs. Sothcby, Wilkinson, and Hodge favoured the author with the following details of Engravings after George Morland, sold at their Auction Rooms, London, on December 20, 1894: Subject. Engraver. Sold for. £ j. d. Bacchanalian Children (1 ),red La douce Attentc, L’Amusc- Scott. 0 8 0 ment utile : portraits of two Ladies (2), oval , in colours... 3 8 0 Variety, Constancy : two Ladies full length (2), in colours, fine, and very rare W. Ward. 29 10 0 The same prints (2), in colours Bartolozzi. 2 18 0 Variety ( 1 ), full margin, brown Gathering Fruit and Gather- W. Ward. 0 16 0 ing Wood (2), fine, in colours Meadows. •3 10 0 The Discovery ; The Fair Seducer (2), in colours Dumee. 16 10 0 Suspense (1), fine Domestic Happiness (1), in W. Ward. 9 9 0 colours J. R. Smith. 6 10 0 The same (1), in colours The Tavern Door (i), in Le Cceur. 1 5 0 colours J. R. Smith. 1 12 0 The Fair Penitent (1) History of Latitia (6), in Ditto. 2 1 + 0 colours Bartolozzi. S «S 0 Louisa (2), oval, in colours, a pair T. Gaugain. *9 0 0 The Squire’s Door (1), bistre Duterrcau. 5 10 0 Sale of Engravings after Morland 163 The Fleecy Charge (i), in colours Sheep (1) A Visit to the Child at Nurse, and A Visit to the Board- ing School (2), ti pair The same prints (2),' in colours, a pair The same prints (2), in colours, with margin, a pair The Visit to the Child at Nurse (1), proof ... Children Bird-nesting (1), superb impression ... Children Playing at Soldiers (1), in colours A Party Angling, and The Anglers’ Repast (2), in colours, a pair St. James’s Park, and The Tea-garden (2), in colours, a pair The same prints (2), ditto, first state, before the corners of the plate were engraved ; very rare ... Cottagers (1) Travellers (1) The Fruits of Early Industry and Economy (4), in colours, set of four ... i s. Shepheard. 3 •7 Bell. 1 18 W. Ward. •9 '5 Ditto. 39 18 Ditto. 3 1 io Bcljambe. 0 H W. Ward. 10 15 Keating. 0 16 Keating. 46 4 Soiron. 3 + 10 Ditto. 52 IO W. Ward. 7 >5 Ditto. 4 5 Darcis. 1 1 0 d. 6 o o o o o o o o o o o o o In the spring of 1895, Messrs. Paul and Dominic Colnaghi and Co., London, exhibited a fine collection of ‘ Old coloured engravings of the English School, chiefly of the end of the eighteenth century,’ concerning which a critic wrote : ‘ Most attractive of all was a long series, by various Engravers, of the works — rural, domestic, and moral — of George Morland, who George Morland 164 so often practised on canvas all the virtues that he failed to practise. These, with a set of thirteen of Wheatley’s “Cries of London ” (published between 1793 and 1797 by Colnaghi and Co.), make up a pleasing exhibition, which may be recom- mended, on the principle of the olive, for the refreshment of one’s artistic palate.’ In the Introduction to the Catalogue of this Exhibition, it is remarked that two of Morland’s engravers, William Ward and John Raphael Smith, produced mezzotints ‘which have since become famous throughout the world for their vigour and artistic reproduction of tone and colour. No foreign engravers even approach in excellence those delightful translators of English art, when that art was at its best.’ INDEX TO THE ENGRAVERS OF THE WORKS OF GEORGE MORLAND. Aiken, S., 127, 1+7, 150, 155 Annis, W. T., 1 58 Baldrcy, J., 130, 150, 159 Barnard, W., 155, 156, 159 Bartolozzi, T., 142, 162 Bcljambc, — , 163 Bell, E., 150, 153, 155, 157, 163 Blake, Win., 142, 146, 157 Bond, W., 140, 147, 156, 157 Brook, R., 1 57 Burke, T., 155, 159 Catton, C., jun., 142 Clamp, R., 143, 154 Darcis, — , 163 Dawe, Philip, 144, 145, 159 Dayes, E., 144, 145 Dean, J., 132, 143, 145, 147, 151 Dodd, R., 146 Dumce, E. J., 145, 149, 162 Duterreau, B., 142, 147, 162 Fittler, J., 139, 148, 153 Gabriclli, A., 1 39 Gaugain, T., 143, 144, 146, 147, 157, 162 Gosse, T., 1 36 Graham, G., 141, 148, 159 Grozer, J., 132, 146, 150, 152, * 53 Hilton, W., 1 58 Hodgett, T., 159 Hogg, J., 149 Humphrey, W., 147 Hudson, H., 148 Jakes, — , 159 Jenner, J., 1 50 Jones, E., 1 57 Josi, C., 142, 153 Keating, G., 132, 145, 146, 148, 163 Lc Coeur, — , 162 Lcvilly, 141 Malgo, — , 157 Meadows, R. M., 142, 1 52, 1 54, 158, 160 ! Morland, George, 150 Nutter, W., 141, 146 Orme, D., 141, 153 Pettit, John, 145 Pierson, J., 1 56 Prattent, J., 146 1 66 Index to Engravers after Morland Prestcl, M. C., 149 Rajon, — , 125 Reynolds, J. R., 1 53 Reynolds, S.W., 133, 152, 153, 1 54> 1 5 5* 1 57> 1 58 Rollet, Mile., 142 Rowlandson, T., 127, 147, 150 Scott, E., 141, 148, 157 Scott, J., 139, 158 Shcpheard, G., 143, 153, 156, >57. 163 Smith, J. R., 133, 141, 145, 147, 148, 150, 1 5 1, 152, 153, 154, 156, 158, 159, 160 Smith, J. R., jun., 134, 154, 1 57 Soiron, F. D., 147, 160, 163 Suntach, A., 139, 148, 149 Syer, R. S., 155 Tomkins, P. W., 150 Yivares, T., 128, 154, 155, 157. J58 Ward, James, 134, 150 Ward, William, 135, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, iS 1 , 1 5 2 > 1 53, 1 54. *55. 1 56, 1 58, 160, 162, 163 Wares, H., 1 57 Williamson, T., 127, 156, 157, 158, 160 Wright, J., 129, 1 51, 152 Young, John, 137, 146, 155, 156 1 EUift Stock, 6s, Paternoster Rerw, London. -Mo