George ATKINSON fl. 1806-1826

His Work.

Introduction.

I have looked through a number of sale catalogues for 1993-1998 for Bonhams, Christie's, S. Ken., Phillips, Sotheby's Billinghurst and Mallam's Cheltenham. I found 18 lots containing works by George Atkinson (not always attributed to him) or where his name had been mentioned in connection with a lot. For 10 of these there was a definate attribution - although only 3 of the works had labels. One of these was definately not by G. Atkinson as it was a cut-out - it was possibly by his son Frederick Atkinson. (Please note that G. A. was not a 'cutter' as far as we know. So the full-length silhouette of Lord Melbourne & Queen Victoria illustrated in Peggy Hickman's Two Centuries of Silhouettes Celebrities in Profile' on page 130 is not by G. A. as stated) 4 lots were considered likely to be by G. A. - 2 of these were clearly not and one was doubtful. 3 lots where his name was not mentioned were clearly by him in my view - in one lot the works had been attributed to Thomason and in the other two lots no 'guess' had been made.

The above sale 'news' does indicate that G. A. was a relatively prolific artist (no doubt true as he did make claims in his advertisements that he had done over 900 profiles!) Also that his works more often than not will turn up without labels or inscriptions. Finally that his work is not always recognised and may be misattributed.

This article is an attempt to make you more familiar with his work and also to give you some new information regarding him that has come to light since the publication in 1978 of Mrs. McKechnie's Book.

I will divide the article into the following sections:-

1. General.

2. His black works.

3. His gold & coloured works.

4. His copies of other artists' works.

5. His watercolours.

6. His labels.

1. General. Little is known about G. A. and his family and we have no dates for his birth or death. We do not know where he actually lived. He put the Strand, London on many of his labels but it is unlikely that he lived there. A label has recently come to light that mentions "at Mr. Slater's in the Strand which rather confirms that this was an address to meet his 'sitters' and perhaps display his works. Rate books for the period may produce further information but it is more likely that G. A. was a tenant of Mr. Slater. In the past there has been a 'muddle' over the relationship of George and Frederick - but there seems little doubt now that Frederick was the son and not the father. He was clearly an inferior artist and as stated a 'cutter'. G. A. is regarded as a Brighton artist due to the fact that he spent some years in the Town which are recorded in the local directories. He travelled to many other parts of the country - for details see section 6.

One of the major problems in recognising his work without a label is that he copied other artists' work and also painted in the style of these artists. To complicate matters further G. A. was copied-by Mr. Crowhurst in particular. These two artists shared a working address in Brighton for a time. Inspite of these 'problems' I take the view that when G. A. was painting in his own style it is quite distinctive and generally easy to recognise. It is true that his style changed somewhat over the years - I will attempt to show this. The changes were partly affected by the changes in fashions - particularily with women. Waistlines became longer and the silhouettes likewise. So his earlier works are shallower. Also with the later 'longer' works he seemed to 'employ' a lighter and freer touch - this I will show under section 3. He painted his works on thickish paper and their size varied considerably. He advertised that he painted profiles for rings & broaches but no examples of these have been recorded. If 'discovered' these are likely to be painted in the style of his larger works.

G. Atkinson cont'd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. His black works. Some of you may recall that I illustrated a frame of eight silhouettes from the Andrews Collection at Stoner Park in my Newsletter for March, 1997. I have done a photocopy of this above to remind you. In the Collection catalogue this work is not attributed to G. A. but in my view is by him without doubt. It illustrates his black work very well - particularly the bust-line terminations for all members of the family when waist-lines were high. I have also photocopied a young boy by G. A. (this is nearly life-size), It is inscribed on the reverse and is owned by a Member of the Club. I think G. A.'s boys are somewhat easier to recognise than his little girls.:

On the next page I have photographed four further silhouettes similar to those at Stoner Park (all are shown as slightly smaller than life-size.) The pair facing each other are of Consul Godfrey Basil and his wife taken at Norfolk House, Brighton in 1820. I think it is possible to see from the photograph of the Consul the painting of his hair outside the main body of the silhouette - this has been done particularily well. The other two photographs are of unknown ladies. When they came up for auction were thought to be by Thomason. They are both rather plain - one being completely dense black. I assume that G. A. charged his lowest prices for such works!

There are seven silhouettes in the Preston Manor Collection in Brighton of the Sandford Family that are clearly by G. A. although these have not been attributed to date. All have the shallow bust-line termination and are painted in G. A.'s 'black style' with a free use of thinned black pigment for clothing detail. The two little girls in the Collection are interesting - their dresses are painted in grey and their bust-line terminations are very sharp. I hope to photograph these at a later date so that we can attribute his girls more easily!

G. Atkinson cont'd

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally for this section I have illustrated two silhouettes on the next page from my Collection - both without labels but by G. A. in my view. The man as you will see has a thin line across the base of his bust-line termination. (this was a feature of G. A.'s earlier work but seems to have been dropped by him later on. It does obviously help in attribution for a limited number of works - but should not be 'confused' with the lines under other artists' work such as Alport and the like!

The woman in her bonnet illustrates very well G. A.'s use of thinned black pigment for clothing detail. (I must apologise for the light that seems to have got into this photograph. I fear that the shade over the camera had become hitched-up at the one side and it went unnoticed!) These two works have been photographed somewhat larger than life-size.

The frames in which these silhouettes are housed vary a good deal. Most are in papier-mache frames with a variety of hangers. Others are in rectangular frames of various woods. It is possible that G. A. did not always sell his works framed -especially when he was at the seaside and painting the passing 'trade' so to speak. It is also possible that owners have changed the frames over the years. It has been suggested that a hanger of the Prince of Wales feathers is likely to be on a work by G. A. Unfortunately I have no photograph of this type of hanger and it is not recorded in Mrs. McKechnie. I will attempt to rectify this at a later date - perhaps in an article on frames.

G. Atkinson cont'd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. His gold & coloured works.

I think in this section G. A. was at his best -particularily with the ladies. I have photographed two of these at the top of the next page. Both have been lent by a Member of the Club and are a little bigger than life-size). The younger woman has a handwritten inscription on the reverse, which I will illustrate in section 6 under labels. Details of clothing and hair are portrayed well - gilding being used freely all over the silhouette with the exception of the face & neck. You will note that the bust-line is still quite shallow. Unfortunately I have not got a photograph of a gilded man but illustrate a photocopy below the two ladies of a man who was for sale at Bonhams on 19th. February this year (lot 37). You will note that he looks very similar to the works of men in the last section except for the gilding. Strangely he did not reach his reserve - I think possible due to the fact that he was rather squashed in his frame and the name of the sitter (a titled gent) had been written under the bust-line. There should be other works around attributable to G. A. of men much more extensively gilded, including their stocks being painted in gold. For good measure I have photographed a third gilded lady, who has previously not been attributed to G. A. but I consider to be by him now. I must apologise for a slight lack of definition in half of the photographs of this work - the hand 'slipped' I fear!

Mrs. McKechnie mentions that she has seen works by G. A. painted on a dark grey base with gilding. I have not come across these but I assume that they would not be difficult to recognise as they would be likely to be painted in a similar style to his black base works.

G. ATKINSON cont'd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

over/

G. ATKINSON cont'd

 

 

 

As mentioned previously - as women's fashions changed G. A. lengthened his bust-lines. I am grateful to Mrs. McKechnie for her illustration 674 on page 458 which shows an example of this style, which helps considerably to identify similar works. I have photographed two young women above who seem to 'fit the bill' although neither is labelled or inscribed. One is in her frame and the other I have taken out of her frame and enlarged somewhat so that more detail can be seen. In both cases the treatment of the macheron sleeve with it's distinctive 'blobs' at the top is particularily diagnostic. These 'blobs' can be seen clearly in Mrs. McK.'s example. I do not think G. A. did silhouettes without a base-line termination - but some may have been cut-down over the years to fit into frames. I think this accounts for Mrs. Beale (illus. 669 on p. 457 in Mrs. McK's Book). Both the works have been painted with a 'light' touch with the use of greenish and bluish colouring detail as well as gilding. The fabric of the dresses is portrayed very well as a result.

Finally the silhouette photocopied above which was for sale at Bonhams on 21st. November, 1997. (lot 24) It was attributed understandably to Mr. Mason. However, on doing my homework on G. A. I read that Mrs. McK. actually refers to this work in her entry on G. A. on page 369. His stock is blue and Mrs. McK. describes the work as "a typical silhouette by G. A. c. 1820" - so there you go!

G. ATKINSON cont'd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. His copies of other artists' works.

Above are the photographs of two silhouettes illustrated in Mrs. McK.'s Book. (The boy is in the costume section on p. 176 illus. 253. The man is on p. 457 illus. 667.) Mrs. McK. suggests that both are painted in the style of Mr. J. Field's work. They certainly look very like Mr. Field's work - both are well and skillfully painted, but somehow one knows that they are just not by Field. There is something about the scale of the works that gives the 'clue' - also the colour of the gilding is less bright in my view. I suppose without a label they might be wrongly attributed by a less knowledgable collector. However, both these are labelled but rather like Siamese twins they share a label! (This will be illustrated in section 6.)

On the next page is a somewhat enlarged photograph of a man painted in sepia with gold and black highlights. It is owned by the same Club Member as the two works above. I think the quality and detail of G. A.'s work is well illustrated here - although again the work would not easily be attributed to G. A. The bust-line termination is not typical. I take the view that it is most likely to be a copy of another artist's work or in the style of that artist. I venture a guess on the possible artist and come up with Mr. Jefferson. (See Mrs. McK's Book on p. 490 illus. 858 for a very similar example.) However, this work is labelled - so there is no doubt about attribution. (see section 6 for more detail on this label, which is unrecorded to date.)

It should be noted that G. A. did not use gum arabic on any of his works as far as we know - so any work with gum arabic should be viewed with suspicion if attempts are being made to link it to G. A.'s work.

Finally a silhouette of a gilded officer was sold at Bonhams on 12th. June, 1995 (lot 11). This work is again not typical of G. A.'s work and would seem to be in the style of another artist. I have photocopied this work in section

G. ATKINSON cont'd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 together with its unrecorded label. G. A. advertised on some of his labels "old profiles correctly copied" - a statement that had endless possibilities!

5. His watercolours. G. A. was also a drawing master and watercolour artist. I have not seen any of his actual watercolours. However, I have photographed above an engraving of a watercolour painted by him of the Duke of York (brother of George IV.) The print of this has been engraved by Scriven. This watercolour is thought to have been used together with G. A.'s watercolour of George IV by Mr. Crowhurst for his double silhouette of the two royal personages. This silhouette is illustrated in several books on silhouette.

6. His Labels. Mrs. McKechnie recorded six 'labels' (see pages 369-70). I do not propose to go through these - but to add some 'new' labels to the list. I am certain that other 'unknown' labels will come to light in the future - but it is likely that these will only have slight differences to the ones we already know. At the top of the next page is a photograph of an inscription from the back of the young 'golden' woman illustrated in section 3. This has not been recorded before. It is written in a much neater hand than the inscription recorded by Mrs. McK. on p.458 illus. 675. Also the Brighton connection is interesting. Fortunately inscriptions are written on the back of the actual work so do not become separated, but have the disadvantage that they are often covered with backing paper which may have damaged them in some way.

G. ATKINSON cont'd

 

 

 

 

 

 

The label photographed below is the 'siamese twin label' that is shared by the golden Field-type man & boy illustrated in section 4. This is label No. 4 recorded by Mrs. McK. on page 458 illus. 677.

The two 'new' labels that I am going to tell you about are variations of this label -but I propose to give these labels their own No. as I take the view that these have sufficent differences to warrant this!

Firstly the label with the hole in the centre - this I will number No. 7. Unfortunately it has been considerably cut-away particularily at the edges— but with the help of label 4 it is possible to 'reconstruct' it. It is on the reverse of the sepia man illustrated in section 4. It is a label that was used when G. A. was at Mr. Barker's, Taunton. He informs the inhabitants of this place and it's vicinity -rather than the 'inhabitants and visitants of Teignmouth and Dawlish'. At the bottom of the label he mentions his method of taking likenesses as being 'very different from the usual common way and acquired 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

G. ATKINSON cont'd

by means of a Camera Obscura'. This is the first time that the use of this device has been mentioned by G. A. on a label.

The second 'new’ label, which I shall number No. 8, is on the back of the military gent photocopied above, which I referred to in section 4. I am grateful to the Club Member who purchased this silhouette and sent me the transcript of the label. Again it is similar to label 4 but in this case G. A. 'informs the Nobility, Ladies and Gentlemen of Tiverton and _____________’ He seems to have regarded the inhabititants of that part of the world as rather grand or perhaps he was feeling 'grander about himself and his artistic work!’ On this label he does not mention that 'the time of sitting is less than one minute'. This is unlikely to be an oversight. He also mentions a 'private Door to Apartments' - so perhaps he was upgrading himself a little. (Any Member who would like a full transcript of labels No. 7 & 8 please let me know with an S. A. E. enclosed.)

G. A. tended to be somewhat grand in the advertisements that he put in the local papers of the places he was intending to visit. He made claims to being 'the only profilist His Majesty and the Royal Family have sat to', and also to being 'the sole inventor of the BRONZE PROFILE'. Obviously both claims were untrue but perhaps these claims help to drum up custom!

We know from the labels, inscriptions and newspaper advertisements that G. A. worked at the following addresses in Brighton:-

1817. Mr. Fosters, Linen Draper next to Blue Coach Office,

Castle Square.

1822. 9, Kings Road.

1824. 40 ,0ld Steine.

From Pigot's Directory for 1828 he is still recorded as being in Brighton. I hope this rather protracted article will make it a little easier for you in the future to recognise Mr. George Atkinson's work. I think he was an artist at his best of some considerable merit, if not amongst the top rank of silhouette artists.