Dempsey, John Church (SCC Newsletter April 2009)

John Dempsey fl. 1832? - 1844?

A Skilled and prolific Artist

A look at his Painted Bust length — What Works can we attribute to him?

Introduction

I mentioned in the last Newsletter under 'Sales' my intention to describe in more detail one of the Lots that sale at Gorringes of Lewes. You may recall that this Lot consisted of thirteen silhouettes - four were amateur copies of others in the Lot, three were by an unknown artist and the remaining six were by another artist. In this article I will only be looking at the latter group of six, which I think could be painted by John Dempsey - although none are signed or have a label.

John Dempsey and his work has presented me with a problem for many years. This is partly due to his versatility as a cutter and painter, but also because it seems likely that it is only in the latter years of his career that he consistently signed or inscribed his works. The picture is further complicated by the fast that we know nothing about his life or the length of his career. I did a brief article in the Newsletter in the 1990's on Dempsey, after I had found a pair of painted plain black silhouettes in an album. The pair were backed with a signed inscription as being by Dempsey and were dated 1842 and numbered 2849 & 2850 respectively. So there was no doubt that these were by the artist although Mrs. McK. had not seen any such examples of bust-length work painted in plain black before she wrote her Book - she thought these would have to be cut-outs. In November, 2001 Newsletter I wrote a longer article on Dempsey based on three silhouettes owned by a long time Collector, who is very knowledgeable on the subject. His silhouettes were not signed or inscribed but Bill was certain that all three were by Dempsey. I have compared my recent buy at Gorringes with Bill's three. Whilst there are some differences I think it is extremely likely that my six are by the same artist.

I have photocopied at the top of the page the two front sheets from my earlier articles as an aide memoir for long time Members of the S.C.C.

Page 8 Dempsey

The Task!

A particular type of bonnetted lady has been associated with Dempsey for many years by collectors — yet no such example was used by Mrs McK. in her Book — it can only be assumed that she could not find a signed or labelled example. Above are three such ladies from the Martin Willcock's Sale at Phillips on 10th. November, 1998. All were attributed by the Auction House to Dempsey but none were signed — I like to think it is likely that the attribution was correct, but was it? This is the problem.

In an attempt to 'solve' this problem I will illustrate the six silhouettes bought at Gorringes together with three other silhouettes as well a further example from the literature. I hope this will encourage some of you, who have signed works by Dempsey, to look at these and hopefully produce some confirmation of my hunch! Before doing this I will look at the recorded features of Dempsey's work with special reference to his painted bust-length work. His full-length cut-outs will have to be the subject of another article at a later date.

It is strange that little in ‘depth’ has been written about Dempsey — although he obviously has an entry in all the main reference books on the subject of silhouette. Mrs N. Jackson wrote an article for "The Connoisseur" in November, 1928 entitled "Jack Dempsey, Silhouettist", but I cannot trace any further articles. In this article Mrs. Jackson concentrates on the artist's full-length work and in particular his large group of the "Liverpool Exchange" cut in 1840. At the time she was in possession of Dempsey's pattern book or reference folio — unfortunately the whereabouts of this is now unknown. I understand that this folio set out Dempsey's range of work and probably would have helped with the attribution of my silhouettes. Mrs McK in her Book has entries on Dempsey in Sections 1, 2 and 6. It is of interest that the illustrations of Dempsey's work in Section 2 were not examined 'in the flesh' by Mrs. McK. and were largely taken from the Jackson article. Mrs McK it seems did not own a painted bust-length work by the artist, which is odd considering the size of her Collection and Dempsey's known prolific output.

Page 09 Dempsey

His Background and Career

Nothing is known about Dempsey's personal life or that of his family, if he had one. Searches through birth and death records have been unhelpful. There is doubt that he was an itinerant artist but we do not know where he actually lived. He travelled widely in the British Isles - making several visits to Scotland, Ireland, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Bath and many other places. We have the information about his travels from advertisements he put in the local papers of the towns he intended to visit to perform his 'art'. When he started working as a silhouettist we do not know - Mrs McK. was only able to ‘prove’ that he was working between 1838 & 1844, but she suspected that it was likely that there was a lot about his work that we did not know. Equally there would be many works by him that we could not attribute with any certainty. My theory is that he was probably working as early as the mid to late 1820's. He claimed to have cut 1,000 silhouettes of "public characters" in his career so it is likely that he cut and painted many thousands more of ordinary people. As mentioned I have two silhouettes by him that were painted in 1842 & 43 that are numbered in the two thousands - it is hard to imagine that he could have produced this quantity of silhouettes in six years! It is of interest that many of his recorded signed works give a Bristol address i.e. Lower Arcade, Bristol (this address was used by other artists of the period). It is possible that he used this address in the latter years of his career, when perhaps he did not feel like travelling so much. John Woodwiss considered Dempsey to be the most versatile of the many artists, who flourished in the years immediately before photography effectively took over.

His Work.

He was a cutter and a painter of skill. He painted miniatures - Mrs McK. illustrates the miniature of a man in Section 6. He produced jewellery pieces painted on ivory and card. He cut many full-length figures - skilfully painting their clothing in full colour - several examples are illustrated in Section 1. It is thought that he cut from white paper and completely covered this with watercolour. His bust-lines vary somewhat - these arc sloping to the front and ending in a point. Sometimes this point can be very sharp.

Page 10 Dempsey

The bust-lines of his ladies tend to be longer than those of the gents – almost three quarters in length and showing the waistline. He is not recorded as using gum arabic and there is certainly no gum arabic on any of the silhouettes I have illustrated in this article. He used black water colour to show clothing detail on dresses and coats, where other artists would have used gum arabic. He used gold for curls and hair styles for both sexes. For older men he used chinese white for their hair, which is unusual for the period – this may well prove a good attribution ‘aid’. He seems to have favoured dark grey for his base colour.

Above I have illustrated three labelled or signed painted works by Dempsey. On the left is a gent illustrated in the Book on page 469 illus. 734. He is painted in plain black with gold highlights on hair and clothing. He is dated 1844 and numbered 1209. In the centre is a gent - the highlights are silvery this time but difficult to see – his white collar is shown. Unfortunately he has been attenuated to fit into his frame. He is dated 1843 and numbered 3657 (this is strange in view of the number for the golden gent – I do not think we fully understand Dempsey’s numbering and whether it relates in any way to his pattern book). On the right is a lady from the Book on page 469 illus. 733. She is painted in shades of gray and some colour, which cannot be shown. She is signed under the bust-line “JD” – if only all Dempsey’s works were signed in this way and the bust-lines had not been clipped for frames!

As we know Edouart was very dismissive of contemporary artists who used colour to show their sitter’s clothing or especially gold on their hair. It has been rather assumed that his main ‘target’ was Dempsey – although Mrs McK. was not sure that it was Dempsey as she was not convinced that Dempsey was working in the 1820’s and early 1830’s. I think it is likely to have been Dempsey about whom he was complaining and that Dempsey was around at the time.

On the right is the back of the gent in the centre above. From this can be seen the Bristol address, Dempsey’s numbering and the date it was painted. Unfortunately this is the only work sign by Dempsey that is definitely by him and disappointingly it is not a marvellous example and has not been well-used over the years!

Page 11 Dempsey

My Six Possibles?

On the left is Dr. Ambrose Cookson - I have no information about him but have written to the medical archives on the assumption he is a medical doctor in the hope of finding more information about him. With his grey hair and stoop I would assess him to be in his sixties. On his right is his wife Mrs. Judith Cookson nee Hutten. It is probable that she was painted at the same time as her husband. She was born in 1763, married at 33 in 1796 and died in 1843 at the age of 80 years. On the basis that she was a little younger than her husband the silhouettes could be dated to the early 1830's or late 1820's. As you will see her bonnet and wide muslin collar are beautifully painted - so I have photographed an enlargement of the detail. I suppose there is always the possibility that ‘sitters’ were made to look younger!

Below on the left is Miss Harriet Cookson, daughter of the couple above. She was born in 1800 and died in 1877. She looks to be in her early twenties so would have to have been painted sometime in the 1820's - unless of course she was actually older than she looks. On her right is her cousin Miss Sophia Hutten, who was born in 1803, married in 1840 and died in 1850. She looks much the same age as her cousin and again is likely to have been painted at the same time. Both ladies are wearing the apollo knot, which came into fashion in about 1824. Their golden curls are particularly finely painted - so I have photographed an enlargement of Miss Hutten's head to show this.

Page 12 Dempsey

On the left is Mrs. Caroline Messingbird — grandmother of the two young ladies on the previous page. I have no details but she is obviously elderly! On her right is Mrs. Brackenbury for whom I have no details either - she has been attenuated to fit into the rectangular frame that is common to all six. The blue bonnet ribbons seem to suggest Dempsey! Both are likely to have been painted in late 1820's or early 1830's.

Other Silhouettes ? By Dempsey.

I have always attributed these to Dempsey. Recently comparing these with the ‘new’ six has led me to feel more certain that this is so. On the left is a stylish young woman — with an apollo knot and coral earrings. The ‘treatment’ of her hair and clothing detail is very fine. On her right is a bonnetted lady bought with her companion at Sotheby's in 1980. She has pale blue bonnet ribbons. Both have a dark grey base colour as have Miss Hutten & Miss Cookson.

Page 13 Dempsey

The large lace collars accompanying the elaborate bonnets were in fashion from 1820-1830 or so. These ‘disappeared’ when the large puffed sleeves came in at the beginning of the Victorian era – so the style fits well with Dempsey’s known dates.

It is of interest and may be significant that four members of the ‘new’ six came from the Lincoln area – coincidently Lincoln is written on the back of the silhouettes owned by Bill Fox Smith referred to earlier in this article. There is no record that Dempsey visited the area – although Edouart is known to have done in the 1830’s. So it is not impossible that Dempsey was there as well.

On the left is a bonneted lady from Arthur Mayne’s “British Profile Miniaturists” on plate 72. She has not been well photographed but her outline is clear. Mr Mayne states that she is by Dempsey but he does not state on what grounds this attribution has been made, which is unfortunate. I have found over the years that Mr Mayne is inclined to make assumptions on little evidence and he can be somewhat ‘sloppy’ – however in this instance I think he may be right! On the other hand perhaps I will be criticised for the same failing!

On the right is another lady - clearly a fashionable young woman wearing a greenish dress – also she sports a blue beaded necklace and gold earrings. Her hair style was one adopted in the early 1830’s when some woman did not want t have long hair. Her base colour is dark grey and she has the long sloping bust-line associated with Dempsey. She has the date of 1831 on her reverse and I think she is very well painted.

Summary.

I have tried to suggest in this article that Dempsey had a longer career than that recorded by Mrs McK. However, it is very difficult to pursue this ‘case’ with any certainty – as he was apparently so inconsistent with signatures and inscriptions. Unlike his contemporary Mr Edouart, who was so meticulous. There is some ‘evidence’ that he may have been more consistent towards the end of his career, when he largely worked form Bristol. On the other hand many of his full-length cut-outs are signed – often in the shadow of the ‘sitter’. No doubt these works involved more time and effort, especially those with a painted background – so he wanted the artist to be known.

On the next page I will look at some artists whose work has been compared to that of Dempsey’s – although as you will see we know little about these artists and have few recorded examples of their work.

I do hope to hear from any of you with signed works by Dempsey or with unattributed possibilities.

Page 14 Dempsey

Other Artists with a ? Similar Style

If the ‘new’ six and the others are not by Dempsey then clearly there is another very competent artist out there that we know nothing about! Mansell, Maiden & Marden (the last two being possibly one and the same person) have been suggested over the years as being responsible for the bonneted ladies in particular. Unfortunately as stated we have so few authenticated examples of these artists to be sure. Also, nothing of real moment has come to light since the publication of Mrs McK’s Book.

Above are illustrated two silhouettes that are said to be by Mansell for the purpose of comparison. On the left is a lady from the Book on page 753 illus. 1615. This is inscribed on the reverse “Mansell, Marlborough” Mrs McK. was doubtful if this referred to the ‘sitter’ or the artist. However, a collector known to Mrs McK. reported that he had a silhouette with the name “Mansell” embossed in the corner. So it seems certain that there was a silhouette artist of this name! In the centre is a lady from Bonhams catalogue dated 17th. September, 1996 Lot 42. She was attributed to Mansell on stylistic grounds, but she looks more like a Dempsey in my view. Her bonnet has light blue ribbons and her hair curls are touched with gold. Similarly the first, definitely a Mansell, had blue ribbons and touches of gold in her hair. I suppose it is possible that blue was the favoured colour for ribbons at this time!

Mrs McK recorded an artist called F. Marden in Section 2 but added that she had not seen any works by him. Also she recorded I. Maiden, but again had not seen works by him. Both artists were recorded by Mrs Jackson in her Dictionary. However, a pair of labelled silhouettes by Maiden were sold at Bonhams on 12th. March, 2002 Lot 22. Only the lady was illustrated in the catalogue – she was wearing a red necklace and gold drop earrings but some of her clothing detail was shown with gum arabic. She was stamped on the reverse with a trade label. I have photocopied her on the right and I do not think she has the look of a Dempsey. The work of these three artists has been likened to that of Dempsey over the years.

I recently came across a man painted on card with a tiny signature in pencil under the bust-line. It was so small I could only discern it with a magnifying glass. It gave the name of “F. Mardden” – possibly the same artist as Marden but strange that the name should be spelt differently. This silhouette was very carefully painted with gum arabic detail on a dark grey base colour and could be dated to the mid 1830’s. Definitely not by Dempsey I think.