Foster, Edward (SCC Newsletter April 2003)

A NOTE ON FOSTER'S " RED" SILHOUETTES.

& the importance of GUM ARABIC in making an Attribution.

It is not unusual for silhouettes with a base colour of venetian red/indian red/ sepia or brown to be attributed to Edward Foster - even if these works are not signed, labelled or housed in a frame with a Foster hanger. Mr. Foster had a long life (1762 - 1864) and was relatively prolific during his working life (1811-1838). So quite a number of his works are about and likely to turn up regularily in the salerooms. There were other artists, who painted in one or several of these colours, but they do not come so readily to mind as Mr. Foster when making an attribution. To give an example I have photocopied below on the left Lot 32 from the Sale at Bonhams on 4th. March this year. It was one of the few lots that did not reach it's reserve (est.200-300) It was catalogued as being by Edward Foster. It had some quality and was quite nicely painted, but the presentation was poor - it was cut down to fit too small a frame. In my view it was not by Mr. Foster, but I do not know the artist who was responsible for it! The shape of the bust-line is an important guide and this had been 'damaged'. Also, below I have photographed a silhouette of a Mrs. Douglas,which was sold at Bonhams Lot 12 on 2nd. February, 2000. This was catalogued "in the manner of Edward Foster c.1820". She is painted in a reddish brown base colour and highlighted with gold & black. It is of note that Foster did not use black for highlighting clothing detail -although he did sometimes paint men's cravats in black or dark blue. Gum arabic has been used for some highlights on Mrs. Douglas, but I am certain that she had nothing to do with Mr. Foster. She well painted and clearly a genuine silhouette of the period but again I do not know the artist.

It has always seemed strange to me that there is this mis-attribution, as a Foster silhouette seems easily recognisable to me - rather like an Elvis Presley voice when heard on the radio! Perhaps even this can be faked! I think mis-attribution probably only occurs with 'red' profiles - i.e. those where the 'sitters' face is painted in a base shade of 'red' or 'brown'. 

FOSTER’S RED’s CONT’D.

Only a limited number of artists used these base colours and I will mention some at the end of this article.

As you know many of Mr. Foster's works are housed in frames with Foster hangers and/or are signed under the bust-line. Very few are backed with a label. His 'red' works rarely have Foster hangers - but most are signed in some way under the bust-line. However, a number of 'red' silhouettes appear that are clearly by Foster without any of these aides to attribution. Nevertheless there is one 'feature' that is certain if the silhouette is by Foster - this is a layer of gum arabic covering the whole of the image except the face and neck. Also the white shirt and stock on men is free of gum arabic. As Mrs. McKechnie points out the gum arabic used by Foster was very finely applied - so that it has rarely become seriously cracked over the years. At it's best it gives an almost matt effect.

I have illustrated above two Foster silhouettes of women. On the left I have photocopied in colour a nicely bonnetted lady - I think it is just possible to see from this that only her face is free from gum Arabic. It is, more difficult to see the use of gum Arabic with the lady photographed on the right. I think she has had a rough time over the years and has been cleaned at some point - 'washing' of a silhouette usually results in a loss of gum Arabic although this can be restored. In fact she has retained her gum Arabic, but may have lost her signature under her bust-line over the years. Her colour has browned with the photography, whereas the colour of the photocopy lady is more accurate.

(I have added two further small images for good measure!)

FOSTER’S RED’s CONT’D.

On this page I have photographed a man by Foster - signed under his bust-line. He fulfills the gum Arabic test. As you will see he has a white shirt and stock, which is not covered with gum Arabic as well as his face. I have not seen a 'red' silhouette of a man by Foster that does not have some white around his neck - even if it is only a small stock frill. So that a brownish or reddish work of a man that is painted entirely in these shades (as Lot 32 at Bonhams mentioned at the beginning of this article) is extremely unlikely to be by Mr. Foster. I have photocopied on this page four men in black & white although all are painted in 'red'. All are illustrated in the literature - largely from Mrs. McKechnie's Book. As you will see all have some white and illustrate my point well. Foster's bust-lines for men vary more than they do for women - so it is difficult to use these as a 'tool' in making an attribution.

On the top of the next page I have photographed the wife of the gentleman above. Again she is a nicely bonneted lady with fine gilded highlights and the 'regulation' layer of gum Arabic. Her bust-line has a little peak at the front but not at the back. A more typical bust-line is a peak both at the front and the back. I have illustrated beside her four women photocopied in black & white from the literature. All but one of these has the twin peak. I have not seen white or any other colour on a 'red' woman by Foster apart from the gold highlights.

Now I want to look briefly at other artists who painted in a reddish/brownish base colour. Firstly Colin(?) Campbell, who is not a well-known artist but is recorded as having based his style on that of Foster's. (see illustrations of his work on page 464 of Mrs. McKechnie's Book) In contrast to Foster he covered his works with a thick shiny layer of gum arabic, which has cracked badly over the years. He was not as skilled as his 'master' so should not be confused with him I think.

FOSTER’S RED’s CONT’D.

Secondly J. H. Gillespie was a much better known and skilled artist, who sometimes used a dark brown base colour - however he did not use reddish shades. He used gum Arabic to highlight clothing details only.

Thirdly Jeffreson used Venetian red as a base colour. He was a very skilled painter - his gold highlighting being comparable to that of John Field. However, Mrs. McKechnie records that she has not seen gum Arabic on any of his works. Nevertheless I have recorded two works by him that had some limited use of gum arabic. Certainly he did not cover the whole image at anytime. Forthly I or J Hallam whose work has been likened to that of Jeffreson. He occasionally used a dark sepia base colour. His use of gum arabic was very limited and almost entirely confined to a line under the hair-line. Fifthly W. Mason whose work has been likened to that of Hallam, but the quality of the gilding is quite different. Also, he painted in a deep sepia base colour. He used gum Arabic to highlight clothing parts that needed deep shade - sometimes he put a line of this under the bust-line. His gilding has been compared to that of Foster but was generally brighter.

Sixthly G. Atkinson painted a number of his silhouettes in a sepia/brown base colour but there is no evidence that he ever used gum Arabic. Seventhly the famous John Field occasionally used a 'reddy sepia' as a base colour. His use of gum Arabic was very restrained - at the arm demarcation. I think it is unlikely that his work will be 'confused' with that of Foster's. Having run through these artists I am surprised that I have only seen eight silhouettes that do not have a black or dark grey face - four of these are by Mr. Foster!

FOSTER’S RED’s CONT’D.

I have photographed above in greatly enlarged detail the base of the Foster man photographed on page 3 of this article. It is to show one form of his signature i.e. 'Foster pinxit 1834'. I was hoping the photograph was going to show the gum Arabic more clearly, but it does not! However it does show a small loss of paint on the left due to the use of gum Arabic. Sometimes I think it is not a good idea to look too closely at silhouettes as any imperfections are soon revealed! Inspite of this it does help with attribution when all else fails.

The importance of artists' use of gum Arabic can be underrated when making an attribution. As I have indicated most artists had their own idiosyncratic use of this highlighter. Understandably most artists used it purely as a highlighter - emphasising details of clothing, showing where the arm began or enhancing a hairstyle or headgear. Foster had his own ideas and obviously thought the whole silhouette (with the exception of flesh) needed this enhancement and he became very skilled in it's application.

For good measure below I have photocopied some more works by Foster from the literature (i.e. from Mrs. McKechnie's Book & 'Silhouettes' from the National Portrait Gallery in this case).