J. HUTCHINSON - ARTIST.

An Example of his Work.

Above is a photograph of a silhouette from the Andrew's Collection at Stoner House together with a photograph of the label at the back of it. It is painted on laid paper, which has somewhat darkened in colour over the years. Thinned black pigment has been used for the painting of the silhouette with the exception of the face, which is in a dense black. (you will note that there has been a small loss of paint on the side of the face) The bust-line termination is quite distinctive and shows the arm demarcation. There is a thin grey line under the bust-line.

The sitter is dressed in a bonnet/cap with buffon/scarf similar to those painted on women by Mr. T. Wheeler.(for example see the silhouette of Mrs. Delany illus.no.968 page 510 in the Book) From the style of the clothing the silhouette was painted in the 1780's or thereabouts. It is housed

J. Hutchinson - cont'd.

in a rectangular pressed brass frame 9cms in size. The painting is not especially skilled but it is competently done.

The label on the back reads:- "J. Hutchinson,

Artist."

The spelling of the name and the initial are clear and could not be mistaken for anything else. "Elizabeth Penney 1778" is written on the backing in what appears to be contemporary handwriting. This is presumably the name of the sitter and the date when it was painted. Everything about the silhouette looks genuine in my view.

An artist called Joseph Hutchinson (or Hutchison, or Hitchison) is listed in Daphne Foskett's "Miniatures - Dictionary & Guide" published by the Antique Collectors' Guide in 1987. This artist is of the 'right' period -i.e. 1747 - 1830. He is said to have been a portrait & animal painter as well as a miniaturist and worked for a large part of his life in the Bath area. Some of his works are in Bath Collections and he also exhibited at The Royal Academy.

Mrs. McKechnie also lists a J. Hutchinson in her Book on page 745 in Section Seven "Artists who painted their sitters' costumes in part or full colour". This listing was made as a result of a silhouette that was sold at the sale of the Sutcliffe-Smith Collection in 1948. Only silhouettes were sold at the Sale. The silhouette in question was described as "portrait of a lady coloured by J.Hutchinson in a gilt frame." This silhouette was not seen by Ms. McKechnie but she posed the possibility that it could have been by the Bath artist listed by Mrs.Foskett.

A silhouette attributed to Mr. J. Hutchinson was sold at Jack Pollak's Sale on 21st.February this year - it was lot 111. There was no label or signature on the silhouette. It was of a rather stylish young lady wearing a muslin-type cap and buffon, which were shown in transparency - whereas her face and dress were painted in dense black. She had a distinctive bust-line -making her almost three-quarter length with a narrow sloping termination ending in a point at the front. She was housed in an oval pressed brass frame.(below is a photocopy of the catalogue entry for the Sale)

However, the main point about the Pollak silhouette is that she is painted on flat glass - in contrast to the Andrew's silhouette which is painted on paper. I know several artists painted on paper as well as glass such as Mrs. Beetham, Mr. Charles, Hamlet the Elder and a few others but it was not very common. I would have thought it was particularly unlikely for a portrait painter, who seems to have been moderately successful in his day.

The questions I would pose are firstly is the Hutchinson in the Pollak Sale and that in the Andrew's Collection by the same hand? Secondly are either of these silhouettes likely to be by Mr. Joseph Hutchinson listed by Mrs. Foskett?

I think it is unlikely that we will be able to get answers to these questions until we are able to find other labelled works by J. Hutchinson. Ail we can say at the present time with certainty is that an artist named J. Hutchinson painted one silhouette on paper, which is in the Andrew's Collection and another silhouette in part colour, which was sold in 1948 that none of us have apparently seen.(let me know if any of you by chance now own this latter silhouette! Where the Pollak silhouette 'fits-in' I am not quite clear and how it came to be attributed to J. Hutchinson. Finally my own view at this stage is that probably the Bath Mr. Hutchinson has nothing to do with the Andrew's silhouette or the Pollak silhouette and that more 'research' is required. I will pursue some 'lines' and will let you know if I have a breakthrough!