Читать книгу The Life and Works of Joseph Wright, A.R.A, commonly called "Wright of Derby" - William Bemrose - Страница 5
CHAPTER I.
ОглавлениеThe Family of Wright.
Joseph Wright, like his famous contemporaries, Reynolds and Wilson, belonged to the great middle-class, as may be seen from the pedigree appended to this chapter. Wright could reckon amongst his progenitors men of some consideration in the three professions of Law, Physic, and Divinity. The family appears to have settled at Seighford, Co. Stafford, in 1662, and from thence to have migrated, about the year 1673, to Longford in Derbyshire. The earliest ancestor of Wright whom I have been able to trace is the great-grandfather of the painter, and I am indebted to the Rev. J. Charles Cox, LL.D., the present Rector of Enville, Stourbridge, for the following interesting information respecting him.
On February 17th, 1662, in the Rectory House of S. Andrew, Holborn, Bishop Hacket (of Coventry and Lichfield) instituted “Johannes Wright, clericus,” into the vicarage of Seighford, Staff., vacant through death of last incumbent, on presentation of the King.[1]
On the 5th of the same month, at an ordination held in the Parish Church of S. Andrew, Holborn, by the same Bishop Hacket, “Johēs Wright, e Colleg, Dublin, in Regno Hiberiæ,” was ordained priest.
On September 12th, 1671, Bishop Wood instituted Jno. Nash to the vicarage of Seighford, on the resignation of John Wright.
On leaving Seighford, the Rev. John Wright became Rector of Longford, Co. Derby, where he died in 1681. His death is thus recorded in the Parish Register, “1681. John Wright, rector of Longford, an orthodox and worthy son. Buried January 10th.”
This exemplary clergyman left a widow and eight children. The maiden name of the former I have not been able to discover, but her Christian name was Elizabeth, and those of his surviving children (he had lost one, Sarah, during her childhood) are written on the back of the inventory of his goods, thus—
Richard.
John.
Thomas.
Jonathan.
Matthewe.
Elizabeth.
Mary.
Bridget.
Letters of Administration were taken out on the 28th June, 1682, and some of the items of the inventory are so interesting as to be worth transcribing. It is to be remarked, in the first place, that his goods were valued at the low total sum of £205, and that the largest item was for “corn, wheat, pease, and oates, £44,” from which, and from other entries, it may be inferred that he farmed his own glebe. Among the latter may be quoted—
| Hay | £25 | 6 | 8 |
| 2 mares, 1 nagg | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 heifers, 4 calves, 6 cows in calf, 3 bullocks | 27 | 13 | 4 |
| 19 sheep and 4 swine | 6 | 19 | 4 |
Of the modest establishment and simple habits of this country parson of the 17th century this document affords evidence. His “plate” was estimated at £5 only, and the same sum was considered sufficient to represent the value of his “purse and apparell,” while the worth of the whole furniture of his “parlour,” consisting of “15 chairs, 2 tables, 1 carpet,” is set down at £3. That he was studious, as well as simple, is attested by the comparatively large valuation of the contents of his “studdy.” These were “one desk and lock, and shelves and books,” which were assessed at £30 4s.—a sum exceeding the supposed equivalent in money of the entire furniture of the Rectory. This assertion I must ask my readers to take upon trust, as the inventory of the contents of the kitchen, dairy, brewhouse, and five upper chambers is scarcely of sufficient interest to print in extenso.
Of the nine children of the Rev. John Wright, of Seighford and Longford, some information is given in the pedigree; but here we need concern ourselves only with his sons, Richard and John, from whom sprang two distinct branches of the family. It is from John that the subject of our biography is descended, but Richard claims precedence by right of seniority.
Of this eldest son, Richard, little is known, except that he was born at Loaden Hall, (or Leadenhall), Pentridge, Staffordshire, in 1662, and that he was the father of Richard Wright, M.D., of Derby. This, the second Richard of this branch, was born in 1702, and was twice married—firstly, to Dorothy Gell, of Wirksworth, who died childless; and, secondly, to Frances Wilcockson, of the same place, by whom he had issue one son and two daughters. One of the daughters, Elizabeth, died unmarried in 1766, and Mary, the other, became the wife of Captain John Wilson, R.N., of Tamworth, and died in 1805. The son was named Richard, after his father, and followed the same profession. The third Richard in this branch was, like Joseph Wright the painter, the great grandson of the Rector of Longford, and must not be confounded with another Dr. Richard Wright, his second cousin, and brother of the artist. For the sake of distinction he may be called Dr. Richard Wright of London, where he settled and became distinguished. He was one of the physicians to S. George’s Hospital, and being a man of high scientific attainments, and a scholar of some eminence, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He married Caroline, only surviving daughter of Sir James Gray, by whom he had no issue. He collected one of the first Libraries of his time, which, after his death, was sold by Messrs. T. and J. Egerton, on Monday, April 23rd, 1787, and eleven following days. This Library (which numbered 2,824 lots at the sale) consisted of an elegant and extensive collection of books in every branch of learning; it was particularly rich in works on History, Physic, Criticism, and Divinity, and in Greek and Latin Classics. It also included many of the scarcest editions of the old English Poets, novels, and romances, and a remarkably singular assemblage of Theatrical literature, including the rarest productions of the English drama. The dramatic works occupied two days of the sale, and amongst other rarities were copies of the first, second, third, and fourth editions of Shakespeare’s works. The catalogue, a demy 8vo. of 102 pp., forms a good text book for the book buyer of to-day. Dr. Wright died at his house, in Charles Street, Grosvenor Square, London, on Saturday the 14th day of October, 1786. His remains were brought to Derby, and interred in the family vault at S. Michael’s Church.
It is now time to turn to the younger branch of the family to which our artist belonged.
John, the second son of the Vicar of Seighford, and Rector of Longford, was born at the former place in the year 1664. He became an attorney, and established a reputation for integrity which descended to his son. There is still in the possession of the family a letter, addressed to him by “the great Lord Chesterfield,” dated April 13, 1704, in which his Lordship says, “I am much satisfied to find that Mr. Thacker and my daughter Wotton have employed in their affairs a character from whom everybody may expect fair dealing.”
He married Anne Daykene in 1649, and had issue Jane, John, and Elizabeth. John, the second, was born Jan. 16, 1697, and, like his father, became an attorney of good repute. From his upright conduct upon all occasions, he was known by the flattering name of “Equity Wright.” It is said that when applied to respecting any case which he thought only required explanation, it was his wont to reconcile the parties as a friend, without making fee or charge. An attorney of Derby, speaking of “Equity Wright,” some years after his death, said, “he might have died very rich, had he acted like the generality of his profession.” There can be no doubt that he was a thoroughly good lawyer, for on more than one occasion, when he waited on the celebrated Sir Eardley Wilmot, of Osmaston, for an opinion, Sir Eardley said to him, “You are come to throw away a guinea with me, Mr. Wright, for you know the law as well as I do.” He filled the office of Town Clerk of Derby, from 1756 to 1765.
The sisters of “Equity Wright” died unmarried, but he, on September 26, 1728, took to wife a lady named Hannah Brookes, by whom he had issue three sons and two daughters. John, the eldest, and third of this name, was born August 29, 1729, and, like his father and grandfather, became an attorney. He died March 22, 1798. Richard Wright, M.D., the second son, already mentioned in the account of the elder branch of the family, was born November 17, 1730, and attained some eminence as a Physician in his native town, Derby. An old MS. has the following lines relating to this Richard—
“Cease, wonders, cease, from this or that,
Since Dr. Wright has changed his hat;
Corners three and wig profound,
He now salutes his friends all round.”
He married Sarah Wallis, of Derby, by whom he had two daughters, Hannah and Anne. The latter married James Holworthy, an eminent artist, a member of the old Society of Painters in Colours, and an intimate friend of the late J. M. W. Turner, R.A. Mr. Holworthy purchased the Brookfield Estate near Hathersage, and built Brookfield House. Hannah died May 13, 1867, unmarried.
BIRTH-PLACE OF “WRIGHT OF DERBY.”
Joseph, the third son of “Equity Wright,” is the subject of this biography. His sisters, Hannah, the third child, and Anne Elizabeth, or “Nancy,” the youngest of the family, died unmarried in the years 1810 and 1815, respectively.
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Joseph Wright, the painter, commonly called Wright of Derby, to distinguish him from another painter of the same surname,[3] was born at Derby on the 3rd of September, 1734, in the house No. 28, Irongate, and was educated at the Grammar School of that town, under the Rev. Mr. Almond.
Perhaps the ordinary affix to Wright’s name has to some extent interfered with his reputation, but the localisation of his fame is also due to the fact that a great number of his paintings have always remained in his native county, and in the possession of the families for which they were painted.
He was truly “Wright of Derby.” For there he was born and educated, and with the exception of three and a half years under Hudson, in London, two years in Italy, and a similar period at Bath, we find him located at Derby throughout his life. He was, however, well patronised—perhaps, with the exception of Sir Joshua Reynolds, as much so as any of his contemporaries, for seldom, if ever, did a painting of his go into the hands of a dealer, or remain unsold. Respected and honoured by his townsmen, and enjoying the close intimacy and friendship of men eminent by their position and distinguished by their talents in literature and art, he passed his days in the midst of those he loved, industriously labouring at his profession, although at times suffering from long periods of nervous depression until his death in 1797.
Wright’s friend and pupil, Mr. Jno. Moss Tate, of Liverpool, told a gentleman who called upon him early in this century to see some paintings by Wright in his possession, that “he was always pleased to see a Derbyshire man, for that county had produced three most eminent men in the sister arts—Chantrey, the sculptor, Wright, the painter, and John Harrison, the singer.”
It is seldom that a better opportunity is found of obtaining a clear insight into the working and every-day life of an artist, than that afforded by the material collected for the present volume. This consists principally of letters written, and memoranda made, long years ago, and numerous notes by the artist himself. Most of the last are contained in a book in which he carefully recorded the pictures he painted, the prices he obtained for them, and the names of his patrons; in it he was also wont to jot down memoranda (now full of interest) relating to his family and private concerns. Personal and other relics, religiously preserved by relatives, and handed down to the present day, have also assisted in bringing before the writer a vivid picture of the man and his doings.
