Charles Allen Duval
Encyclopedia
Charles Allen Duval, often spelled duVal or Du Val, (19 March 1810 - 14 June 1872), was a well known Victorian portrait painter, photographer, literary critic, illustrator and writer. He played a large role within the city of Manchester’s thriving art scene, including the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts
, the Manchester City Art Gallery and the Art Treasures Exhibition, Manchester 1857
: a scene which was underpinned by Manchester’s industrial entrepreneurs and politicians who all flocked to his studio to have their portraits painted.
Duval had studios in Liverpool, Manchester and London. In 1831 he sent his work to Liverpool Academy of Arts
from the following address: 51 Lime Street, Liverpool and in 1832; 26 Russell Street, Liverpool. He also opened a studio on the Isle of Man where he spent his summers.
In 1833 Duval left Liverpool and moved to Manchester where his address was 74 York Street Manchester though he was still listed in the Liverpool Directory in 1841 at the same address as a Sara Duval. In 1842 - 24 Carlton Terrace, Greenheys, Manchester became the family home. He was employed by Messrs. Agnew & Zanetti, Art Dealer (later known as Thomas Agnew & Sons.)
In Manchester he founded the Art Academy, a society for holding annual exhibitions with the idea of establishing a permanent public gallery, and was its president for many years. Eventually his idea took permanent form in the rooms of the Royal Manchester Institution
.
He was one of the first members to be elected to the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts in 1859 and was also one of the first members of the Brasenose Club along with Charles Halle
and Edwin Waugh
.
His colleague Alfred Darbyshire
described Duval entering the Brasenose Club in the following way: "That distinguished looking man just entered the room, with the Scotch plaid around him, and in the act of removing his black sombrero, is C A Duval, the artist and fashionable portrait painter of the period.". Duval was also a member of the Portico Library
, the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society
, the Manchester Athenaeum and for a time he was President of the Manchester Chess Club.
The first circular announcing the formation of the Manchester Etching Club contained the signatures of Sir Charles Halle, Alfred Waterhouse
, Sir Henry Roscoe, Samuel Pope, Charles J J Hitchman, Edwin Waugh, H F Blair, Sir John Holker
, Duval the painter and H M Acton.
He exhibited two pictures in the prestigious Art Treasures Exhibition, Manchester 1857
(429) 'Forgotten Vows' and (436) 'Recalled to Memory' and a portrait (643) of John L Kennedy in the Royal Jubilee Exhibition, Manchester 1887
.
Duval exhibited for thirty-six years at the Royal Academy
, London (1836-1872.)
He was painting a family portrait in Alderley Edge when he was suddenly taken ill and he died at Bollin Fee, Nr. Wilmslow Cheshire on 14 June 1872.
The Dictionary of National Biography
states "His portraits are good likenesses, and have considerable artistic merit particularly his chalk studies of children... All his work was marked by great taste and beauty."
caricaturing Sir Robert Peel was drawn from it, and an etching from the picture and accompanying verses both by the artist appeared in the North of England Magazine, June 1842.
The following etchings by Duval appeared in 'The North of England Magazine' vol 1, 1842:
Some of his other well known sitters were Charles Halle, Joseph Whitworth, Samuel Bough and the inventor Joseph Burch whose portrait is now in the Science Museum (London)
.
Duval painted an oil portrait of the inventor Joseph Burch (1825-1898) measuring 84 x 68.5 cm. It was commissioned by the Patent Museum and is now in the Science Museum store at Blythe House
. Some of his inventions can also be seen at the Museum:
For a comprehensive list of Duval's works see: the 'Arnold Hyde Dictionary' of local artists compiled in the 1930 at Manchester Art Gallery.
The rich and famous wanted their portraits painted by him and some of these can be seen on the website of the National Portrait Gallery, London. Numerous members of the landed gentry commissioned Duval, for example: Rowland Eyles Egerton-Warburton who built the present Arley Hall
in Cheshire. Duval painted both Rowland's and his mother's portraits and they can be seen hanging in the elegant Drawing Room at Arley Hall.
, Daniel O’Connell, Richard Cobden
, and Charles Pelham Villiers
were some of his political commissions. Daniel Lee, one of Duval's first patrons commissioned him to paint a life size painting of O'Connell, who allowed him one two and a half hour sitting. Records show Cobden paid Duval £10.10.0. for his full length portrait in 1853. All these portraits were worked in oil. Occasionally he worked in watercolour, for example Thomas Milner Gibson
in the National Portrait Gallery.
He executed a series of water colour vignette portraits of the leading members of the Anti-Corn Law League, which were engraved and published, and reproduced on pocket handkerchiefs.
A three-quarter length oil portrait of Thomas Michaelson, in the dress uniform of a cavalry officer, can be seen on the website of the Dock Museum Collection.
His family owned Michaelson House and Barrow Island, Barrow-in-Furness
His widow, Jane Michaelson sold Barrow Island to the Furness Railway
in 1863. The Barrow Shipyard now Vickers Armstrong
was sited on the island.
The museum are planning to conserve this painting.
In 1855 he exhibited Columbus in chains at the Royal Academy.
He ended his advertisement by stating: "Messrs C A Duval & Co will not exhibit a portrait without special permission."
Duval also produced right up to the minute Carte-de-visite portraits made popular by Queen Victoria. When Prince Albert died in 1861 over 70,000 portraits were sold within a week. Some of Duval’s carte-de-visite portraits, for example: Joseph Whitworth
, William Fairbairn
, Charles Halle
, James Whitehead
, Richard Ansdell
, Richard Cobden
, Edward Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby and Prince Lee can be seen on the website of the National Portrait Gallery, London. By using Andre-Adolphe-Eugene Disderi
's techniques Duval enabled the not so wealthy to afford their own portraits.
He also wrote satirical articles for periodicals which he illustrated with his own sketches.
Art Treasures Examiner: A Record of the Art-Treasures Exhibition at Manchester, 1857.
Dewsbury Sheila, Archivist, Manchester Academy of Fine Arts and authoress of The Story So Far: The Manchester Academy of Fine Arts from 1859-2003, MAFA, 2003.
Graves A., A Century of Loan Exhibitions 1813-1912, 5 vols (1913-15.)
Nicholson Albert, Duval Charles Allen (1808-1872) Oxford Dictionary of Natural Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
Quentin Bajac, The Invention of Photography: The First Fifty Years,
The Ruined Gamester, The North of England Magazine, Book 11, Chap 11, p. 297, 2002.
Manchester Academy of Fine Arts
The Manchester Academy of Fine Arts is a society established in 1859 for the purpose of organising Annual Open Exhibitions in Manchester City Art Gallery, formerly the Manchester Institution...
, the Manchester City Art Gallery and the Art Treasures Exhibition, Manchester 1857
Art Treasures Exhibition, Manchester 1857
The Art Treasures of Great Britain was an exhibition of fine art held in Manchester, England, from 5 May to 17 October 1857. It remains the largest art exhibition to be held in the UK, possibly in the world, with over 16,000 works on display...
: a scene which was underpinned by Manchester’s industrial entrepreneurs and politicians who all flocked to his studio to have their portraits painted.
Life
Duval was born in Beaumaris, Anglesey on 19 March 1810. His parents were Edward Octavius Caesar Wall duVal and Sarah Eskildson After some time at sea he started his artistic career in Liverpool. He married Elizabeth Renney in both Liverpool 1833 and Manchester 1834. They had nine children, two of whom; Edward and Gerald, became artists. Gerald's daughter Bessie Du Val also painted and illustrated books. His eldest son, Charles became a photographer and partner in his father’s business, Messrs. C. A. Duval & Co., Exchange Street, Manchester. The firm was established in the 1860s and remained in business for forty years.Duval had studios in Liverpool, Manchester and London. In 1831 he sent his work to Liverpool Academy of Arts
Liverpool Academy of Arts
The Liverpool Academy of Arts was founded in April 1810 as a regional equivalent of the Royal Academy, London. Two local art collectors, Henry Blundell and William Roscoe were its first Patron and Secretary, the Prince Regent gave his patronage for the next three years, and it was actively...
from the following address: 51 Lime Street, Liverpool and in 1832; 26 Russell Street, Liverpool. He also opened a studio on the Isle of Man where he spent his summers.
In 1833 Duval left Liverpool and moved to Manchester where his address was 74 York Street Manchester though he was still listed in the Liverpool Directory in 1841 at the same address as a Sara Duval. In 1842 - 24 Carlton Terrace, Greenheys, Manchester became the family home. He was employed by Messrs. Agnew & Zanetti, Art Dealer (later known as Thomas Agnew & Sons.)
In Manchester he founded the Art Academy, a society for holding annual exhibitions with the idea of establishing a permanent public gallery, and was its president for many years. Eventually his idea took permanent form in the rooms of the Royal Manchester Institution
Royal Manchester Institution
The Royal Manchester Institution was an English learned society founded on 1 October 1823 at a public meeting held in the Exchange Room by Manchester merchants, local artists and others keen to dispel the image of Manchester as a city lacking in culture and taste.The Institution was housed in a...
.
He was one of the first members to be elected to the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts in 1859 and was also one of the first members of the Brasenose Club along with Charles Halle
Charles Hallé
Sir Charles Hallé was an Anglo-German pianist and conductor, and founder of The Hallé orchestra in 1858.-Life:Hallé was born in Hagen, Westphalia, Germany who after settling in England changed his name from Karl Halle...
and Edwin Waugh
Edwin Waugh
Edwin Waugh , poet, son of a shoemaker, was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, and, after a little schooling, apprenticed to a printer, Thomas Holden, at the age of 12...
.
His colleague Alfred Darbyshire
Alfred Darbyshire
-Education and career:Alfred Darbyshire was born in Salford to William Darbyshire, the manager of a dyeworks, and his wife Mary née Bancroft. He was a nephew of George Bradshaw, the compiler of railway guides. He went to a succession of Quaker schools and was then articled to the architects'...
described Duval entering the Brasenose Club in the following way: "That distinguished looking man just entered the room, with the Scotch plaid around him, and in the act of removing his black sombrero, is C A Duval, the artist and fashionable portrait painter of the period.". Duval was also a member of the Portico Library
Portico Library
The Portico Library on Mosley Street, Manchester is a subscription library built in the Greek Revival style between 1802-1806. It is a Grade II* listed building as at 25 February 1952....
, the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society
Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society
The Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, popularly known as the Lit & Phil, is a learned society in Manchester, England.Established in 1781 as the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester, by Thomas Percival, Thomas Barnes and Thomas Henry, other prominent members have included...
, the Manchester Athenaeum and for a time he was President of the Manchester Chess Club.
The first circular announcing the formation of the Manchester Etching Club contained the signatures of Sir Charles Halle, Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse was a British architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. He is perhaps best known for his design for the Natural History Museum in London, and Manchester Town Hall, although he also built a wide variety of other buildings throughout the...
, Sir Henry Roscoe, Samuel Pope, Charles J J Hitchman, Edwin Waugh, H F Blair, Sir John Holker
John Holker
Sir John Holker QC was a British lawyer and politician. He sat as a Member of Parliament for Preston from 1872 until his death ten years later. He was first Solicitor General and later Attorney General in the second government of Benjamin Disraeli.- External links :...
, Duval the painter and H M Acton.
He exhibited two pictures in the prestigious Art Treasures Exhibition, Manchester 1857
Art Treasures Exhibition, Manchester 1857
The Art Treasures of Great Britain was an exhibition of fine art held in Manchester, England, from 5 May to 17 October 1857. It remains the largest art exhibition to be held in the UK, possibly in the world, with over 16,000 works on display...
(429) 'Forgotten Vows' and (436) 'Recalled to Memory' and a portrait (643) of John L Kennedy in the Royal Jubilee Exhibition, Manchester 1887
Royal Jubilee Exhibition, Manchester 1887
The Royal Jubilee Exhibition of 1887 was held in Old Trafford, Manchester, England, to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria's reign. It was opened by Princess Alexandra, wife of Edward, the Prince of Wales, on 3 May 1887, and remained open for 166 days, during which time there...
.
Duval exhibited for thirty-six years at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, London (1836-1872.)
He was painting a family portrait in Alderley Edge when he was suddenly taken ill and he died at Bollin Fee, Nr. Wilmslow Cheshire on 14 June 1872.
The Dictionary of National Biography
Dictionary of National Biography
The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
states "His portraits are good likenesses, and have considerable artistic merit particularly his chalk studies of children... All his work was marked by great taste and beauty."
Works
One of his first works was The Ruined Gamester which was purchased and engraved by a Manchester print seller named Dewhurst. It became so popular that a cartoon in PunchPunch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
caricaturing Sir Robert Peel was drawn from it, and an etching from the picture and accompanying verses both by the artist appeared in the North of England Magazine, June 1842.
The following etchings by Duval appeared in 'The North of England Magazine' vol 1, 1842:
- Dr Dalton, from the Chantrey Statue, p. 14
- The Resident Pupil's Supper, p. 35
- The Genius of Mesmerism Rescuing a 'Slave of the Ring,' p. 72
- The Real and the Ideal, p. 72
- Hulme Hall, p. 96
- The Ruined Gamester, p. 297
Some of his other well known sitters were Charles Halle, Joseph Whitworth, Samuel Bough and the inventor Joseph Burch whose portrait is now in the Science Museum (London)
Science Museum (London)
The Science Museum is one of the three major museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. The museum is a major London tourist attraction....
.
Duval painted an oil portrait of the inventor Joseph Burch (1825-1898) measuring 84 x 68.5 cm. It was commissioned by the Patent Museum and is now in the Science Museum store at Blythe House
Blythe House
Blythe House is a listed building located at 23 Blythe Road, West Kensington, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, UK. Originally built as the headquarters of the Post Office Savings Bank, it is now used as a store and archive by the Victoria and Albert, Science and British Museums.-Post...
. Some of his inventions can also be seen at the Museum:
- Model of a drugget-printing machine, with accessories, patentee Joseph Burch, England 1843. (Inventory number 1860-10)
- (a) Machine for burning textile printing block moulds, 1845-1855; (b) Mould (unfinished); (c) Three cast printing blocks; (d) Collection of burning punches. (Inventory number 1979-378.)
For a comprehensive list of Duval's works see: the 'Arnold Hyde Dictionary' of local artists compiled in the 1930 at Manchester Art Gallery.
Portraits
Arley Hall
Arley Hall is a country house in the village of Arley, Cheshire, England, about south of Lymm and north of Northwich. It is home to the owner, Viscount Ashbrook and his family. The house is a Grade II* listed building, as is its adjacent chapel. Formal gardens to the southwest of the hall...
in Cheshire. Duval painted both Rowland's and his mother's portraits and they can be seen hanging in the elegant Drawing Room at Arley Hall.
Pastels
His pastel portraits of both adults and children were in great demand. One of his well known pastel portraits is of the three oldest daughters of the Manchester novelist Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. The author's husband, William Gaskell was a Unitarian Minister in the city and first chairman of the Portico Library and would have been personally acquainted with Duval.Politicians
John BrightJohn Bright
John Bright , Quaker, was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League. He was one of the greatest orators of his generation, and a strong critic of British foreign policy...
, Daniel O’Connell, Richard Cobden
Richard Cobden
Richard Cobden was a British manufacturer and Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with John Bright in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League as well as with the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty...
, and Charles Pelham Villiers
Charles Pelham Villiers
Charles Pelham Villiers was a British lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1835 to 1898, making him the longest-serving Member of Parliament .-Background and education:...
were some of his political commissions. Daniel Lee, one of Duval's first patrons commissioned him to paint a life size painting of O'Connell, who allowed him one two and a half hour sitting. Records show Cobden paid Duval £10.10.0. for his full length portrait in 1853. All these portraits were worked in oil. Occasionally he worked in watercolour, for example Thomas Milner Gibson
Thomas Milner Gibson
Thomas Milner Gibson PC was a British politician.-Background and education:Thomas Milner Gibson came of a Suffolk family, but was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, where his father was serving as an officer in the army...
in the National Portrait Gallery.
He executed a series of water colour vignette portraits of the leading members of the Anti-Corn Law League, which were engraved and published, and reproduced on pocket handkerchiefs.
History Paintings
Duval painted numerous history paintings for example: The Methodist Centenary contained one hundred portraits of leading Wesleyans who had assembled in Manchester to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Institution of Methodism. Luther Burning the Pope’s Bull also contained many figures. It measured 3m x 1.8m and was exhibited at Westminster Hall and afterwards in principal towns throughout the country.A three-quarter length oil portrait of Thomas Michaelson, in the dress uniform of a cavalry officer, can be seen on the website of the Dock Museum Collection.
His family owned Michaelson House and Barrow Island, Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
His widow, Jane Michaelson sold Barrow Island to the Furness Railway
Furness Railway
The Furness Railway was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.-History:The company was established on May 23, 1844 when the Furness Railway Act was passed by Parliament...
in 1863. The Barrow Shipyard now Vickers Armstrong
Vickers Armstrong
Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927...
was sited on the island.
The museum are planning to conserve this painting.
In 1855 he exhibited Columbus in chains at the Royal Academy.
Photography
In the 1860s Duval opened his own photography and portrait gallery at the premises of Messrs. Thomas Agnew & Sons, 14 Exchange Street, Manchester. He produced a full page advertisement for the firm, which included the following paragraph: "Messrs C A Duval & Co trust that the special training and knowledge of the artist, combined with the skill of the photographer, will ensure results more satisfactory to the public than those hitherto realised by photographing alone." He then produced a list of all his techniques:- Mr Duval's Miniature Portraits
- Oil And Water-Colour Vignetted Portraits
- Copies Of Pictures And Drawings Reduced Or Enlarged From The Original
- Album Groups And Portraits
- Instantaneous Portraits Of Children
- Crayon And Pastel Portraits
- Life Size Portraits In Oil
He ended his advertisement by stating: "Messrs C A Duval & Co will not exhibit a portrait without special permission."
Duval also produced right up to the minute Carte-de-visite portraits made popular by Queen Victoria. When Prince Albert died in 1861 over 70,000 portraits were sold within a week. Some of Duval’s carte-de-visite portraits, for example: Joseph Whitworth
Joseph Whitworth
Sir Joseph Whitworth, 1st Baronet was an English engineer, entrepreneur, inventor and philanthropist. In 1841, he devised the British Standard Whitworth system, which created an accepted standard for screw threads...
, William Fairbairn
William Fairbairn
Sir William Fairbairn, 1st Baronet was a Scottish civil engineer, structural engineer and shipbuilder.-Early career:...
, Charles Halle
Charles Hallé
Sir Charles Hallé was an Anglo-German pianist and conductor, and founder of The Hallé orchestra in 1858.-Life:Hallé was born in Hagen, Westphalia, Germany who after settling in England changed his name from Karl Halle...
, James Whitehead
Sir James Whitehead, 1st Baronet
Sir James Whitehead, 1st Baronet DL was a British merchant and Liberal Party politician.-Early life:Whitehead was born at Bramhall, near Sedbergh in Yorkshire. He was educated at the grammar school in Appleby-in-Westmorland, and was apprenticed as a draper in Kendal. He made his way to Bradford...
, Richard Ansdell
Richard Ansdell
Richard Ansdell was an English oil painter of animals and genre scenes. He was also an engraver.-Life:Ansdell was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, the son of Thomas Griffiths Ansdell, a freeman who worked at the port, and Anne Jackson. His father died young and Richard was educated at the Bluecoat...
, Richard Cobden
Richard Cobden
Richard Cobden was a British manufacturer and Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with John Bright in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League as well as with the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty...
, Edward Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby and Prince Lee can be seen on the website of the National Portrait Gallery, London. By using Andre-Adolphe-Eugene Disderi
André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri
André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri was a French photographer who started his photographic career as a daguerreotypist but gained greater fame for patenting his version of the carte de visite, a small photographic image which was mounted on a card...
's techniques Duval enabled the not so wealthy to afford their own portraits.
Writing
In 1863 Duval published five pamphlets on the American Civil War.He also wrote satirical articles for periodicals which he illustrated with his own sketches.
Sources
Allen Vivien, Du Val Tonight! The Story Of A Showman, Worcester: Square One Publications, p.p. 3,4.Art Treasures Examiner: A Record of the Art-Treasures Exhibition at Manchester, 1857.
Dewsbury Sheila, Archivist, Manchester Academy of Fine Arts and authoress of The Story So Far: The Manchester Academy of Fine Arts from 1859-2003, MAFA, 2003.
Graves A., A Century of Loan Exhibitions 1813-1912, 5 vols (1913-15.)
Nicholson Albert, Duval Charles Allen (1808-1872) Oxford Dictionary of Natural Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
Quentin Bajac, The Invention of Photography: The First Fifty Years,
The Ruined Gamester, The North of England Magazine, Book 11, Chap 11, p. 297, 2002.