Talbot Hughes
Encyclopedia
Talbot Hughes was a British painter (of genre, history and landscape), a collector of historical costumes and miniature portraits, and writer on fine art and costume design. He exhibited at the Royal Academy
from the age of 17 to 1913.
He lived in London
, and later in Osmington
, near Weymouth, Dorset. From 1871 to 1913 he exhibited at the Royal Academy
. He also exhibited with the Society of British Artists. In 1894 he was elected to the Arts Club. In 1903 he was elected to the Society of Oil Painters.
, the French classicist painter. Hughes was preoccupied with the refinement of the presentation of his subject, the depiction of idealized feminine beauty and the tribulations of romantic love. In a 1902 article in The Magazine of Art writer Marion Hepworth Dixon commented on Hughes's "dexterity of hand, the extraordinary facility with which he renders the different surfaces of stuffs, woods, and metal, together with the agility of his outlook and the verve and spontaneity of his eighteenth century designs." Hughes's submissions to the Royal Academy included works carrying such titles as "Temptation" (1899), "Fate leads the willing, and the unwilling drags" (1900) and "The Road of Love" (1900).
a small collection of bags and purses; and afterwards, through the agency of the Director of the Museum, Sir Cecil Harcourt Smith, sold the rest of his collection of sacques, flowered brocades, high-heeled mules, and full-bottomed wigs (some 750 items) for £2,500 to Harrods department store, who donated it in 1913 to the Victoria and Albert Museum
after it had been exhibited in their store. Harrods used Hughes's collection to advertise women's contemporary fashions to customers. Hughes's costume collection remains on view or accessible at the V&A.
In 1913, in the same year as Harrods donated his costume collection, Hughes published his, Dress Design: an account of costume for artists and dress makers, illustrated by the author from old examples.
In 1928 the dealer Philip Rosenbach bought Hughes’s collection of 450 miniature portraits. In 1988 the Rosenbach Museum & Library
in Philadelphia, USA, mounted an exhibition of 30 of his Spanish portrait miniatures.
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...
from the age of 17 to 1913.
Biography
Talbot Hughes was the son of still-life painter, William Hughes, and brother of Sir Herbert Hughes-Stanton, a landscape painter.He lived in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and later in Osmington
Osmington
Osmington is a village and civil parish in the District of West Dorset within Dorset, England, situated on the Jurassic Coast northeast of Weymouth. The village has a population of 609.To the east is Osmington Hill.-History:...
, near Weymouth, Dorset. From 1871 to 1913 he exhibited 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...
. He also exhibited with the Society of British Artists. In 1894 he was elected to the Arts Club. In 1903 he was elected to the Society of Oil Painters.
His painting
His painterly subjects ranged from the allegorical, figurative, and historical to the theatrical. He admired the style of Jean-Louis-Ernest MeissonierJean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier
Jean-Louis Ernest Meissonier was a French Classicist painter and sculptor famous for his depictions of Napoleon, his armies and military themes. He documented sieges and manoeuvres and was the teacher of Édouard Detaille.-Biography:Ernest Meissonier was born at Lyon...
, the French classicist painter. Hughes was preoccupied with the refinement of the presentation of his subject, the depiction of idealized feminine beauty and the tribulations of romantic love. In a 1902 article in The Magazine of Art writer Marion Hepworth Dixon commented on Hughes's "dexterity of hand, the extraordinary facility with which he renders the different surfaces of stuffs, woods, and metal, together with the agility of his outlook and the verve and spontaneity of his eighteenth century designs." Hughes's submissions to the Royal Academy included works carrying such titles as "Temptation" (1899), "Fate leads the willing, and the unwilling drags" (1900) and "The Road of Love" (1900).
His collections
Like some other Victorian and Edwardian genre painters, Talbot Hughes amassed as studio props a collection of historical costumes and accessories, dating from the 16th century through the 1870s. In 1910 Hughes sold to the Victoria and Albert MuseumVictoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
a small collection of bags and purses; and afterwards, through the agency of the Director of the Museum, Sir Cecil Harcourt Smith, sold the rest of his collection of sacques, flowered brocades, high-heeled mules, and full-bottomed wigs (some 750 items) for £2,500 to Harrods department store, who donated it in 1913 to the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
after it had been exhibited in their store. Harrods used Hughes's collection to advertise women's contemporary fashions to customers. Hughes's costume collection remains on view or accessible at the V&A.
In 1913, in the same year as Harrods donated his costume collection, Hughes published his, Dress Design: an account of costume for artists and dress makers, illustrated by the author from old examples.
In 1928 the dealer Philip Rosenbach bought Hughes’s collection of 450 miniature portraits. In 1988 the Rosenbach Museum & Library
Rosenbach Museum & Library
The Rosenbach Museum & Library is located within two 19th-century townhouses at 2008 and 2010 Delancey Place in Philadelphia. The historic houses contain the collections and treasures of Philip Rosenbach and his younger brother Dr. A. S. W. Rosenbach...
in Philadelphia, USA, mounted an exhibition of 30 of his Spanish portrait miniatures.
Paintings and Illustrations: External links
- The Story of the Hare That Got Away 1898
- The Path of True Love Never Did Run Smooth
- Sewing for Victory 1900
- The Merry Widow, Illustration 1905
- The Merry Widow, 2 illustrations at the Wine Museum