One of the most singular, and enigmatic figures in Victorian art, and
perhaps the hardest to pigeon-hole, or classify in any way. He was born
in London, the son of an ordinary family. Watts was serious-minded,
lacked a sense of humour, and was politically a radical-on two occasions
he refused a baronetcy. He was very sympathetic towards the dreadful
living conditions of the urban poor. Watts regarded, as a great evil,
the upper classes of the country taking vast sums of money they had not
earned. He produced many allegorical pictures throughout his long life,
and they vary greatly in their level of success. He also produced, at
his own expense his “Hall of Fame,” pictures. Watts was really at his
best as a portraitist. [ But his best portraits still could never
inspire the way his finest theme paintings did, and continue to do, such
as Hope. - Ed ] The likenesses of his portraits are excellent, and in
many of them he really brought out the character of the sitter. They
are, however, all painted in dark, muted colours, and collectively give a
very sombre impression. There is an excellent display of them at
Bodelwyddan Castle in North Wales, an outpost of the National Portrait
Gallery.
In middle age, the serious minded and already aged painter, made a short
lived and totally disastrous marriage to the teenaged Ellen Terry the
great actress.
Relatively late in life Watts took up sculpture, and produced a
relatively small number of outstanding works. These include the Clytie,
Physical Energy, and the magisterial memorial statue of Tennyson [PIC],
now placed outside Lincoln Cathedral. This highly original, rough hewn,
and vast statue was created by the artist in extreme old age, a tribute
to his vision, capacity for hard work, and indomitable character.
Watts married Mary Fraser-Tytler in 1886. She was thirty six years his
junior, and devoted the rest of her life to the care of her genius,
materially during his lifetime, and his reputation after his death. Mary
Watts had the misfortune to live until 1938, when her geniuses
reputation seemed in terminal decline. In 1891 Watts had a new house
called Limnerslease (satirised as Dauber's Den by Burne-Jones), built at
Compton near Guildford. Nearby in 1903-1904 the Watts Museum was built.
It is well worth a visit, and will be featured on this site before
long. Close to the Museum is The Watts Mortuary Chapel at Compton. This
remarkable building was the work of Mary Watts, assisted by local
villagers. It was built entirely to Mary Watts designs. George Frederic
Watts is buried close to the chapel.
George
Frederic Watts - Wikipedia
George
Frederick Watts - The
complete works
Artist
Photo
The
Spring Witch - Ellen
Terry -
Hope
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