Three of James Tissot’s most well-known oil paintings made their way into public collections in Bristol, 120 miles west of London, and Southampton, about 80 miles southwest of London.
Les Adieux (The Farewells) 1871, by James Tissot, oil on canvas, 39 1/2 x 24 5/8 in. (100.3 x 62.6 cm.), Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, U.K. Photo courtesy of The Bridgeman Art Library for use in The Hammock: A novel based on the true story of French painter James Tissot, by Lucy Paquette © 2012
James Tissot fled Paris in May or June, 1871, following the Franco-Prussian War and its bloody aftermath, the Paris Commune. He arrived in London with less than one hundred francs, and with the help of a handful of friends, he proceeded to rebuild his career.
In 1872, TIssot exhibited Les Adieux (1871) and An Interesting Story (c. 1872; click here to read more about this picture at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia) at the Royal Academy. Both paintings were eighteenth-century costume pieces calculated to appeal to the British public.
Les Adieux was reproduced as a steel engraving by John Ballin and published by Pilgeram and Lefèvre in 1873 – an indication of its popularity.
The picture was owned by wealthy international railway contractor Charles Waring (c. 1827 – 1887). After his death, it was sold at Christie’s, London in 1888 to the father of Lt. Col. P.L.E. Walker, from whom it was purchased by the City of Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery in 1955.
Watercolor version called “The Confessional” (c. 1867) at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland. 10 3/8 x 5 11/16 in. (26.4 x 14.4 cm.) (Photo: wikimedia.org)
A later version of “In Church” (c. 1869) by James Tissot (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Prior to Tissot’s move to London, his paintings were much less sentimental than Les Adieux.
In Church (1865) is, like many of Tissot’s pictures, a little naughty for its time. To what sins has the lady confessed?
Tissot exhibited it as Le confessional at the 1866 Salon when he was 30. Still living in student lodgings in the Latin Quarter, he was gaining recognition and success in Paris.
Offered as Leaving the Confessional at Christie’s, London in 1880, the painting (which measures 45 ½ x 27 ¼ in./115.4 x 69.2 cm.) failed to find a buyer at £162.15s.
It was purchased, probably from the Leicester Galleries in London, in 1936 by the Southampton City Art Gallery through the Frederick William Smith Bequest Fund.
The watercolor version above, which measures 10 3/8 x 5 11/16 in. (26.4 x 14.4 cm.) but otherwise is virtually identical to the original oil, was commissioned in 1867 by American grain merchant and liquor wholesaler William Thompson Walters (1819 – 1894), whose art collection formed the basis of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Upon his death, his son and fellow art collector Henry Walters (1848 – 1931), inherited his father’s collection and bequeathed it to the Walters Art Museum in 1931. Tissot’s watercolor has been included in several exhibitions over the years, most recently in 2005-2006, but it is not currently on view.
The Captain’s Daughter (1873), by James Tissot. 28 ½ by 41 ¼in. (72.4 by 104.8 cm.) Southampton City Art Gallery (Photo: wikipaintings.org)
Once Tissot had moved to London in 1871, he continually sought “British” subject matter, always offering it up with a French twist. He painted The Captain’s Daughter in 1873. The painting is set at the Falcon Tavern in Gravesend, and the woman was modeled by Margaret Kennedy (1840-1930), the wife of Tissot’s friend, Captain John Freebody, (b. 1834). Freebody was the master of the Arundel Castle from 1872-73, and his ship took emigrants to America. Tissot exhibited The Captain’s Daughter, as well as two other paintings [The Last Evening (1873) and Too Early (1873), both at the Guildhall Art Gallery, London], at the Royal Academy in 1873.
The Captain’s Daughter was sold by Branch and Lees in 1903 and was later in the possession of The French Gallery at 11 Berkeley Square. It was with the Leicester Galleries, London by 1933 and was purchased by the Southampton City Art Gallery in 1934 through the Frederick William Smith Bequest Fund.
The Last Evening (1873), by James Tissot, Guildhall Art Gallery, London (Photo: wikimedia.org)
Boarding the Yacht (1873), by James Tissot. Private Collection. (Photo: wikipaintings.org)
The Captain and the Mate (1873, oil on canvas), by James Tissot. 53.6 x 76.2 cm. Private Collection. Courtesy of The Bridgeman Art Library for use in The Hammock: A novel based on the true story of French painter James Tissot, by Lucy Paquette © 2012
Two other paintings featuring Margaret Kennedy are in a private collection: Boarding the Yacht (1873) and The Captain and the Mate (1873), in which Margaret’s older brother, red-bearded Captain Lumley Kennedy (b. 1819), and her sister posed as well.
My book, The Hammock: A novel based on the true story of French painter James Tissot brings Margaret Kennedy, Captain John Freebody and Captain Lumley Kennedy to life. Read it to immerse yourself in the dynamic art world of Paris and London in the 1870s!
© Copyright Lucy Paquette 2013. All rights reserved.
The Hammock: A novel based on the true story of French painter James Tissot, brings Tissot’s world from 1870 to 1879 alive in a story of war, art, Society glamour, love, scandal, and tragedy.
Illustrated with 17 stunning, high-resolution fine art images in full color
Courtesy of The Bridgeman Art Library
(295 pages; ISBN (ePub): 978-0-615-68267-9).
See http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009P5RYVE.
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