John Callcott Horsley Horsley was brother-in-law to Isambard Kingdom Brunel, an artist who designed the world’s first Christmas card and whose objection to the painting of nudes earned him the sobriquet “Clothes Horsley”. Ian Handford of Torbay Civic Society tells us more.
J
ohn Callcott Horsley was born on January 29th 1817, the son of William Horsley. John would eventually marry Mary Brunel, and become brother-in-law to Isambard Kingdom Brunel. An academic, he studied art at the Academy of Dr Henry Sass. He proved highly competent, and would move in royal circles after it was accepted he was a leading English painter of domestic scenes. Once Rector of the Royal Academy, John mixed in high circles and even had contacts with wealthy industrialists who commissioned him to paint their portraits. Eventually John and Isambard became friends, and even organised a walking holiday of Italy together. Both men were highly motivated and energetic, John being recorded as thinking nothing of travelling overnight by train and walking miles to sketch a medieval church or manor, while Isambard would get involved in an unaccountable number of engineering projects. John’s first exhibited picture at the Royal Academy in 1839 was, ‘Rent Day at Haddon Hall in the Days of Queen Elizabeth’; it was this that launched his successful art career. During the 1840s he was Chief Engineer of the Great Western Railway Company and brought the railway to Torre Station, having already seen the Exeter to Newton Abbot line completed in 1846. Strangely, although it was meant to continue towards the Strand Torquay, that never happened, although the branch line did go to Paignton. In the 1840s Sir Henry Cole suggested to John Horsley that should design a picture for what was to become the world’s first Christmas Card. Sir Henry made his request after getting utterly tired of scribbling greeting notes to family and friends every Christmas. The formal Christmas card was produced in 1843 with a first print run of 1000 cards and Horsley’s wonderful “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You”. It was an instantly successful product and the card idea even went 20 | August/September 2020
international generating millions of pounds around the world. The commission for the words and picture had come through the Royal Academy and the cards cost a shilling (5p) each. Initially, they were mainly bought by the upper and middle classes and it was not until 1870 when postage stamp costs were reduced, that the working population started to send Christmas cards to their family and friends. Meanwhile in 1848 Horsley and Brunel went to Paris; they wanted to witness at first hand the revolution that was taking place. It was after the excitement of Paris that the two men became close making a strong friendship that lasted through Brunel’s too-short life. Paintings by Horsley were generally historical although he liked painting contemporary subjects like ‘scenes of flirtation set in the countryside’ and ‘blossom time’ featuring sunshine and pretty women. Brunel was still at GWR, although he wanted to retire to Torquay - for a time in 1858 he and Mary stayed at Watcombe Villa and then Portland Villa (later Maidencombe House Hotel). Horsley, now married to his second wife Rosamund, was asked to join the Brunels in Torquay. They stayed at Orestone House in Maidencombe (today Orestone Manor Hotel) and remained here for a year. Rosamund had inherited a fortune and was waiting to build their new home at Cranbrook in Kent but could not proceed as her inheritance was tied up with a trust. By one of those quirks of life, Brunel had purchased the Watcombe Estate and he also was waiting to build his gentlemen’s mansion or castle atop Watcombe Hill but could not start, as he
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