Devon Open Studios Bursary Winner

John Callcott Horsley

Horsley was brother-in-law to Isambard Kingdom Brunel, an artist who designed the world’s  rst 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.

John 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  rst 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  rst Christmas Card. Sir Henry made his request after getting utterly tired of scribbling greeting notes to family and friends every Christmas.  e formal Christmas card was produced in 1843 with a  rst 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

international generating millions of pounds around the world.  e 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  rst 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  irtation 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.  ey 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

was overseeing the  nal arrangements to launch his new vessel ‘ e Great Eastern’. It was recorded however that, “the days, weeks and months spent in Watcombe were his happiest”.

Horsley, having su ered the tragedy of losing his  rst wife Mary, had always believed he would die early himself, yet now we know that in fact he outlived his brother-inlaw by an amazing forty-four years. Always concerned about the pressures Brunel imposed on himself, one emotional letter survived imploring Brunel to re ect on his lifestyle, “I see one of almost unparalleled devotion to your profession, to the exclusion, too far to great an extent, to that which was due to your God and even to your family and an utter disregard of your health”. Whether Brunel ever read this is unknown, but Horsley was proved right, as Brunel died far too early, at 53.

Fortunately, Horsley had painted an oil of Brunel, which remains historically important. It captures his brother-inlaw as a man getting things done, wearing smart clothes yet relaxed at his desk, rather than the more familiar pictures, of Brunel in front of those huge launching chains of the Great Eastern, with mud on his boots.  e press accused Horsley of hypocrisy and prudery throughout his life because he openly objected to all artists painting nudes. Lampooned often, they even named him “Clothes Horsley”. Yet he still became close to the Royal Family, and eventually attended the birth of Princess Beatrice – this was because they wanted a portrait of the princess presented at her  rst birthday.

Commissioned in June 1858, it is recorded that Horsley could often be seen dodging in and out of Buckingham Palace, always trying to avoid Prince Albert, as the portrait was to be a surprise.

Royal patronage assured his career, and from 1875 until 1890 he was even Rector of the Royal Academy itself and organised the academy’s  rst ‘Old Master Winter Exhibition’. Horsley being a keen musician also became a friend of Mendelssohn and Bartoldy, yet his solemnity and prudity surfaced again when appearing in Punch.  is led to a letter appearing in  e Times on May 25th 1885 entitled ‘A Women’s Plea’ and signed by ‘a British Matron’, a letter that, in fact, he had written himself. Although sympathetic replies came back, one more controversial from  e Church of England Purity Society, they generally made it crystal clear that they thought he was out of step with the “man-on-the street”. He replied signing himself just ‘H’. Later he would be morally o ended, when female art students were asked to view nude paintings of women.  is led to him being ridiculed again by a cartoon entitled ‘ e Model British Matron’ which depicted him as a corseted matron.

Horsley, perhaps our greatest prude, died on October 19th 1903 just two years before the Victorian era ended. Yet amazingly one of his original Christmas cards fetched £5000 not long ago at auction, although perhaps, this was because it was addressed to Elizabeth Barrett Browning no less.   torbaycivicsociety.co.uk