Walter Goodman

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Walter Goodman (11 May 1838 - 20 August 1912) was a British painter, illustrator and author.

The son of British portrait painter Julia Salaman (1812-1906) and London linen draper, Louis Goodman (1811-1876), he studied with J. M. Leigh and at the Royal Academy in London, where he was admitted as a student in 1851. Recent research has unearthed details of around fifty works by Goodman. Unfortunately the present whereabouts of most these are unknown, notable exceptions being The Printseller (c.1882), acquired by the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester in 1998, portraits of actresses Mary Anne Keeley (also known as Mrs. Keeley At Fourscore) and Fanny Stirling (1885), both in the collection of London's Garrick Club, A Kitchen Cabinet, a trompe l'oeil painting in a private collection in New York, and a Cuban scene, Home of the Bamboo, in a private collection in London.

Contents

[edit] Early work

One of Goodman's earliest recorded works is his depiction of the 1858 trial of Dr Simon Bernard over the attempted assassination of Napoleon III. The painting hung in the Tavistock Square home of Goodman's uncle, Sir John Simon, who worked on the trial [1][2]. Two of Goodman's other early works were exhibited at The British Institution on Pall Mall in London - Doctoring The Cane (1859) and Bible Stories (1861) [3].

A publication of 1859 refers to Goodman as a scene painter and goes on to describe Goodman's (and various siblings') appearance in an amateur play staged at the Baker Street, London home of another uncle, the composer Charles Kensington Salaman (1814-1901). The production received glowing reviews [4].

[edit] Travel

Goodman spent almost three years in Florence, beginning in 1861, refining his skills by copying Old Master paintings at the Uffizi and Pitti palaces. There he met fellow artist, Joaquín Cuadras, whom he painted several times. In 1861 Goodman's painting of the Interior of The Cathedral of San Lorenzo, Genoa was exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy [5].

On of Goodman's favourite destinations was Spain - he was fluent in Spanish[6]. He travelled with Cuadras to Barcelona in 1862, where he spent almost a year, before returning on his own to England and, later, Scotland. In Edinburgh, he resided for a short time during 1864 with his journalist brother, Edward John, then an assistant to Edinburgh Courant publisher, James Hannay, whom he painted (exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1864 [7]), as well as author, David Smith. Another work, entitled Head was also exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy the same year [8].

In 1864, rejoined by Cuadras, he travelled to the West Indies. Most of Goodman's time in the West Indies was spent in Santiago and Havana, Cuba, working as an artist and journalist. During this time Goodman contributed articles and letters to the New York Herald, using the nom de plume el Caballero Inglese, until civil unrest forced him to flee to New York in 1870 [9]. He may have spent as much as a year in the United States and is known to have travelled to Rome[10] before returning to London in 1871. In that year he exhibited a portrait of Evelyn, Daughter of G.J.Reid, Esq. of Tunbridge Wells at the Royal Academy and his portrait of Serjeant Simon M.P. was displayed at the Royal Oak Hotel in Dewsbury, Yorkshire[11]. In 1872 Goodman contributed a piece entitled A Cigarette Manufacturer At Havana to the London Society magazine. In 1873 he published an account of his years in Cuba, entitled The Pearl of the Antilles, or An Artist in Cuba, to favorable reviews (reprinted in Cuba in 1986). The book was based upon a series of humorous sketches first published in Charles Dickens' periodical All the Year Round. The same year he contributed some sketches of Santiago to The Graphic magazine.

Home of the Bamboo.
Home of the Bamboo.

[edit] Prolific period

The February, 1874 issue of Cassell's Magazine included two articles by Goodman titled "Saved From a Wreck" and "Cuba Without a Master." That winter also saw the exhibition of oil paintings titled Young Castile and Voices of the Sea at London's Dudley and French Galleries, respectively. In 1876 he exhibited a drawing, The Language of the Face at The Black and White Exhibition at The Dudley Gallery and Morning Work at the London Exhibition of Fine Arts. The latter work was probably a trompe l'oeil painting, as it is described in a publication of the day as a housemaid is cleaning a window, which the spectator is meant to be looking through[12].

In 1877 two pages of drawings of Russian peasantry by Goodman appeared in the Illustrated London News, as well as an illustration for a Wilkie Collins story, "A Bit for Bob" in the magazine's Christmas Number, entitled "A Little Baggage." Around this time, Goodman moved to Bradford, Yorkshire and lived with his sister, Alice for several years. Goodman contributed a drawing (God is taking care of me) to the Ellen Haile children's book Three Brown Boys and other Happy Children which was published in 1879. The other main contributing artist was the renowned children's book illustrator Kate Greenaway.

In 1878 he exhibited an unnamed oil painting depicting a northern England factory girl returning home from work, at The Dudley Gallery[13]. That same year Goodman scored two coups involving the new Chinese diplomatic missions to Europe. Liu Hsi-Hung, Chinese minister to the Court of Berlin, commissioned him to copy the National Gallery's Madonna in Prayer by Sassoferrato, reputedly the first commission given by a Chinese to an English artist. The painting was subsequently dispatched to Germany[14], He also painted His Excellency Kuo Ta-Jen (Kuo Sung-Tao), Chinese Minister to the Court of St. James (China's first such ambassador), initially exhibited in 1879 at the Royal Academy and later at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. The same year Goodman sent another full-length portrait of a A Chinese Lady of Rank to the Royal Academy. This was a group portrait of a young Chinese girl in native dress (in fact the Chinese ambassador's wife), her young child, and child's nurse. A preliminary study for this painting was displayed for Queen Victoria in March 1879 at Windsor Castle[15]. Perhaps this meeting led to The Queen's son, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, sitting for Goodman. His portrait was submitted to the Royal Academy in 1881. The painting was purchased that year by The National Hospital in Queen Square, London[16]. However, Goodman states in Sala's Journal that the painting was purchased by the hospital in or after 1884. The hospital has no record of the present whereabouts of the painting.

Goodman contributed an essay to The Theatre in late 1885, entitled "An English Ballet in Spain".

[edit] The Printseller

In 1883 Goodman displayed The Printseller, a fascinating trompe l'oeil depiction of the contents of a printseller's window (including the merchant himself, placing a figure in the display) at a special exhibition at St. James Gallery in London. Later that year he offered the painting at the Liverpool Autumn Exhibition. Priced at 315 pounds, the painting did not find a buyer, causing the artist to re-exhibit it the following year at the Royal Scottish Academy. Another painting to be shown that year was Longing Eyes, at the Walker Art Gallery.

The Printseller.
The Printseller.

Goodman is credited with portraits of the then Duke of Edinburgh (Victoria's second son Alfred) and railroad builder Sir Thomas Brassey and his wife, Sarah Knowles Bolton. His last Royal Academy submission (1888) was a portrait entitled Mrs. Keeley in her 83rd Year which is recorded as having subsequently found its way to London's bohemian Savage Club, of which the artist was a member from 1873 to 1894 and where his brother Edward was chairman of the committee[17]. Another Keeley painting, Mrs. Keeley At Fourscore (now housed at the Garrick Club) was exhibited at Institute of Oil Painters in 1885. Goodman was an admirer of Mary Anne Keeley and her acting family, publishing an appreciation in 1895 entitled The Keeleys on the Stage and at Home, which contains engravings of several of his portrait paintings. Goodman's life interest in the theatre culminated in an appearance with Mrs. Keeley in a full-scale production on the stage of the Prince of Wales theatre on the night of January 16, 1884. At about the same time he painted the actress, Mrs. Alfred Mellon. Another actress whose portrait Goodman painted was Amy Sedgwick. A year after her death in 1897, her third husband presented the portrait to the Garrick Club, where it remained until 1969 [18]. Other theatre-related personalities who were captured by Goodman's brush included Negro Delineator, E. W. Mackney, and dramatist, Henry Pettit.

In 1887 Goodman exhibits three portraits - Mary Anne Keeley, Fanny Stirling, and Grace Darling, at the Signor Palladiense Gallery, on Bond Street in London[19].

In 1890 Goodman contributed at least one painting to an exhibition in New York. The proceeds from the sale of the paintings were to benefit the ailing Irish-born American artist Arthur Lumley(1837-1912)[20].

[edit] Family

Around 1889 Goodman married Clara Isabel, from Leicester, and moved to Brighton, where a son, Walter Russell, was born, followed by Joaquin (1891), Reginald (1893), Julia (1894) and Keeley (1899). In 1901 he authored a two-part article in the Magazine of Art entitled "Artists Studios: As They Were and As They Are." In the piece Goodman makes it clear that he was on familiar terms (at least enough so as to have been able to visit a number of their studios first hand) with many of the great painters of the Victorian Age, six of whom are portrayed in The Printseller.

In 1889 Goodman exhibited two portraits at the Institute of Oil Painters in London - Mr Lionel Brough[21] and Mr Henry Russell[22]. The following year his portrait of The Late Mr. Wilkie Collins at the age of 56 was shown at the The Royal Society of British Artists[23].

[edit] People I Have Painted

Between 11 February and 1 July 1893 Goodman contributed a weekly essay People I Have Painted to Sala's Journal[24]. Each essay detailed the often humorous circumstances surrounding a particular painting or series of paintings Goodman had created. The subjects of these essays were entitled:

The Emperor Of The French[25]

Around 1859 Goodman was commissioned to produce a series of seven large (six feet by four feet) panoramic views illustrative of the Italian war of 1859, most of which would feature The French Emperor, Napoleon III. Two of these works were to be transparencies, designed to be artificially lit from behind. Goodman recorded that his cleaning lady almost ruined some of these works due to her over-zealousness and his own forgetfulness. The Emperor never sat for Goodman in person - all paintings were executed with help of the many photographs of Napoleon III that were to be found in London at the time. The paintings were intended for a Continental show and were destined to be shipped to Odessa. Before this, the series was privately exhibited in the apartment where they had been painted. At the time of writing, in 1893, Goodman had no knowledge of the whereabouts of the seven paintings.

Prince Leopold[26]

In 1881, at Goodman's request, Prince Leopold sat for him at his London studio. Goodman notes that prior to the Prince's visit on February 5th 1881, he requested that his cleaning lady make the studio extra tidy as he was expecting a prince. During the sitting the Prince's sister, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, Marchioness of Lorne also paid a visit to Goodman's studio. Prince Leopold was in failing health and further sittings took place in the somewhat warmer surroundings of the Prince's apartments at Windsor Castle. Prince Leopold died in 1884, and in that year the painting was exhibited at the Guildhall Academy of Arts. It was subsequently purchased by The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queen Square, London.

His Excellency Kuo Sung Tao[27]

In 1878, Goodman was commissioned by the Chinese Ambassador to Great Britain and France to paint his portrait. The minister in question's family name was Kuo Sung-Tao, and he held the official title of Kuo Ta-Jen. Goodman writes of the difficulties experienced while attempting to capture his subject's grand attire. The sittings took place at Goodman's home at Notting Hill, London, and he notes the wonder and excitement of the local inhabitants at the arrival of the ambassador's carriages and at the exotic occupants delivered to his home. By having his portrait painted, Kou Sung-Tao incurred the wrath and ridicule of his countrymen back home. To such an extent in fact that he returned the portrait to Goodman and requested his money back - which Goodman declined to do. Goodman states that he informed His Excellency if it was against the customs of his country for a mandarin to have his portrait painted, it was not less at variance with the rigid rules of the outer barbarian to return money.

A Chinese Lady Of Rank[28]

The lady in question was one of the three wives of the Chinese Ambassador. Her name was Kuo Tai-Tai. Goodman goes to great lengths to explain her exotic appearance and that of her small child, Ying-Sung. The (eighteen) sittings took place in 1879 at the Chinese Legation at Portland Place, London (the present day Chinese Embassy). Also described is a reception held at the embassy at which the Prime Minister of the day, William Gladstone was present. The portrait was a group picture of Kuo Tai-Tai, her child Ying-Sung, and the child's nurse.

Mrs. Keeley At Fourscore[29]

Jack Sheppard After Many Years[30]

[edit] Later years

In the early 1900s Goodman was commissioned to travel to Poděbrady in Bohemia to paint the portrait of Prince Hohenlohe and that of his daughter Elisabeth. According to reports, both works were met with much success[31].

The Jewish Chronicle commissioned Goodman to draw a study of his mother, Julia Goodman on the occasion of her 90th birthday. It appeared in the 7 June 1902 edition of that publication.

In 1906 Goodman exhibited a portrait of his son, Keeley, at the Institute of Oil Painters in London[32]. At the Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities at the Whitechapel Art Gallery, London in late 1906 he exhibited three works - The Late Sampson Lucas, Mrs Keeley, and The Cuban Mulatto Girl[33].

From 1906 Goodman suffered from severe ill health, and was unable to continue painting. Later in life he resided at Henfield, Sussex with his family, but later moved to Stoke St. Mary, Somerset and finally, Kilburn, London, leaving his wife and children in Henfield. He died from cancer (1912) in Willesden, North London - which was reported in the 30 August 1912 edition of The Jewish Chronicle. This is the last known reference to Walter Goodman in the public record.

[edit] Paintings

  • Trail of Dr Simon Bernard in the assassination attempt of Napoleon III (1858)
  • Battle of Montebello, with 84th Regiment, headed by Colonel Cambuels and General Forey, attacking the Austrians (1859)
  • Attack and capture of the Bridge of Magenta by General Vinoy (1859)
  • The Emperor of The French at Solferino (1859)
  • Bivouac of French Troops at Alessandria (1859)
  • The Emperor Visiting the Wounded in Hospital (1859)
  • Reception of he Emperor and Count Cavour at Genoa (1859)
  • Peace Rejoicings at Milan, with the Cathedral brilliantly illuminated (1859)
  • Doctoring The Cane (1859)
  • Bible Stories (1861)
  • Interior of The Cathedral of San Lorenzo, Genoa (1861)
  • James Hannay, Esq. (1864)
  • David Smith (1864)
  • Head (1864)
  • Mr Serjeant Simon MP (1871)
  • Evelyn, daughter of G. J. Reid esq. (1872)
  • Young Castille (1874)
  • Voices of the Sea (1874)
  • Morning Work (1876)
  • Unknown title - Northern factory girl returning from work (1877)
  • His Excellency Kuo Ta-Jen (1877)
  • Madonna in Prayer (Commissioned copy of Sassofferato's work) (1878)
  • A Chinese Lady of Rank (1879)
  • HRH Prince Leopold (1881)
  • Home of the Bamboo (1882)
  • The Printseller (1883)
  • Longing Eyes (1884)
  • Mrs. Alfred Mellon (1884)
  • Mrs. Keeley At Fourscore (1885)
  • Fanny Stirling (1886)
  • Grace Darling (1887)
  • Louise Williams (c.1887)
  • Mrs Keeley in her 83rd year (1888)
  • Mr Henry Russell (1889)
  • Amy Sedgwick (1889)
  • Mr Lionel Brough (1890)
  • The Late Mr. Wilkie Collins at the age of 56 (1890)
  • Joaquin Cuadras (1893)
  • Emperor of The French (1893)
  • Mariano Fortuny y Marsal (1893)
  • Mr Samson Lucas (1906)
  • The Cuban Mulatto Girl (1906)
  • Young Keeley (1906)
  • Prince Hohenlohe
  • Prince Hohenlohe's daughter, Elisabeth
  • Duke of Edinburgh
  • E. W. Mackney
  • Henry Pettit
  • Sir Thomas Brassey and his wife, Sarah Knowles Bolton
  • A Kitchen Cabinet

Dates specified are the earliest recorded date the work was displayed, or in some cases the year it was completed.

[edit] Drawings

[edit] Books

  • Pearl of The Antilles or An Artist in Cuba, London: H.S.King & Co. 1873
  • The Keeleys On Stage and At Home, London: Bentley and Son 1895
  • Un Artista en Cuba. Letras Cubanas (Col. Testimonio). La Habana. 1986

[edit] Other publications

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jewish Chronicle July 2nd 1897. Page 21
  2. ^ R v. Bernard [1858] 8 St. Tr. N.S. 887, (1858) 1 F&F 240
  3. ^ Wood, Christopher. Victorian painters. 3rd ed. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 1995. Pressmark: Ref 759.2 WOO
  4. ^ Jewish Chronicle May 13th 1859. Page 8
  5. ^ Baile de Laperrière, Charles, ed. The Royal Scottish Academy exhibitors 1826-1990. Calne: Hilmarton Manor, 1991. Pressmark: Ref 709.2GB
  6. ^ The Theatre November 1st 1885. Page 241
  7. ^ Baile de Laperrière, Charles, ed. The Royal Scottish Academy exhibitors 1826-1990. Calne: Hilmarton Manor, 1991. Pressmark: Ref 709.2GB
  8. ^ Jewish Chronicle April 21st 1893. Page 17
  9. ^ Jewish Chronicle February 5th 1875. Page 18
  10. ^ Jewish Chronicle October 17th 1873. Page 483
  11. ^ Jewish Chronicle November 24th 1871. Page 14
  12. ^ Jewish Chronicle June 16th 1876. Page 170
  13. ^ Jewish Chronicle December 7th 1877. Page 6
  14. ^ Sala's Journal March 4th 1893. Page 199
  15. ^ Jewish Chronicle March 21st 1879. Page 12
  16. ^ Jewish Chronicle November 27th 1891. Page 16
  17. ^ New York Times June 22nd 1879. Page 2
  18. ^ A Catalogue of Pictures in the Garrick Club compiled by C K Adams & published by the Club 1936
  19. ^ Jewish Chronicle June 10th 1887. Page 5
  20. ^ New York Times October 21st 1890
  21. ^ 1890 catalog of the annual exhibition of the Institute of Oil Painters
  22. ^ 1889 catalog of the annual exhibition of the Institute of Oil Painters
  23. ^ Johnson, Jane. Works exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists 1824-1893 and the New English Art Club 1888-1917. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 1975. Pressmark: Ref 709.2GB BRA
  24. ^ Jewish Chronicle April 21st 1893. Page 17
  25. ^ Sala's Journal February 11th 1893. Page 134
  26. ^ Sala's Journal February 25th 1893. Page 186
  27. ^ Sala's Journal March 4th 1893. Page 199-200
  28. ^ Sala's Journal March 11th 1893. Page 237-238
  29. ^ Sala's Journal March 18th 1893. Page 247-248
  30. ^ Sala's Journal March 25th 1893. Page 272-273
  31. ^ Jewish Chronicle December 7th 1906. Page 32
  32. ^ 1906 catalog of the annual exhibition of the Institute of Oil Painters (Pressmark: 200.B.292)
  33. ^ Catalog of the Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Nov. 7 to Dec. 16, London (1906)

[edit] External links