Travels with Victoria: Celebrating the Regency in the Queen's Gallery

Last year, when Kristine and Victoria OD’ed on the Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace, we enjoyed the exhibition of Victoria and Albert: Art and Love.  This spring the kind of love celebrated was the Prince Regent’s fondness for art and acquisition. Certainly the two go hand in hand, but the future George IV carried his love for magnificent surroundings to an extreme.  His extravagance made him unpopular with politicians and the people, but left us a lasting legacy in the Royal Collection and royal residences. For the RC website, click here.
The exhibition devoted to the Regency was suitably opulent.  In the center above is the Prince of Wales, portrayed in 1791 by artist John Russell (1745-1806). On each side are two of his siblings in portraits by Sir William Beechey (1754-1839) of the Duke of Cumberland and Princess Augusta. These two were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1802 and by 1805 were hung in Kew Palace.
Here is one of a pair of candelabra by goldsmith Paul Storr (1771-1844); the child is Princess Sophia at age 8 by John Hoppner (1758-1810), exhibited at the RA in 1785; A Rough Dog was painted by royal favorite animal painter, George Stubbs (1724-1806).

The candelabrum of gilt bronze and blue enamel and the pedestal of gilded pine were parts of a set of eight supplied to the Prince about 1794 for the Great Drawing Room of Carlton House. The dealer was Dominique Daguerre, who provided many items made in both England and France.

The magnificent table above was chosen in 1826 for the Crimson Drawing Room in Windsor Castle, one of the last of George IV’s elaborate redecoration schemes, which previously included Carlton House, the Brighton Pavilion, and Buckingham House. The Sevres hard-paste porcelain vases were originally in the Brighton Pavilion and later moved to Carlton House.  The Prince had an extensive collection of Sevres.

The top of the table is inlaid stones and marbles, a colorful and complicated inset design.

According the label, this pedestal clock was purchased by Francois Benois, the Regent’s pastry chef, on one of his trips to France to acquire art for the Prince.  Of particular interest was the emblem of Louis XIV, the mask of Apollo; the Regent was an admirer or the French Sun King.

The painting above is Rembrandt van Rijn’s The Ship Builder and his Wife (Jan Rycksen and his wife Griet Jans), painted in 1633; at a price of 5,000 guineas, it was the most expensive painting the Prince Regent purchased.

One of a pair of Chinese bottle vases and stands, c. 1814, of porcelain with gilt bronze mounts by Benjamin Vulliamy and stands of marble and ebonized wood; These celadon porcelain vases stood in the Blue Velvet Room at Carlton House; Vulliamy was a clock-maker to George III but was increasingly employed at Carlton House to enhance porcelain objects with decorative gilt bronze mounts.

The center portrait in this grouping is Charles-Alexandre de Calonne, 1784, by Elisabeth-Louis Vigee-Lebrun (1755-1842); Calonne was French finance minister to Louis XVI; his reform suggestions to the king (a copy is held in his hand) might have prevented the French Revolution, but instead he was dismissed and fled to England in 1787; the canvas was purchased by the Prince before 1806.

One of a set of large armchairs, c. 1790. by Francois Herve, made for the Chinese Drawing Room at Carlton House, “perhaps made under the direction of Henry Holland and dealer-decorator Dominique Daguerre. The three men formed part of the highly cultivated Francophile entourage which surrounded the Prince of Wales in the later 1780′ and 1790’s during the early phase of construction and decoration at Carlton House.”  (from the label)

The pier table, above, with the candelabra, vases and Chinese Mandarin on the low shelf, were acquired for the Chinese Drawing Room at Carlton House in 1792, the first of a number of Chinese-style rooms created for the Prince of Wales at his various homes, culminating 25 years later with the chinoserie at the Brighton Pavilion.

Since Carlton House was pulled down in 1826, the only pictures of its interior are paintings done in the house, particularly this collection of eight watercolours by Charles Wild (1781-1835).  Fortunately, as we have seen in this exhibition, the furniture and decorative objects were moved to other remodeling and construction projects of George IV; his essential and extravagant tastes for exotic and sumptuous theatricality continued into his residences in Brighton, London and Windsor. 

This commode is made of ebony, tulipwood, gilt bronze, marble, mirrored glass and a porcelain  plaque. It was probably designed under the guidance of French dealer-decorator Daguerre and made by the leading Parisian cabinet maker Adam Weisweiler (1744-1820)  in 1785.

In addition to paintings, furniture and decorative objects, the exhibition includes military items, a particular interest  of the Prince of Wales. As heir to the throne, he was not allowed to participate directly in the armed forces, but he often designed uniforms, such as the elaborately frogged jacket above. And he collected guns, swords and other paraphernalia as well.

This pair of double barreled flintlock pistols was made by Nicolas-Noel Boutet and presented to the Prince Regent by Louis XVIII of France in 1814 after the first abdication of Napoleon.

 Elsewhere in the Queen’s Gallery were exhibitions from the Royal Collection focusing on Mythology and Dutch Painting. Many of the objects shown were purchased by the Prince of Wales /George IV. The clock above was made by Pierre-Philippe Thomire about 1805 of gilt bronze, marble and blue enamel. From the label: “Apollo was believed by the Romans to be god of the sun. Each day was marked by his emergence from the sea and his journey across the sky in his golden quadriga — a chariot drawn by four horses abreast — a cycle illustrated vividly by the clock.”

Also in the Mythology exhibition was this painting of Pan and Syrinx, c. 1620-25, after Sir Peter Paul Rubens, showing a story from Ovid’s Metamorphoses about Pan’s pursuit of a wood nymph who was transformed into tall reeds as he caught her — reeds Pan used to make  musical instrument — his pan pipes. The Prince Regent bought this painting in 1812.
In the Dutch Paintings exhibition, this painting by Aelbert Cuyp (1620-1691) “Cows in  Pasture beside a River, before Ruins, possibly of the Abbey of Rijnsburg,” c. 1645, was acquired by the Prince Regent in 1814. From the label: “Cuyp often employed an unnaturally low viewpoint which forces every form to be silhouetted against the sky, creating a detached effect. In this imaginative view, cows dominate the foreground, with shadowy ruins in the far distance.”
The Queen’s Gallery in June, 2010
The Queen’s Gallery is open year around with shows drawn from the Royal Collection. during the months when the Queen and royal family are at Balmoral, the State Rooms of the Palace are open, as they are on a few other occasions during the year. See Kristine’s post on her visit to the palace 1/9/11.  But you can go to the Quee
n’s Gallery any time you are in London;  I cannot recommend their exhibitions enough. I have attended many times over the years, and I have never been disappointed. However there is DANGER!!  The shop is too tempting to be believed.  Click here for a taste of what awaits you if you venture inside. Of course, it’s all available on line, but being there is even more toxic to the bank account. Nevertheless, it is wonderful!
Next on Travels with Victoria: the British Museum

The Wellington Connection – Education

From the Duke of Wellington to Lady Shelley

Duke of Wellington by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1818

London, August 30, 1825.

“My Dear Lady Shelley,

. . . . . . As for John (1) you must impress upon his mind, first, that he is coming into the world at an age at which he who knows nothing will be nothing. If he does not chuse to study, therefore, he must make up his mind to be a hewer of wood and drawer of water to those who do. Secondly, he must understand that there is nothing learnt but by study and application. I study and apply, more, probably, than any man in England.

Thirdly, if he means to rise in the military profession—I don’t mean as high as I am, as that is very rare—he must be master of languages, of the mathematics, of military tactics of course, and of all the duties of an officer in all situations.

He will not be able to converse or write like a gentleman—much less to perform with credit to himself the duties on which he will be employed—unless he understands the classics; and by neglecting them, moreover, he will lose much gratification which the perusal of them will always afford him; and a great deal indeed of professional information and instruction.

He must be master of history and geography, and the laws of his country and of nations; these must be familiar to his mind if he means to perform the higher duties of his profession.

Impress all this upon his mind; and moreover tell him that there is nothing like never having an idle moment. If he has only one quarter of an hour to employ, it is better to employ it in some fixed pursuit of improvement of his mind, than to pass it in idleness or listlessness.

Ever, my dearest lady,
Yours most affectionately,
Wellington.

1 John Shelley, Lady Shelley’s eldest son, who subsequently joined the Royal Horseguards (Blue).

Royal Horse Guards, 1826

Woodford, September 18, 1825.

My Dear Lady Shelley,

. . . . In respect to my letter upon education, I don’t recollect what I wrote; and I cannot consent to have a copy taken, without first seeing it. You had better send it to me, therefore. Besides, the Tyrant (Mrs. Arbuthnot) says she has no notion of my writing a letter deserving of being copied without her seeing it; and she wishes to ascertain whether I have myself learnt all that I recommend to others to learn. There is no use in disputing about anything, so that you had better send the letter at once.

I will go to Maresfield as soon as I shall have it in my power, after hearing how the Parliament stands.

Believe me, my dearest lady,
Ever yours most affectionately,
Wellington

Postscript written by Mrs. Arbuthnot – “I have no notion of his finishing a letter in such a style; I will never allow that again.”

The Young Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria by Alfred Edward Chalon, 1838,
 National Galleries of Scotland

From the Greville Memoirs:

August 30th. (1837) —All that I hear of the young Queen leads to the conclusion that she will some day play a conspicuous part, and that she has a great deal of character. It is clear enough that she had long been silently preparing herself, and had been prepared by those about her (and very properly) for the situation to which she was destined. The impressions she has made continue to be favourable, and particularly upon Melbourne, who has a thousand times greater opportunities of knowing what her disposition and her capacity are than any other person, and who is not a man to be easily captivated or dazzled by any superficial accomplishments or mere graces of manner, or even by personal favour. Melbourne thinks highly of her sense, discretion, and good feeling; but what seem to distinguish her above everything are caution and prudence, the former to a degree which is almost unnatural in one so young, and unpleasing, because it suppresses the youthful impulses which are so graceful and attractive.

Victoria Regina, June 20, 1837, by Henry Tanworth Wells,  Royal Collection

On the morning of the King’s death, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham arrived at Kensington at five o’clock, and immediately desired to see ‘the Queen.’ They were ushered into an apartment, and in a few minutes the door opened and she came in wrapped in a dressinggown and with slippers on her naked feet. Conyngham in a few words told her their errand, and as soon as he uttered the words ‘Your Majesty,’ she instantly put out her hand to him, intimating that he was to kiss hands before he proceeded. He dropped on one knee, kissed her hand, and then went on to tell her of the late King’s death. She presented her hand to the Archbishop, who likewise kissed it, and when he had done so, addressed to her a sort of pastoral charge, which she received graciously and then retired. She lost no time in giving notice to Conroy of her intentions with regard to him; she saw him, and desired him to name the reward he expected for his services to her parents. He asked for the Red Eiband, an Irish peerage, and a pension of 3,000l. a year. She replied that the two first rested with her Ministers, and she could not engage for them, but that the pension he should have. It is not easy to ascertain the exact cause of her antipathy to him, but it has probably grown with her growth, and results from divers causes. The person in the world she loves best is the Baroness Lehzen, and Lehzen and Conroy were enemies. There was formerly a Baroness Spaeth at Kensington, lady-in-waiting to the Duchess, and Lehzen and Spaeth were intimate friends. Conroy quarrelled with the latter and got her dismissed, and this Lehzen never forgave. She may have instilled into the Princess a dislike and bad opinion of Conroy, and the evidence of these sentiments, which probably escaped neither the Duchess nor him, may have influenced their conduct towards her, for strange as it is, there is good reason to believe that she thinks she has been ill-used by both of them for some years past.1 Her manner to the Duchess is, however, irreproachable, and they appear to be on cordial and affectionate terms. Madame de Lehzen is the only person who is constantly with her. When any of the Ministers come to see her, the Baroness retires at one door as they enter at the other, and the audience over she returns to the Queen. It has been remarked that when applications are made to Her Majesty, she seldom or never gives an immediate answer, but says she will consider of it, and it is supposed that she does this because she consults Melbourne about everything, and waits to have her answer suggested by him. He says, however, that such is her habit even with him, and that when he talks to her upon any subject upon which an opinion is expected from her, she tells him she will think it over, and let him know her sentiments the next day.

Duchess of Kent and Strathearn, 1786-1861 by Sir George Hayter, 1835
Royal Collection

The day she went down to visit the Queen Dowager at Windsor, to Melbourne’s great surprise she said to him that as the flag on the Round Tower was half-mast high, and they might perhaps think it necessary to elevate it upon her arrival, it would be better to send orders beforehand not to do so. He had never thought of the flag, or knew anything about it, but it showed her knowledge of forms and her attention to trifles. Her manner to the Queen was extremely kind and affectionate, and thej were both greatly affected at meeting. The Queen Dowager said to her that the only favour she had to ask of her was to provide for the retirement, with their pensions, of the personal attendants of the late King, Whiting and Bachelor, who had likewise been the attendants of George IV.; to which she replied that it should be attended to, but she could not give any promise on the subject.

William Lamb, Lord Melbourne (1779-1848), by Sir Edwin Landseer 1838
National Portrait Gallery
She is upon terms of the greatest cordiality with Lord Melbourne, and very naturally. Everything is new and delightful to her. She is surrounded with the most exciting and interesting enjoyments; her occupations, her pleasures, her business, her Court, all present an unceasing round of gratifications. With all her prudence and discretion she has great animal spirits, and enters into the magnificent novelties of her position with the zest and curiosity of a child.

The Passing of Hilary Evans

Married to Mary Evans, who passed away last year, Hilary Evans and his wife created the Mary Evans Picture Library, an invaluable London-based resource known to all historians and researchers. As if that achievment was not monumental in itself, Mr. Evans was also a serious UFO researcher and a collector of arcane beers and their brewing methods. Additionally, Evans wrote three novels and two non-fiction books on the Victorian era. In short, Evans, had he lived during the last centuries, would surely have gone down in the history books as one of those unique and quirky personalities we love so well. You can read his full obituary here.

Gossip Between Lady Shelley and Mrs. Arbuthnot

Harriette, Mrs. Arbuthnot by Richard Cosway
copyright Artchives.com

Mrs. Arbuthnot to Lady Shelley

Woodford, Wednesday [no date].
“My Dear Lady Shelley,
What an age it is since I have written to you! but my house has been so full; and I have been so full of regret at not being in the north hearing all the speeches and witnessing all the applause with which the Duke was received everywhere. Lady Bathurst and Sir Henry Harding have written me long accounts of it, all which is lucky for the Duke (of Wellington), as I should (very unjustly) be in a fury with him, for he enters into no details. To be sure one could not expect him to plume himself on his success; and, as I have heard it from others, I am satisfied. They are all enchanted with him, and he has done everything quite right, as he always does. I have Lord and Lady Francis Gower here and Mr. Greville and Lady Charlotte. Do you not think Mr. Greville the most agreeable man you know? I do; he has so much gossip, and tells a story so well. He has just been saying, God forgive me! but I wish Canning had lived to undergo the mortification of this visit of the Duke’s to the north; it would have been a good lesson to him, and would have killed him.’ He is in very good humour, and bears with my small house with the greatest fortitude. I am quite sorry they are going, which they do tomorrow for Chatsworth. Lady Charlotte is grown fearfully old and wrinkled. Lord Westmorland comes here to-morrow and stays till Saturday, on which day we go to Drayton.

We go to Apethorpe (pictured above) on Wednesday next. How all the ladies seem to be increasing in these days of over-population; it is quite surprising, and Mrs. Griffiths is in despair, for I understand they all come together. Lady Jersey, you know, always publishes it immediately. I did not know the Duke had been so sly about his visit there, but I am greatly amused at your not daring to quiz him; I did not think you had been so shy! especially with him. Do you know any news of our wise Ministers? what they mean to do with Turkey and Portugal? Never was such a condition as they have placed us in, I think, but they may thank the master mind for that. Poor Lord Dudley must be at his wits’ end, I think, with these perpetual conferences and interviews that one reads of. Pray write and tell me the London news, for I hear none of the Newmarket news. I see Sir John has a match. Ever, my dear Lady Shelley,

“Yours very affly.,
“H. A.”
George Canning
August 10, 1827.
“My Dear Lady Shelley,
“Thank you for sending me an account of the Duke. I am very glad you think he looks well. He writes me word he is quite well again. I got both your letters the same day, as he did not frank your Monday one till Tuesday. Poor Mr. Canning! I daresay you will not agree with me, but I am really very sorry for him. In the first place I had much rather have had a fight with him next session, and beat him in that way, and secondly, I hate to have anybody die. I cannot feel rancour against the dead; and, fatally mischievous as he has been to us, I cannot help pitying him. He has suffered so horribly, mind as well as body! depend upon it his has been a bed of thorns; nothing can have been more humiliating and degrading than all he has endured in the last four months. He was the vainest man that ever lived, with the quickest and most irritable feelings, and I know he felt his position most acutely. I have quite longed to write to Planta, to enquire after him; but I have not, for I should very likely have been accused of hypocrisy. I only hope our newspapers will not abuse him, tho’ to be sure the abuse heaped upon us just now by the Times is quite laughable. One thing I do rather enjoy, and that is the consternation in which our rats must be, such as your friend Sir George Clerk, etc., etc., etc. I have no guess what will happen, but I do not expect the King will send for any of us now. It will be, to use his own words, poor man, a curious coincidence if he dies the same day as Queen Caroline! Metternich’s remark about our luck is certainly just; but how he made out that the new parliament in South America could have anything to do with the Berlin Decrees I don’t understand. I am delighted to hear Mr. Peel has taken Maresfield; he cannot fail to like it, and the joy of getting it off your hands will help to restore you. I have been reading ‘Falkland.’ I like it very much, all but the ghost. 1 don’t suppose it is very moral, but I think it is natural and well written. Have you read it? I have also read ‘Judge Jeffreys,’ which I don’t like at all, and think it very ill done; I have no patience with the author who apologises for such an inhuman beast. I am now reading General Foy, who puts me in a rage with his fulsome praise of French soldiers and their mildness and kindneartedness! I had a letter from the Duke of Rutland to-day. Lady C. Powlett had been there for a night; she went from here. I think I shall put her nose, and Mrs. Foxs’, out of joint in that quarter, and yours too; His Grace writes so very tenderly. I don’t know how I shall manage them in Derbyshire; I shall have to sing the old song ‘ How happy could I be with either, were t’other dear Duke but away’—but that would be a copy of my countenance; there is but one Duke worth thinking about in the world, in my opinion. But do not show up that I joke about the other; it is only to amuse you, and he is very goodnatured and kind to me, and I like him, and would not laugh about him on any account, but you know he has a sentimental way with him. I shall write to the Duke about Mr. L. Wellesley, for a madman is never to be despised. I hope nothing fresh has happened?
Ever, my dear Lady Shelley, Yours affly.,
“H. A.”