Mary Wawn, née Dykes, (1789-1819)
Guide Price:
SOLDPastel on paper; 24 by 18 in; 61 x 46 cm; held in a gilt wood frame
Provenance: By descent in the Wawn family of Hull, c.1894; purchased by Conway Wertheimar (1881-1953) and his wife Joan Cicely Young (1898-1995); by descent
Literature: G. C. Williamson, ‘Catalogue of Pictures of John Russell R. A.’, 1894, p.168; N. Jeffares ‘Dictionary of Pastellists before 1800’ p.451, Unicorn Press 2006
Mary was the daughter of Rev. Thomas Dykes (1761-1847) of Hull and Mary Hey (1762-1831). She married in 1814 the Rev. John Dale Wawn (1791-1840), Vicar of Stanton, Derbyshire and Chaplin to the Earl of Stanhope. She had two children both of whom became clergyman in Yorkshire. Tragically she died very young over complications with a third pregnancy. Her father appears to have been a man of some means as he paid for the construction of St. John’s church in Hull all at his own expense and later commissioned Russell for this portrait of his daughter when she was aged about sixteen. The loose, sketchier style – possibly unfinished – is indicative of Russell’s later work and, given the age and attire of the sitter, must have been drawn close to Russell’s death in 1806.
This portrait is typical of Russell’s clientele, the bulk of his work being for the wealthy middle classes rather than the landed aristocracy. His trademark use of blue is clearly apparent as is the subtle softness of form achieved by smudging outlines and highlighting elements such as the folds of the dress and the curls of the hair.
Probably England’s greatest pastellist, and certainly her most prolific, John Russell was apprenticed to the portraitist Francis Cotes and set up his own practice in 1767. In 1770 he entered the Royal Academy Schools in London, winning the silver medal for figure drawing. Exhibiting at the Society of Artists in 1768 and regularly at the Royal Academy from 1769 to 1806, he was elected ARA in 1772 and RA in 1788, when he became Crayon Painter to King George III and to George, Prince of Wales. He painted occasionally in oil but the main body of his work, hundreds of portraits and a large number of “fancy pictures” depicting children with animals, is in pastel. Given his royal patronage he attracted a large and fashionable following.
With thanks to Neil Jeffares for his help in the cataloguing of this work.