George Romney and his Art. By Hilda Gamlin. (Swan Sonnenschein
and Co.)—Mrs. Gamlin, having done her best for her client, Lady Hamilton, finds what we must confess to be a more hopeful subject in George Romney. It is barely possible that injustice may have been done to the beautiful Emma ; it is quite certain that Romney's genius fell for a time into unmerited neglect, and that it never, during his lifetime, met with the appreciation which it deserved. Mrk Gamlin traces his career from its beginning to its end with careful and sympathetic industry. Romney was the son of a Cumberland " statesman." His taste for art early attracted attention ; he was apprenticed to a wandering artist, who did little for him beyond making him mix colours. An early marriage somewhat hampered him, and he was glad to get any prices that were available. Twenty figure- pieces and landscapes (eight of them being original, the rest copies) were raffied for at prices varying from £8 8s. to 5s. The first prize was " King Lear, Awakened by his Daughter Cordelia," valued at eight guineas. Years afterwards it was sold for 5s. at a broker's shop in Kensington. In 1762, leaving his wife and children in the North, Romney went to seek his fortune in London. He won a prize in a competition for historical pictures, but seems not to have got his rights. Mrs. Gamlin•remarks :— "The life-long animus which existed between Reynolds and Romney is said to date from this exhibition, as Romney felt that Reynolds had much to do with reversing the decision against him, a fact which his sensitive nature could never obliterate,"—a sentence which is about as obscure as anything within our experience. A journey to France followed. By degrees he came into plenty of occupation as a portrait-painter ; but his work never realised the prices it deserved. It must be remembered, however, that even the more successful Reynolds was content with what third-rate artists nowadays would hardly accept. Reynolds never received more than £120 for a whole-length. Recently Lord Cathcart refused one hundr;d times this amount for one of his whole-lengths. But it was at the sale after Romney's death (in 1807) that the latter's reputation sank to its lowest. Here are some of the prices realised :—Mrs. Robinson (" Perdita "), 16s.; Lady Charlotte Campbell, 15s.; Miss Gunning, 10s. 6d. ; Tickell, 7s. ; Mrs. Siddons, .64 6s. The volume is largely illustrated with reproductions of some of Romney's most charming portraits.
Previous page
