Romney, George. [Drawings and sketches]

Folger bibliographic ID: 259067
Folger call number: ART Vol. c58
Folger holdings ID: 342320

General notes

Artist: Romney is known mostly as a popular 18th century portrait painter who rarely executed subject paintings. The few paintings of an historical nature completed by Romney were not well received. It has been noted by Romney's biographers, however, that his true passion was for historical painting, which he considered to be the far greater art form. The drawings in this collection are mostly designs from historical subjects. The Folger collection represents approximately 10% of the existing sketches by Romney, the 2nd largest collection of Romney drawings in the United States History: Drawings may be dated from the mid-1770's to the mid-1790's with most dating between 1786-1793. Many drawings may be identified with paintings Romney completed or intended to complete and several of the drawings are closely related to items in other collections. Yvonne Dixon's dissertation on the Folger Romney drawings gives a complete overview of the collection as well as a detailed description of each individual item. Dixon relates the drawings to other Romney collections and identifies them in the historical context of Romney's painting. The user of this record is referred to Dixon's dissertation for a complete catalog of the Folger Romney drawings (FSL call no. ND 497 R7 D5). Folger has 4 oil paintins attributed to Romney: The infant Shakespeare attended by Nature and the Passions, Macbeth and the Witches, Lady Hamilton as Titania with Puck and Changeling, and John Henderson as Macbeth Items are contained in 4 small sketchbooks, 1 portfolio, 1 folio volume and 1 atlas folio volume. Complete physical descriptions of the volumes and of the individual items are given in Yvonne Dixon's Catalogue Raisonné of the Drawings of George Romney in the Folger Shakespeare Library (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Maryland, 1977). Since Dixon's catalog was completed ART Flat b6 and ART Flat b7 have been treated by the Folger Conservation Lab, taken apart, each individual sheet encapsulated in mylar and rebound. Some of the sketchbook leaves contain ms. notes, the texts of which Dixon transcribes. Items vary greatly in size and none are signed. (9 of the items are loose, cataloged separately as ART Box R766 no.1 through no.9) Provenance: Dixon notes the provenance for each item in her Catalogue Raisonné. It is her assumption that the Folger drawings were at one time part of the collection of Romney's grandaughter Elizabeth, which was offered for sale to the public by Christies, May 24-25, 1894. Dixon was unable to trace the provenance of ART Box R766 no.1 and 3-8 which were purchased by the Folgers from J & M.L. Tregaskis of London and are listed in their 'Caxton Head' catalog, no.466 for June 18, 1900, as items no.635, 636, and 637. Nor does Dixon note the provenance for R766 no.9 which was purchased from John Anderson, jr., April, 1919. For complete provenance on the rest of the collection see Dixon's catalog Subject: All of the drawings in this collection were originally identified by the booksellers as being of Shakespearean subjects. Dixon has reidentified the subjects of most of the sketches. Many are still noted as illustrations of Shakespeare. Included are scenes from The tempest (the shipwreck scene) ; King Lear (Lear and Cordelia) ; Macbeth (banquet scene and 2 scenes with the witches) ; Henry VI, pt. 2 (Marjorie Jourdain and Bolingbroke conjuring up the Fiend) ; Troilus and Cressida (Cassandra raving) ; Midsummer night's dream (Titania and the fairies) ; and As you like it (2 of the 7 ages of man), as well as designs for Romney's two Shakespearean allegory paintings, The infant Shakespeare attended by Nature and the Passions and the infant Shakespeare nursed by Comedy and Tragedy. Non-Shakespearean subjects identified by Dixon are as follows: a) subjects from Milton (Paradise lost and Paradise regained) and Willaim Hayley (The triumph of temper) ; b) classical subjects (Thetis and her nymphs, Medea contemplating the murder of her children, The witches orgy from Horace, Epoch V, and Initiation of a rustic nymph ; c) biblical and religious subjects (Mater Dolorosa, King Saul and David, Samson overpowered, and Charity and her children ; d) studies of the prison reformer and philanthropist John Howard visiting a prison. There are also some miscellaneous and unidentified subjects as well as a few sketches for portraits This record contains unverified data from old cards and may contain incorrect or incomplete text. Please consult Curator for assistance Portions also available as a digital reproduction

Extended title: [Drawings and sketches] [George Romney]

Horace. Works Hayley, William, 1745-1820. Triumph of temper Howard, John, 1726-1790 Milton, John, 1608-1674. Paradise lost Milton, John, 1608-1674. Paradise regained Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. As you like it Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. Henry VI Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. King Lear Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. Macbeth Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. Midsummer night's dream Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. Tempest Bible

artist: Romney, George, 1734-1802
depiction: Howard, John, 1726-1790
former owner: Haas, Xavier
former owner: Murray, Charles Fairfax, 1849-1919
former owner: Romney, Elizabeth