Sir David Wilkie Letters: Finding Aid mssHM 21042-21094
Gayle M. Richardson
The Huntington Library
November 2023
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Sir David Wilkie letters
Creator:
Wilkie, David, Sir, 1785-1841
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 21042-21094
Physical Description:
1.2 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1815-1836
Abstract: A collection of letters related to the
English painter Sir David Wilkie.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
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[Identification of item]. Sir David Wilkie letters, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Mark P. Robinson sale, February 1918.
David Wilkie (1785-1841) was a genre and portrait painter who gained enormous popularity in
his own lifetime through his renderings of rural life and people. Wilkie was born in
Scotland and developed a love of art at a very young age. Two of Wilkie's paintings that
exemplify his focus on rural subjects are Pitlessie Fair (1804) and Chelsea Pensioners
Reading the Gazette of the Battle of Waterloo (1822). In the mid-1820s Wilkie's style
underwent a dramatic shift, progressing from his early genre style to one that contained
elements of Romantic boldness. In 1830, Wilkie was appointed painter in ordinary to William
IV, King of England, a job previously held by Sir Thomas Lawrence; he was honored with a
knighthood in 1836. Wilkie traveled to the Holy Land in 1840 and but died during the ship's
return journey. His burial at sea is memorialized in Joseph Mallord William Turner's
painting titled, Peace: Burial at Sea.
The collection contains a series of letters written by Wilkie to his friend and fellow
artist, Abraham Raimbach. Raimbach was an engraver and produced several etchings of Wilkie's
paintings. Some letters in the collection refer to the men's collaborative artistic
endeavors while others discuss art of the period more generally. Subjects addressed within
the letters include the work of Wilkie and Raimbach and the artistic scene of the period.
Individuals mentioned in the letters include: John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford; Sir Francis
Chantrey; Francis Englehart; Benjamin Robert Haydon; Sir Thomas Lawrence; Francis Graham
Moon; John Romney; George Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland; Joseph Mallord
William Turner; and Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.
Processed by Sue Hodson in 1982; in November 2023, Gayle M. Richardson created the finding
aid.
Arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Artists -- Great Britain -- 19th century
Engraving, British -- 19th century
Painting, British -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence)
Bedford, John Russell, Duke
of, 1766-1839
Chantrey, Francis, Sir,
1781-1841
Engleheart, Francis,
1775-1849
Haydon, Benjamin Robert, 1786-1846
Lawrence, Thomas, 1769-1830
Moon, Francis Graham, Sir,
1796-1871
Raimbach, Abraham,
1776-1843
Romney, John,
1786-1863
Sutherland, George Granville
Leveson-Gower, Duke of, 1758-1833
Turner, J. M. W. (Joseph Mallord William), 1775-1851
Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of, 1769-1852
Box 1, Folder 1-54
Sir David Wilkie letters 1815-1836