Frederick Walker (1840-1875)

Photographer: David Wilkie Wynfield (1837–1887)

c.1863-64

Albumen print

8 1/8 x 6 inches (20.7 x 15.2 cm)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery, London, accession no. NPG P84

Photo: © National Portrait Gallery, London.

Reproduced with kind permission. [Click on image to enlarge it, and see commentary below; mouse over the text for links.]

Frederick Walker, Painter and Illustrator

Wynfield as a Painter

Commentary by Dennis T. Lanigan

Wynfield has chosen to portray his friend, an unofficial member of the St. John's Wood Clique, in profile dressed in Renaissance costume with a heavy chain draped round his neck. Mary Stephen Smith, W. F. Yeames's niece, wrote "whilst from Frederick Walker's beautiful profile he evolved a young Florentine painter" (152). Wynfield also did another portrait of Walker full-face wearing the same costume. Walker was one of the leaders of the so-called Idyllic School, and one of the most highly regarded young artists of the time. He was elected an Associate of the Society of Painters in Water Colours in 1864 by a unanimous vote and a full member in 1866. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1871 and undoubtedly would have been elected a full member had he not died young in 1875. His art was greatly admired by many artists of his day.

Bibliography

"Frederic Walker." National Portrait Gallery, London. Web. 14 December 2023.

Hacking, Juliet. Princes of Victorian Bohemia. London: Prestel, 2000. 19 and 86.

Stephen Smith, Mary H. Art And Anecdote. Recollections of William Frederick Yeames, R.A. London: Hutchinson & Co. Ltd., 1927.

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Created 14 December 2023