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GEORGE MORLAND

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GEORGE MORLAND

HIS LIFE AND WORKS

BY

Sir WALTER GILBEY, Bart.

AND

E. D. CUMING

PUBLISHED BY \V

4 SOHO SQUARE

ADAM AND CHARLES H

LONDON • W

BLACK \

MCMVII . . .

Adieu, ill-fated Morland ! Foe to gain,
Curst be each sordid wretch that caused thy pain ;
Spite of detraction, long thy envied name
Shall grace the annals of immortal fame.

William Collins.

Introduction

Some years ago I undertook the pleasurable task of
collecting material relative to the lives and works of
some of the English artists who had made a speciality
of animal painting and portraiture between 1650 and
our own time. The two volumes of Animal Painters of
England, published in 1899, contain no mention of
George Morland : space did not permit the inclusion
of all artists who introduced animals into their pictures,
and it appeared to me that Morland's art occupied a
place by itself. It Is certainly permissible to describe
him as an animal painter, but Morland is much more
than this. We had landscape painters and animal
painters before his day, but It is generally acknow-
ledged that he was the first to demonstrate the homely
beauties of rural life in England. Morland adopted a
line peculiarly his own : very many of his works owe
much, In some cases all, their interest to the domestic
animals he portrayed with such conspicuous ability ;
but for the most part the animals he introduces are
merely incident to the scene he sets before us.

Morland, it may be said, was born in a fortunate
hour : before the dawn of the eighteenth century there

George Morland

was no English art properly so called ; the only painters
of eminence were foreigners from the Low Countries,
Germany, France, and Spain. These laid the founda-
tions of art education in this country : they established
schools of a kind, and gave English youths of promise
instruction ; but for half a century or more, say until
1750, art in England was practically in the hands of
aliens.

Then came a very remarkable succession of English
painters who reached the first rank : Reynolds born in
1723, Stubbs 1724, Gainsborough 1729, Romney 1734,
Raeburn 1756, Morland 1763, Crome 1769, Turner
1775, Constable 1776 ; other names might be added,
but those given suffice to show that the birth of English
art took place during the latter half of the eighteenth
century. Reynolds and Romney were essentially
portrait painters ; Gainsborough, though his fame
rests upon his portraits, was also a landscape painter,
and on occasion portrayed animals with marked success.
Raeburn, sometimes called " the Scottish Reynolds,"
was a portrait painter ; Crome, Turner, and Constable
were landscape painters.

To these men and some of their contemporaries was
due the awakening of the artistic sense in England.
True, at an earlier period painters had often been
employed to adorn the ceilings and panelled walls of
wealthy men's houses by the exercise of their talents ;
but the market for pictures was exceedingly limited.
It is curiously significant of the taste of an earlier age,
that the earliest demand for English paintings was in

Introduction

the direction of works representing animals. About
the year 1775, when George Stubbs, R.A., was receiving
as much as 100 guineas for the likeness of a race-
horse, Sir Joshua Reynolds was painting heads for 35
guineas, three-quarter length portraits for 70 guineas,
and full-length pictures for 150 guineas.

The preference for animal pictures was in some
measure passing away when George Morland began
to make his mark ; but the wonderful skill, fidelity,
and insight with which he portrayed horses, donkeys,
swine, dogs, and other familiar animals, must have done
much to popularise his art. When he began life on
his own account at Margate, it was as a painter of
portraits ; and we have the strong approval Reynolds
and Romney bestowed upon his earlier work to show
that, had he adhered to this department of art, he
must have reached success. But his tastes lay in
other directions, and when he fairly settled down to
his life-work, he struck out a line entirely original and
entirely his own. England had landscape painters ;
she had artists who represented interiors ; she had
painters of animals ; but she had not, and never had
had, an artist who combined these "schools" and
invested his work with the singular charm of rusticity.
Morland's world had been educated in readiness for
him ; it had been taught to recognise genius, and it
could appreciate novelty. Morland had genius, and if
he was not actually a pioneer in the artistic direction
he adopted, his pictures of English rural life had an
individuality entirely their own. Nothing quite like

George Morland

his scenes of peasant and country life had ever been
seen before.

Perhaps another quality of Morland's art may have
contributed to its popularity ; it was above all things
English ; it is quite impossible to mistake Morland's
men and women for other than English men and
women, or his scenes for scenes outside England.

And even as Morland had no predecessor, he had
no successor. Sir David Wilkie is the only English
painter who can be said to have carried on the Morland
tradition or to have belonged to the Morland school ;
and there are vital differences between the art of
Morland and the art of Wilkie. It is, indeed, quite
wrong to write of " the Morland school," for there
was no such school : the master had his imitators
and copyists by the score ; but, despite the enormous
popularity of his works, he founded no school. He
stood alone as a painter of peasant and humble life,
and the field he vacated has never been seriously taken
up again. In our own time have been several painters
who trench upon the ground Morland made his own ;
during his lifetime, and ever since, have been painters
who treated subjects similar to those which occasionally
engaged Morland's brush, such as sport, shipwreck, and
child-life ; but the typical Morland, the Morland of
the farmyard, of the wayside inn, of the cottage door,
remains unrivalled and unchallenged.

WALTER GILBEY.

Elsenham Hall,
July 1907.

Contents

CHAPTER I

The artist's descent from Sir Samuel Morland — His grandfather, George
Henry Morland — His father, Henry Robert Morland — Henry Robert
Morland as painter — As engraver and art-dealer— His financial
difficulties — Frequent changes of residence — Personal character — The
artist's mother ...... Page i

CHAPTER II

Birth of George Morland— Early evidence of genius — Education — Method
of upbringing — First works exhibited when ten years old — Apprenticed
to his father — Work exacted of him as an apprentice— Encouraged by
Sir Joshua Reynolds — Obliged to produced pictures to meet publisher's
tastes — His engaging manner — Taste for music — Strictness of his
father's rule — Untrustworthiness of evidence that he acquired taste
tor drink as a lad ..... Page 1 1

CHAPTER III

Morland's Sunday walks — Remarkable memory for scenery — Develops
taste for society of fast women — End of apprenticeship to his father —
Offers of articles made by Mr. Gress and Romney declined — Enters
Royal Academy Schools — Rarity of his attendance — Mode of life in
early manhood — His trip to Gravesend, Chatham, and the Nore —
Disinclination to leave home .... Page 24

ix b

George Morland

CHAPTER IV

Entrapped by an Irish picture-dealer — Life in the Martlett's Court attic —
Works executed for the dealer — Invitation to Margate received from
Mrs. Hill — Leaves Martlett's Court secretlj' — Personality and taste in
dress at this period — -Settles at Margate at Mrs. Hill's house — Falls in
love with Mrs. Hill's maid — Dismissal of the maid — Morland leaves
Mrs. Hill's house — Visits London — Returns to Margate and takes
rooms in the same house as Mr. Sherborne — Friendship with Mr.
Sherborne — Mode of life as described in letter to Philip Dawe — Little
recorded of work done at Margate — Acquires taste for drink Page 34

CHAPTER V

Morland as a jockey — Sidelights on provincial race-meetings of the time —
The artist and his friends seek vengeance on the roughs — Indecision
about inarriage to Jenny — Life at Margate — Pictures painted at
Margate — Visits St. Omer with Mrs. Hill — Pressed to stay at St. Omer
and paint portraits — Appreciation of advantages of life in France —
Returns to Margate for the winter . . . Page 46

CHAPTER VI

Returns to London — Decides to break off his engagement — Method of
doing it — Fresh entanglement and escape — Becomes intimate with the
Wards — Takes up residence at Kensal Green — Falls in love with Ann
Ward — Marriage — William Ward marries Maria Morland — Leaves
Kensal Green — Joint establishment in Marylebone — The " Lsetitia "
series — Joint establishment broken up — The Morlands in Great
Portland Street — Fair promise for the future — Move to Camden
Town — Morland's love of children — A still-born child — Change in
the artist's habits — Affects public-houses — Moves to Warren Place —
Takes Irwin into his house — Irw in as salesman — Morland's carelessness
in money matters ..... Page 56

X

Contents

CHAPTER VII

Morland turns attention to pictures of child-life — Great success of such
Horks — Brooks, the shoemaker, becomes the painter's factotum —
Jealousy between Brooks and Irwin — Morland becomes head constable
of the St. Pancras Ward — His unfitness for the office— Duties of the
position turned to artistic account — " The Deserter " series of pictures
— Morland's industry at this time — Powers of concentration — Method
of procuring models — "Slave Trade" pictures exhibited in the Royal
Academy — Success of engravings of child-pictures on the Continent —
Morland as host — Runs into debt — Renounces coach travel for hired
saddle-horses — Country expeditions . . Page 69

CHAPTER VIII

Increasing indifference to debt — Indebtedness to Irwin's brother— Severs
connection with Irwin — Fears of arrest — Leaves Warren Place — Takes
lodgings within the "verge of the Court" — Expedients suggested to
relieve him — Letter of licence procured by Mr. Wedd — Settles in
Leicester Street — Paints for private individuals — Turns attention to
scenes of rural life — "Gypsies kindling a Fire" — Rapidity of
execution — Increasing fame — Declines to paint for the Prince of
Wales — Frequent changes of residence in 1790 — Settles at Paddington
— Meets his brother Henry — His pupils, David Brown, Thomas Hand,
and Tanner — Devotion to Morland of Brown and Tanner — Brown's
purchases of pictures .... Page 81

CHAPTER IX

Recklessness in money matters — Craze for pugilism — His boxing associates
— Joe Ward — The Duke of Hamilton — Extravagance in horseflesh —
Moves to Winchester Road — Meets Hassell — Riotous mode of living
— Success of "The Farmer's Stable" — Example of rapid work —
Wasteful habits — Country excursions made to avoid creditors —
Unhappy domestic life — Questionable pecuniary transaction — Obliged
to leave Paddington — Debts amount to ;C370o — Goes into hiding in
Leicestershire — Friendship with Mr. Lorrain Smith — Another letter
of licence procured — Morland to pay £iio per month — Arrange-
ments made under which he goes to reside in Charlotte Street, Fitzroy
Square ....... Page 95

xi b I

George Morland

CHAPTER X

Takes up residence in Charlotte Street — Prices obtained for pictures —
Creditors' expectations disappointed — Morland's susceptibility to
flattery the secret of his choice of friends — Quarrel with Le\-i, the
colourman — Dealings with Tupman, the watchmaker — Pictures
exhibited at the Royal Academy of 1792 — Characteristic excursion to
Derbv — Example of Morland's thoughtless impetuosity — Impatience
of reproof — Cnreliabilitv — Hasseli's stratagem to secure fulfilment of a
promise — A third letter of licence — Orme's "Morland Gallery" —
Morland's preference for the North Road in times of trouble — Mode
of life while in the country — Return to London Page 110

CHAPTER XI

A fourth letter of licence — Difficulties with Mr. Dean overcome — Mor-
land's association with gipsies — Threatens to engrave his own
pictures — His singular fescination — Method of securing retreat from
his studies — Hiding in Chelsea — Betrayed by a friend — Hides in Lam-
beth— Leaves Lambeth for East Sheen — Daily habits — A day's " bub "
at Brighton — Inconsistencies — New arrangement with creditors —
Leaves East Sheen — Arrest at Queen Anne Street, East — Lodges with
Mr. Grozer — Leaves Mr. Grozer — Frightened out of the Minories —
Goes to his mother-in-law in Kentish Town — Further dodging of
creditors ...... Page 124

CHAPTER XII

A fifth letter of licence procured — The Methodist cobbler at Newington —
Death of Henrj- Roben Morland — George refuses to claim the
baronetcy — Takes up residence at Hackney — Good work done — Sus-
pected of bank-note forgerj- — Visit of the police — Flight of Morland
— Compensation obtained from Bank of England — Leaves Hackney
— Residence with Mr. Merle in Leadenhall Street — Falls into in-
temperate habits — Consults Dr. Hunter concerning his health — Leaves
Mr. Merle's house for lodgings in Fountain Place, City Road —
Leaves Fountain Place for his brother's house in Dean Street — Visit to
Serjeant Cochill's — Continued demand for engraWngs of Morland's
works ...... Page 138

xii

Contents

CHAPTER XIII

Morland and his wife leave London for Dr. Lynn's cottage at Cowes, I.W.
— Evidence that this was not his first visit thereto — .\larm of bailiffs —
Prompt action by Henrj- Morland — Flight to Yarmouth — Takes up
residence at Freshwater Gate — Dr. Lynn endeavours to procure
pictures — The Newport doctor's low opinion of Morland's sketches —
Morland's mode of life in the Wight — State of public feeling in 1799
— Morland's proceedings lead to his arrest as a French spy — Extra-
ordinary meanings read into pictures— Release of the artist — Travels
in the Island — Pictures painted there . Page 149

CHAPTER XIV

Return to London — Procures his own arrest at the hands of friendly
creditors — Committed to King's Bench Prison — Granted " The Rules "
— Takes a house in Lambeth Road — Work while residing there —
Industrj- during his last years — Extravagance in his household— The
"Knights of the Palette" — -"Sir" George Morland elected President
— Pavs Serjeant Cochill's fee with a picture — Procures release under
41 Geo. IIL in 1801 — Continues to reside in Lambeth Road — Leaves
in 1802 and goes to the Black Bull, Highgate — Quarrels with the land-
lord and goes to his brother's house in Dean Street Page 160

CHAPTER XV

Temporarily weaned from over-indulgence at Dean Street — Collins intro-
duces his son — Leaves Dean Street — Work while at Mr. Donatty's —
Anxiety of Morland's intimates to induce him to reside with them —
Visits of Morland to his wife at Paddington — Failure ot nerve and
physical debility increase — Gives way still further to drink — Quarrels
with Henr)- — Method of clothing himself — Leaves Rolls Buildings —
Relapses into intemperate habits — His appearance at this period — His
resentment when pressed to work — Collins' attempt to induce the
painter to live with him — Arrested — Refuses aid from friends — Fatal
seizure — Death — Presentiment shared by Morland and his wife — Death
of Mrs. Morland ..... Page 173

xiii

George Morland

CHAPTER XVI

Anecdotes illustrative of the artist's character — Resentment at insinuation
that he was not a fit companion for gentlemen — Chagrin at interview
with tinman and chimney-sweep — Sensitiveness to lack of courtesy —
Shame when humble act]uaintance suffered by his default — Indifference
to sport as such — Love of practical joking — Examples of his school-
boy humour — Love of caricaturing — Of dressing and playing the part
of a groom — Smart appearance in horsey attire — Temperate till 1787
— Activity of his life enabled him to throw off effects of drink — Sober
and dissipated by turns — Surrender to drink dates from his detention
in the Rules of King's Bench— Character as son — As husband — Love
of children ...... Page 187

CHAPTER XVII

Influence of Francis Wheatley, R.A., on Morland's style — Of George
Stubbs, R. A. — Of Gainsborough — Joseph Wright of Derby — Richard
Wilson — Hogarth — Keynotes of Morland's art — Supposed lack of
virility in Morland's figures of men — Sameness of his young women —
Superiority of his children — Exceptional skill in painting horses —
Preference for painting work-horses — Affection for painting greys
— Rarity of well-bred horses in his works — His asses — Cattle-painting
— Calves far more frequently painted than cows — Sheep often de-
fective— Rarity of lambs in his pictures — Occasional occurrence of
goats — His dogs — Fondness for painting pigs — His rabbits — Guinea-
pigs — Other animals — Superiority of his human figures in restful
attitudes ...... Page 199

CHAPTER XVIII

Morland's methods — George Dawe as critic — Morland's indifference to art
education — Preference for study of nature — Never made complete
sketches for pictures — Excellence of composition — Simplicity of mode
of execution — Care in choice of colours — Landseer's taste tor experi-
ments with colours — Power of execution — Landseer's rapidity of
execution — Morland's avoidance of foreshortening — Variety of his
scenes — Mode of lighting interiors — Accurate arrangement of acces-
sories in stable pictures — Prevalence of sombre hues — Harmony of
colours in his works — Increase of value of Morland's works — His
output ...... Page 211

xiv

Contents

CHAPTER XIX

Engravers of Morland's works — William Ward responsible for the largest
number — James Ward — John Raphael Smith — Samuel William
Reynolds — Thomas Rowlandson — Joshua Kirby Baldrey — George
Keating — Joseph Grozer — Philip Dawe — James Fittler — John Dean
— Thomas Williamson — John Young — John Scott — Thomas Vivares
— A. Suntach — Thomas Gaugain — Superiority of WiUiam Ward's
mezzotints — J. R. Smith also a skilful interpreter — J. R. Smith as
publisher — John Harris — D. Orme and Co. — W. Dickinson — High
prices obtained for engravings after Morland . . Page 222

CHAPTER XX

Increase in value of Morland's pictures during recent years — Diversity
in prices obtained — Popularity of "Lastitia" series and "Dancing
Dogs" — Works sold at Christies' since 1901 . . Page 234

APPENDICES

I. The Society of Artists ..... 243
II. Chronological Catalogue of Engravings, Etchings,

ETC., AFTER GeORGE MoRLAND .... 24.6

III. Engravings after Paintings, or Sketches, by George

Morland, in the British Museum . . 264

IV. Works exhibited in the Royal Academy . . 285
INDEX ........ 289

XV

List of Illustrations

1. Confidences ....

2. George Morland, from a water-

colour drawing by Thomas
Rowlandson

3. Idleness ....

4. Diligence ....

5. Belinda, Billet Doux

6. Sand Carting ....

7. Constancy ....

8. Justice ; or, The Merciless

Bailiff ....

9. The Pledge of Love

10. Winter : Cattle

11. Caroline of Lichtfeld

12. The Effects of Youthful

Extravagance and Idleness

13. The Dipping Well

14. Children Playing at Soldiers

15. Boys Robbing an Orchard

16. The Deserter's Farewell .

xvii

Owner of Original.
Mrs. Curl Meyer Frontispiece

FACING

From the Original in the page
British Museum . \

Sir Edwara Tennant,

Bart. ... A

T. y. Barratt, Esg. . 16

Sir Walter Gilbe-i, Bart. 22

T. y. Barratt, Esq. . 34

Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart. 38

T. y. Barratt, Esq. . 44

Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart. 48

T. y. Barratt, Esq. . 52

Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart. 58

" „ 64
Sir Edzvard Tennant,

Bart. ... 68

.. „ 72

Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart. 74

George Morland

FACING
PAGE

17. The Deserter Pardoned

Owner of Original.

Barrel Lezvis^ Esq. . 78

18.

The Deserter Pardoned,

from

a coloured engraving
lished 1 79 1

pub-

From a Print in the
possession of Messrs.
Thos. Agnew l£ Sons

80

•9-

Pheasant Shooting .

Sir lV,ilter Gi/bey, Btirt.

84

20.

Partridge Shooting .

11 11

90

21.

Ducic Shooting

11 11

92

22.

The Fox Inn .

11 11

96

23-

Gipsy Encampment

1» 11

102

24..

Gathering Sticks

51 >1

108

25.

Morning ; or, The Benevolent
Sportsman . . . .

J. Eeecham^ Esq,

1 12

26.

Farmyard

T. J. Barratt, Esq. .

118

27.

Gipsy Encampment

S/> W<ilt€r GUbey, Bart,

124

28.

Gipsies in a Wood .

»» »»

130

29.

The Woodman

7- Beecham, Esq.

134

30.

A Rocky Coast Scene,
Fishermen

with

Messrs. Thos. Agnew
y Sons .

.38

3'

Harrowing

)» 11

142

32

Feeding Time

W. Locke tt Agnetv, Esq.

150

33

Smugglers, Isle of Wight

Messrs. Thos. Agnew
y Sons .

156

34-

35-

36.

37-
38.

39-

Post-Boys and Horses Refresh-
ing .

Evening ; or. The
Return

The Dram

Winter : Skating
The Cottage Door
The Weary Sportsman

Sir M\i/ter Giliey, Biirt. 1 60

Post-Boy's

Lord Swaythling

Sir Walter Gi/bey, Bart.

162
166

170

174
180

List of Illustrations

4.0. Innocence Alarm'd ; or, The

Flash in the Pan

4.1. Boy Tending Sheep

42. The Wreckers

43. Death of the Fox .

44. Storm Coming on .

45. Interior of a Stable : Playing

Cards

46. Landscape with Gipsies .

47. The Door of a Village Inn

48. Morning ; or. The Higglers

Preparing for Market .

49. Setters ....

50. The Fisherman's Cottage

Owner of Original.
Sir IValter GUbey, Burt.

Messrs. Ihos. Agnevi
y Sons .

W. Lockett Agnew, Esq.

Barnet Lewis., Esq.

Sir IValter Gilbey, Bart.

Messrs. Thos. Agnew
y Sons .

FACING
PAGE

192
196
202
206

2 10

216
224

230

238

XIX

GEORGE MORLAND
From a IVater-Colour Draiving by Thomas Rmulandson in the British Museum.

GEORGE MORLAND
From a water-colour drawing by Thomas Rowlandson in the British Mnseuni.

GEORGE MORLAND

HIS LIFE AND WORKS

CHAPTER I

It is stated that George Morland traced his descent
from the famous diplomat and mechanic Sir Samuel
Morland, who flourished during the Commonwealth
and the reigns of Charles II. and James II., but
positive proof of this has not been discovered. The
later biographers of the artist base the assertion on
passages in the works of two earlier writers. Dawe,*
referring to the death of Morland's father, which
occurred at the end of 1797, says : —

Soon after this event Morland was advised to claim the
dormant title of Baronet which had been left by Sir Samuel
Morland, ... on whom it had been conferred by Charles
II., and from whom our artist is said to have been lineally
descended, though his father had never assumed the title. On
finding, however, that no emolument was attached to it, but, on
the contrary, that much expense would attend the process of
assuming it, he relinquished the distinction.

^ Life of George Morland, ivith Remarks on His Works. By G. Dawe, 1807.
George Dawe, elected Royal Academician in 1814, portrait painter and
mezzotint engraver, was the son of Philip Dawe the intimate friend of
George Morland.

I I

George Morland

According to Hassell/ the advice to claim the
baronetcy (which had lain dormant since 171 6, the
date of the death of Sir Samuel, second holder of the
dignity) was given Morland by his solicitor, Mr.
Robert Wedd, "who had made all the necessary
enquiries," and assured him that he "was the un-
doubted heir."

The artist's refusal to claim the dignity was not due
to any doubts concerning the success that was likely
to attend the endeavour to do so : in his own words.
Sir George Morland "could sell no more pictures
than plain G. M."; those biographers are probably
right who suggest that he shrank from assumption of
a dignity which might have brought him in contact
with the upper classes of society ; but, as we shall see,
the opportunity for entering his claim to it came at a
particularly inconvenient moment.

Whatever the truth of the story of his descent from
Sir Samuel Morland, his nearer ancestors are of
greater interest to us. George Morland was the third
generation of an artistic family. Of his grandfather,
George Henry Morland, nothing definite is known
beyond the fact that in the year 1760 he received a
grant from the Incorporated Society of Authors. He
died about 1789."

' Memoirs of the Life of the late George Morland. By J. Hassell, iSo6.

2 A brief notice in the Dictionary of National Biography ascribes to
George Henry Morland certain pictures ("The Pretty Ballad Singer,"
"The Fair Nun Unveiled," and "The Oyster Woman") which are
undoubtedly the work of his son Henry Robert. This error is pointed
out in the latest (1904) edition of Bryan's Dictionary of Painters, in the
article on Henry Robert Morland.

His Life and Works

The date of the birth of George Henry Morland's
son, Henry Robert, is not accurately known. Pilking-
ton^ says that he died in December 1797, aged about
seventy-three ; Dawe gives November 1797 as the
month of his death, and adds that he was thus eighty-
five years old. The character and career of Henry
Robert Morland deserve some notice, as the defects
which contributed to his failure in life were inherited
in an intensified form by his brilliant son, while the
work in which he engaged produced results in shaping
the tastes of George.

Hassell, by way of excusing the moderate success
of Henry Robert Morland, says that he was not
originally intended to adopt art as a profession ; but
that, having in the earlier part of his life embarked in
speculations "injurious and even ruinous," he was
obliged to make that a means of livelihood which he
had previously pursued only as an amusement. If
this account of his adoption of the artistic career be
correct, we find an interesting parallel in the case of
Dean Wolstenholme senior 2 (1755-1 837), who, when
rumed by Chancery proceedings, was compelled to
depend upon his brush for means of livelihood.

It is, however, by no means certain that Hassell's
statement is true. Blagdon,^ a chronicler equally

1 A General Dictionary of Painters. Matthew Pilkington, new edition,
1829.

2 Animal Painters of England, z vols. Sir Walter Gilbey, 1900.

3 Authentic Memoirs of the late George Morland. Francis William
Blagdon, 1806.

George Morland

indulgent, says that " though not a person who could
be literally called independent, he possessed a con-
siderable property which he acquired by the exercise
of his talents as an artist." This seems the more
probable statement ; for it is unlikely that he inherited
property from his father, whose circumstances when he
was advanced in years were such that he obtained
assistance from the Incorporated Society of Artists.
Any money, then, that Henry Robert Morland ever
possessed, was most likely earned by his own exertions
as an artist, and in other transactions.

He was a member of the Association of Artists, who
established (in St. Martin's Lane) the first Academy
in England for drawing from models and from life.
He painted portraits in oil and in crayons, and
exhibited with regularity. Between the years 1760
and 1 79 1 he sent upwards of 118 works to the
exhibitions of the Society of Artists, the Free Society,
and the Royal Academy ' ; thus from about the thirty-
sixth to the sixty-seventh year of his age he was a
constant exhibitor.

If never in the front rank of his profession, he must
at one period of his life have enjoyed some reputation,
for he executed a portrait of George 1 11.,^ which was
engraved by Houston. This work was painted about
the year 1760, for the earlier proofs of the engraving
are described as " George, Prince of Wales." The

' See Appendix I.

2 George III. admired high finish and minute care for detail in art ;
and as Henry Robert Morland excelled in these respects his work would
have commended itself to the King.

4

IDLENESS
{Size o/or'uiiual pictiirr \lk x I'A 'melius.)

His Life and Works

portrait of Garrick in the character of Richard III., now
in the Garrick Club, is ascribed by Redgrave ^ to Henry
Robert Morland, but by Hassell to Maria, his daughter.
Portraiture pure and simple, however, is not the
school with which his name is most nearly identified.
" His taste directing him into a faithful delineation of
the narrower walks of domestic scenery, it was never
his fate to enjoy the sweets of his profession." - Two
representative examples of his work are to be seen in
the National Gallery : one shows a " Lady's-Maid Soap-
ing Linen," another " A Lady's-Maid Ironing." These
were said to be portraits of the famous beauties the
Miss Gunnings, but it is more probable that they were
members of his own family whom he painted in humble
guise in accordance with the craze fashionable among
great ladies of the time. These pictures were formerly
the property of Lord Mansfield.

He was fond of portraying figures with their faces
illuminated by artificial light : such are " The Letter
Woman" (1769); a connoisseur examining by the
light of a candle a landscape which is held up for his
inspection by a yawning youth ; a woman " Reading
by a Paper Bell Shade " ; " The Pretty Ballad Singer " ;
a girl lighting her book with a candle in an improvised
paper lantern ; a maid shielding her candle with a
muslin apron ; " The Oyster Woman " opening oysters
on a barrel-head by the light of a lantern ; and a
maid shielding her candle with her hand. " The Fair

' A Dictionary of Artists of the English School. S. Redgrave, 1S74.
2 Hassell.

George Morland

Nun Unmask'd " and " The Beauty Unmask'd "
(companion works) : a picture of a woman hanging
clothes to dry out of a window, and the two " Lady's
Maid " pictures are daylight effects. Many of these
works were engraved by Philip Dawe.

Henry Robert Morland was distinctly clever in his
artificial light effects ; and some of his works have a
quality which we do not find in those of his son.
There is a happy touch of humour in the contrast
between the face of the weary lad and the grave
absorption of the old gentleman who is studying the
picture ; and again in his picture of a boy tickling a
maid who has fallen asleep over the work she was
doing by candle-light. George Morland had humour,
but its artistic expression found vent in caricature.

Henry Robert Morland's failure to " enjoy the
sweets of his profession " was, we find good reason to
think, due much less to his taste for painting domestic
scenes than to the defects of his own character. He
was an artist of undoubted ability, but lacked singleness
of purpose ; either because he could not earn a sufficient
livelihood as a painter or from sheer restlessness, he
turned from one occupation to another. That he
should combine with painting the work of engraving
in line and mezzotint was natural enough : engraving
is a department of art, and was then, as now, im-
portant and remunerative. Henry Robert Morland
was, however, not content to practise as a painter
in oils and crayons and as an engraver. He turned
picture dealer and cleaner ; he published at least one

6

His Life and Works

engraving of a picture of his own ' ; he sold artists'
materials, including crayons which he manufactured
himself; and, enjoying reputation as an excellent
judge of old paintings, he was employed by many
noblemen and others to make purchases for them. It
would seem, too, that he made such purchases on his
own account with the view of reselling the works to
his patrons, for Blagdon states that in such speculation
" he is said to have lost much of the property he had
previously amassed."

The biographers, with one exception,^ agree that
Henry Robert Morland was a man of probity, and
respected by all who knew him. His patrons included,
among others. Lord Grosvenor, Lord Scarsdale and
Lord Fortescue, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir Benjamin
West, John Flaxman, father of the great sculptor,
Garrick, Locke, and Mr. Angerstein, whose collection
of pictures formed the nucleus of the National Gallery.
It is most unlikely that he would have retained the
confidence of his patrons had there ever been ground
for suspecting that he employed his son to copy the
old masters which were entrusted to him to clean, and
palmed off the copies as originals. Collins states that he
was guilty of such practices, mentioning Ruysdael and
Hobbema as painters whose works George was required
to copy ; but he offers no reliable facts to prove the

• A grinning boy in the act of tickling with a hank of thread the nose
of a maid who has fallen asleep over her work ; engraved by Philip Dawe,
published 1772.

2 William Collins, Memoirs of a Painter, 1805.

7

George Morland

truth of his statements, and there is ample reason to
discredit them,

Dawe says that when he sustained the losses
mentioned through imprudent speculations " he still
acquired a handsome income by the exercise of his
abilities as an artist, . . . and his attention was now
wholly directed to his professional occupations." It
is to be observed that the beginning of the period of
Henry Robert Morland's greatest artistic industry, viz.
1760, coincides with the date of the sale of his house,
47 Leicester Fields (now Leicester Square), to Sir
Joshua Reynolds. It is therefore fair to conclude
that he faced his difficulties with courage, and strove
to retrieve his position. His removal from Leicester
Square was no doubt due to financial difficulties, for
on 23rd January 1762 he was made bankrupt.' The
records of the Court show that he then lived in Frith
Street, St. Anne's Parish, Westminster ; he is described
as " painter and dealer in pictures."

His changes of residence after this date were more
frequent than we can reconcile with the appearance of
prosperity. We can trace his movements through
various sources of information. In 1763 he had
removed from Frith Street to the Haymarket ; in
1772 he occupied premises in Woodstock Street, Bond
Street ; in 1779 we find him at 4 Millbank Row ; and

' One of his biographers states that " at least twice he was made
bankrupt." This is a mistake, arising from the fact that in August
1793 a person named Henry Morland, described [London Gazette) as
"of Chapel Street, Lamb's Conduit Street, wine merchant, dealer, and
chapman," was declared insolvent.

8

His Life and Works

in 1780 at 14 Stephen Street, Tottenham Court
Road, where he remained certainly until 1786, as the
catalogue of the Royal Academy Exhibition for that
year shows. Beyond this it is not possible to follow
him.

From the somewhat meagre and contradictory
accounts given by his son's biographers we are
compelled to draw the conclusion that he was either
the victim of very persistent ill-fortune, or that he
suffered from that extraordinary lack of business
aptitude which was so marked a feature of his son's
character. He was, it is said, "esteemed for his
liberality," and perhaps it is correct to assume that
the esteem was felt by those who, as in George's case,
profited by a liberality he had no right to display : in
other words, that Henry Robert Morland was simply
incapable of keeping money when he made it, and
bestowed ill-considered charity on any applicant,
careless of his just liabilities and the claims of his
family. He might well have been lavish to his poorer
acquaintances without in any way losing the respect
and confidence of the wealthy patrons with whom he,
as an artist and art dealer, came in contact.

He was, we are told, a man of amiable disposition,
though reserved in manner ; and if his treatment of
his son appears to have been oppressive, we must
bear in mind that parents of his day were far more
severe with their progeny than those of a century
later.

We may now turn to the artist's mother. James

9 2

George Morland

Ward^ says she was a Frenchwoman, of opposite
character from that of her husband, " and was to me
(if I may use the comparison) like a little strutting
bantam cock. . . . She had a small independent
property, and crowed over her quiet husband most
completely." James Ward's judgment was warped by
prejudice. He ascribed all the defects of George
Morland's character to the fact that the painter's
mother was a Frenchwoman. Dawe, whose father
knew the lady well, gives her, in more sedate language,
an excellent character as a housekeeper : —

The domestic concerns were conducted by Mrs. Morland
with a scrupulous regularity which subjected their children to
more than ordinary restraint, but they were preserved in a state
of uninterrupted health ; and she is herself a remarkable instance
of the effects of exercise and temperance in prolonging activity
and cheerfulness to a late period of life.

Later biographers of George Morland have stated
that his mother was an artist ; but nothing to justify
this assertion occurs in the works of Dawe, Blagdon,
or Hassell. The first-named says definitely that Maria,
one of the three daughters of Henry Robert Morland,
displayed talents which might have given her respectable
rank as an artist, but that she ceased painting when she
married William Ward.

' James Ward made three attempts to write the story of his own life,
and left a quantity of manuscript notes, of which Miss Julia Frankau has
made good use in her work, James IVard, R.A., and H^illiam If^ard, A.R.A.
(1904, Macmillan).

10

DILIGENCE

(Hue o/originot picture 1)1, x 'Jj inches.)

CHAPTER II

George, the eldest of three sons/ was born on the
26th June 1763, in the small house in the Haymarket
whither his father had moved after leaving Frith Street.
Reared as he was amid the works of art which were
sent to Henry Robert Morland to be cleaned or for
sale, it was not surprising that at a very early age he
should have amused himself by attempts to draw ; and
he betrayed his genius even sooner than other painters
who have attained to eminence. Landseer is often
cited as an instance of genius declaring itself in tender
years, inasmuch as he produced pencil drawings whose
promise was unmistakable before he was six years old.

' Henry Robert Morland's other children were : Henry, who, as a boy,
ran away to sea, and returning to England, became acquainted with his
brother George in the earlier years of his married life ; Edward, who also
ran away from home, and was never heard of again ; Maria, who married
William Ward ; Jane, whose name is known to us only by reason of the
fact that she was one of the witnesses who attested the marriage of her
sister at St. Paul's, Hammersmith ; and Sophia. James Ward states that
"Morland had a younger sister who was a loose character. She was
constantly visiting the two families, and was so like my brother's wife
that one was constantly mistaken for the other." With regard to this
slur on the character of Jane or Sophia Morland, it must be borne in mind
that James Ward bore no love for any of the family, and was by no means
remarkable for charity of judgment.

II

George Morland

George Morland when only three, so Blagdon was
assured, drew upon dusty tables figures of men and
horses which arrested his father's attention ; and his
first artistic performance with proper materials showed
the parent that his child possessed gifts of no common
order. This was a drawing of a gentleman's coach
with four horses, and two footmen behind ; it was
made with a piece of broken crayon and a black-lead
pencil which his father had thrown aside.

It has been affirmed that the child's artistic education
was taken in hand before any attempt was made to teach
him to read ; and no doubt the father, discerning his
gifts, was at pains to direct the efforts with which
George amused himself before he was six years old.
From the age of four to six he drew pictures, examples
of which Henry Robert Morland, with the pardonable
pride of a father, showed at the meetings of the
Association of Artists in St. Martin's Lane. These
drawings, we are told by Hassell, would have "reflected
lustre on youths of greater maturity who had even
been in the constant habit of studying the arts as a
profession." Whatever their merit, there can be no
doubt that the admiration with which these precocious
endeavours were received by his friends confirmed the
father in his intention to cultivate the child's talents
and bring him up to follow his own calling.

George would seem to have been a somewhat
unattractive child. One day when he was only four
years old Benjamin West, the future President of the
Royal Academy, called at the house in the Haymarket

12

His Life and Works

to see Mr. Morland about some pictures, the cleaning
of which had been entrusted to him. The sole
occupant of the studio at the moment was George,
attired in a dirty little shirt and nothing else. Mr.
West tried to draw him into conversation, but failing
to elicit a word in answer, told him he did not
believe he had a tongue ; whereupon George thrust
out his tongue and grinned in the visitor's face.
Mr. Morland appearing in time to witness his
progeny's behaviour, ordered the child out of the room
with a kick, remarking that observation convinced him
that George was of a character so remarkable that he
would either attain to eminence or the gallows. This
anecdote would not be worth repeating from Blagdon's
Memoir, but that it shows the blend of shyness and
audacity which distinguished George Morland when
he arrived at manhood, and led him to shun the society
of his equals in favour of that of post-boys, pugilists,
and hangers-on less reputable. The life he led during
his earlier years, moreover, was well calculated to render
a boy awkward and uncertain of himself

The passion for practical joking which developed
in later years showed itself in the harmless pranks he
used to play as a child. " One kind of frolic of which
he was particularly fond was to draw objects on the
floor that he might enjoy a laugh at those who, deceived
by their resemblance, might stoop to pick them up.
In these attempts he was often so successful as to
impose even on his father, who has been frequently
alarmed at the sight of what he supposed to be his

13

George Morland

most valuable crayons under his feet " (Dawe). He
drew a beetle on the hearth so cleverly that his father
attempted to crush it ; and Blagdon also tells us that
a large spider he drew with charcoal on the ceiling of
the maids' bedroom was so life-like that his mother
tried to sweep it away with a broom when the
frightened servants brought her to look at it. When
he was about seven years old he would amuse himself
by dissecting dead mice, and he acquired such skill in
this occupation that he was able to do it without in-
juring the delicate bones. "We need not attribute this
peculiar amusement to any prompting of precocious
genius to gain an insight into the anatomy of the mouse.
If Dawe is correct in saying that George Morland was
never allowed such toys and means of amusement as
children are usually provided with, the use to which
the boy put dead mice is sufficiently explained, though
the careful handling bestowed on them may indicate
the artistic temperament. The most brilliant dawning
genius must weary of drawing and painting, and may
well seek distraction in any amusement within reach.

Any education George Morland received was given
him at home. Dawe says that he acquired some
superficial knowledge of French and Latin, but doubts
whether this was bestowed upon him by his father,
" tolerable scholar " though he was. It seems much
more likely that the boy was indebted to his French
mother for any acquaintance he gained with her tongue ;
the more so because the father often lamented the time
he himself had lost in acquiring classical knowledge,

14

His Life and Works

and seemed to consider as wasted every hour his son
did not spend at the easel. Holding such opinions,
it Is probable that Henry Robert Morland confined
the Instruction he bestowed upon his son to artistic
matters.

There is no doubt that the boy was kept very
closely at work copying pictures, drawings, and plaster
casts, but we question whether Hassell is strlcdy
accurate when he says that George was subjected to
"close confinement In an upper room In his father's
house, where he was constandy employed In copying —
with scarcely a respite allowed for his meals." So
rigid was his confinement, according to this authority,
that he was cut off entirely from intercourse with boys
of his own age, except as regarded a few lads In the
neighbourhood, with whom he made friends by stealth,
evading his watchful parents. With these friends he
used to seek amusement secretly, finding means to do
so in his pencil. CoUins says that he made a practice,
when his father was absent, of drawing pictures which
he concealed in the drawer of a large colour-box ; and
as he could not carry them openly out of the house, he
used at night to let down from the studio window the
drawer containing sketches to a companion who signalled
his presence on the pavement below and took the
sketches to sell for their joint benefit. CoUIns's account
of the method of smuggling drawings out of the house
is sufficiendy circumstantial ; he says that George
made holes at each corner of the drawer and hung it
on strings like a scale for convenience In lowering it

15

George Morland

from the window. Dawe denies the truth of the state-
ment altogether, on the somewhat insufficient ground
that the boy " had no companions " ; though he admits
that George painted original compositions in his hours
of leisure " to supply himself with pocket-money."
A boy who was kept so closely mewed up that he
never went out of doors alone, whose only recreation
was to walk with his father on Sunday " to view the
new buildings in the vicinity of Tottenham Court "
(Hassell), would hardly have felt the need of pocket-
money or have voluntarily extended his already very
prolonged working hours in order to obtain what he
never had opportunity of spending. Very little know-
ledge of boy nature enables us to accept the story told
by Collins. As a child, George Morland had " much
vivacity of disposition " (Dawe), and had all a boy's love
of mischief, as indicated by those instances which have
been recorded to show his early skill in drawing ; nothing
then is more probable than that he, rebelling against
the rigours of home discipline, should play truant when
he could and smuggle out of the house means to
procure cash.

The drawings thus privately sold were subjects,
"chiefly amorous, from a great variety of authors in
poetry and history " (Dawe) ; which proves that the
boy found time to read numerous poetical and historical
works, if study of these did not form part of the educa-
tion which Hassell states was altogether denied him.

George Morland was only ten years old when his
first works were exhibited. These appear in the Royal

i6

BELINDA, BILLET DOUX

K

His Life and Works

Academy Catalogue of 1773 as "sketches"; from
Dawe we learn that they were " chalk drawings tinted
with crayon, which possessed considerable merit." In
1775 he showed two chalk sketches at the exhibition of
the Free Society of Artists, and in the following year
no fewer than six rural and figure subjects, described
as "stained drawings" ; and in 1777, being then four-
teen years of age, he showed six pencil sketches and a
stained drawing at the exhibition of the Society of
Artists. In 1782 he showed no fewer than twenty-five
pictures, principally landscapes and scenes of country life,
at the exhibitions of the New Society. And thence-
forward, until 1789, when he exhibited nothing, he was
represented every year at one or other of the exhibitions
held by these three bodies.

When about twelve years old he displayed talent for
modelling, and exercised it in making models in clay
of horses, asses, dogs, and other animals. His neatness
of hand was further shown as a model ship-builder.
Blagdon mentions his completion of a model frigate
which he constructed with great attention to detail, his
sole guide being the diagram in an encyclopaedia.

When he reached the age of fourteen, in 1777,
George was bound apprentice to his father. CoUins
states that this was done on the advice of the lad's
mother, who urged the step lest some of George's new
acquaintances should entice him away. The ensuing
years were the hardest of his life. Henry Robert
Morland, actuated by avarice, vanity, or anxiety for his
son's progress, or by all three motives intermingled,

17 3

George Morland

kept him perpetually at work. " His days were
devoted to painting, his summer evenings to reading,
and those of winter to drawing by lamplight." During
this period he painted little from nature ; his principal
employment was to copy landscapes and other pictures
of the Dutch, Flemish, and German schools, also prints
after Vernet's sea-pieces, varying these exercises by de-
signing pictures from the wealth of his own imagination.
Specific mention is made of the numerous copies he
executed of Gainsborough's picture of pigs, and of the
same artist's " Fighting Dogs." ^

Of the latter he made a sketch, and therefrom com-
pleted several paintings : an example of the singularly
retentive memory which stood him in such good stead
in later life. He devoted attention to the study of
anatomy, and made numerous drawings of the skeleton
and muscles ; he also, at a later date, studied George
Stubbs's famous work the Anatomy of the Horse^

' " A Cottage Girl with Young Pigs feeding out of a Pan of Milk "
and "Two Shepherd Boys with their Dogs Fighting."

2 Anatomy of the Horse. This work, in eighteen tables and illustrated
with twenty-four large engra\ed plates, is one of the most remarkable proofs
of artistic industry in existence. George Stubbs had already made his mark
as a horse-painter when he determined to master the anatomy of the
animal, then a "sealed book" alike to art and veterinary surgery. Taking
up his quarters at a farm-house near Horkstow, Lincolnshire, in 1758, he
established a dissecting-room of his own, and proceeded to patiently carry
out with his own hands the long and intricate series of dissections and
drawings which are represented in the Anatomy of the Hone. This
tedious and disagreeable task occupied him for eighteen months. When
his elaborate drawings were completed he could not find a publisher to
give the fruits of his labour to the world, and he was obliged to undertake
the engraving of his own plates in his spare time, a task which delayed

18

His Life and Works

copying the plates in Indian ink and mastering the
names of the bones and muscles.

He copied from small casts of antique statues, and
in this department of his work displayed the wonderful
facility which enabled him to work so rapidly in his
maturer years. "So just was his eye and remarkable
his facility of execution that he began his chalk draw-
ings from plaster casts without previous sketching, and
seldom had occasion to alter : consequently he pro-
duced them with great rapidity " (Dawe).

Sir Joshua Reynolds at this time was at the zenith
of his fame, and the elder Morland showed him examples
of his son's work.^ Sir Joshua was always anxious
to encourage rising talent when it came under his
notice, and not only did he give George admission to
the gallery he had erected in Leicester Square, a
privilege he readily accorded to all promising young
painters, but lent him works of his own which he wished
to copy. The lad, it would seem, found special satis-
faction in studying Sir Joshua's paintings, for he

production of the work for six or seven years. It was eventually published
by subscription in 1766, and may fairly be said to have marked the
beginning of a new era in horse portraiture. Previous to publication of
the Anatomy, artists had drawn the horse from superficial knowledge.
Possession of this work enabled them to master every detail of the animal's
structure. George Morland was an admirable judge of horse-flesh, and took
infinite pains with his pictures of horses. His respect for George Stubbs was
boundless. Hassell says that this artist was " the very god of Morland's
idolatry."

• Ward says that the intimacy which had existed between Reynolds and
the Morlands ceased when Henry Robert Morland failed, Sir Joshua re-
garding bankruptcy as a great disgrace.

19

George Morland

obtained leave from Mr. Angerstein to copy the por-
trait of Garrick between Tragedy and Comedy.^

The pictures, inspired by perusal of poetical and
historical works, which George drew in secret and
smuggled out of the house to be sold for his own
private advantage have been mentioned. He excelled
at work of this description ; and having painted a series
from Spenser's Faerie dueene, his father was so much
struck by them that he at once set him to work on
similar subjects : he found — even as George had found
— that such drawings commanded a ready sale, and
accordingly kept him employed on drawings of this
character, which he disposed of for his own benefit, as
he was entitled to do in his capacity of master.

Hassell says that this kind of work was required of
him contrary to the advice of Sir Joshua Reynolds, who
had formed a high and just opinion of George Mor-
land's abilities, and would have had him devote his

1 Hassell states that Mr. Angerstein wished to overlook the work of
copying this picture in his house at Blackheath ; that George refused to
begin copying at all unless he was promised that nobody should overlook
him while at work, and that he should act as he pleased while in the house ;
and this promise being given, he resisted all persuasion to meet Mr. Anger-
stein or his family, preferring to associate with the domestics, sharing their
meals in the servants' hall. Dawe absolutely denies the truth of this story,
adding, moreover, that George copied the picture not at Blackheath but at
Mr. Angerstein's house in the city. In support of Dawe's denial it may be
worth noticing that the artist, during the first year or two of his freedom,
did not display that dislike to the society of his equals which subsequently
became so marked. Furthermore, he appears to have been accompanied by
his father to Mr. Angerstein's house ; and it is reasonable to suppose that
the paternal authority would have been exercised to make the youth con-
form to the ordinary rules of social life.

20

His Life and Works

talents to the " grand line of study." Money consider-
ations, we need not doubt, influenced the elder Mor-
land in ignoring Reynolds's advice : he was in a chronic
state of impecuniosity : pictures illustrating passages
in Gay's Fables and popular ballads, or even political
caricatures, were eagerly purchased by the publishers ;
and accordingly George was required to spend his time
and talents on the production of such. There is
reason to believe that some hundreds of such pictures
were made by the son and sold by the father during the
apprenticeship of the former : many were engraved, and
the prints sold as readily to the public as the originals
to the publishers. This class of work was not at all
to the young man's taste ; for he would tell sympathetic
friends that they should see how he would paint when
he became his own master. That he found his father's
guidance irksome we can well believe : it is only
necessary to compare the freedom and boldness of the
painting of his pictures when he was released from his
apprenticeship with the careful finish and minute atten-
tion to detail which distinguish the father's handiwork.
The wide difference between the elder Morland's ideas
of art and those of his son is very apparent.

As a young man, George Morland seems to have
been of inquiring disposition : whenever he found
himself in the company of professional men, he en-
deavoured to supplement his book-knowledge, which
from his wide reading must have been tolerably exten-
sive, with the information he could obtain from men
who had practical acquaintance with art and science.

George Morland

Though shy, Dawe says that " there was something so
engaging in his countenance, voice, and manner, which
were modest and respectful, that he everywhere excited
a prepossession in his favour."

His secluded life having led him to depend much
upon his own resources for amusement, he cultivated
music ; and with a good bass voice, mastery of the
violin, piano, and hautboy, he was well able to bear his
part in musical society.

Until he was eighteen years of age,' George Mor-
land was never allowed to spend an evening outside his
parents' house, unless with Philip Dawe, who was
articled to Henry Robert Morland. Philip Dawe,
father of the biographer, was " the only person with
whom his parents would trust him, as they could
rely on his not leaving their son till he had seen him
safe home." This exceeding care may, of course, have
been merely the outcome of the father's anxiety to
safeguard his son from the temptations of town life ;
but on the other hand it is at least permissible to
draw the conclusion that George's escapades became
known to his parents, and they would not trust him
abroad except with somebody upon whom they could
depend.

Collins says that he first acquired a taste for drink
when quite a lad ; that older youths whom he
accompanied to and from the Royal Academy schools
were in the habit of visiting dram-shops on their way,
and induced George to enter with them ; and that

' Dawe.
22

SAND CARTING
Signed, 1791

{Size 0/ origiMd pieHrn ISA x 25 inches.)

His Life and Works

thus he was made acquainted with gin, which he " liked
very much." The truth of this story may be doubted.
In the first place, the register of the Royal Academy
schools does not contain George Morland's name until
the year 1784, when he was twenty-one years old;
proving that if companions did lead him astray they
could not have been Academy students on the way to
and from the schools. Another and much stronger
reason for disbelieving Collins' statement is, there is no
evidence to show that George Morland became addicted
to drink until some time after his marriage ; but, on
the contrary, much to show that it was only after
marriage did he begin to exceed. It need not be
assumed that he was a total abstainer ; but it is clear
from the evidence, direct and indirect, furnished by his
more reliable biographers, that in his younger days he
was not in the habit of drinking to excess.

It has been suggested that the strict supervision
exercised by his parents may have been an outcome
of an early tendency to indulge in drink ; but this
suggestion is sufficiently disproved by the fact that
the system of discipline to which he was subjected
began when he was quite a child, and was never relaxed
until George Morland was old enough to assert him-
self.

23

CHAPTER III

Such was the life led by the artist during his youthful
days. He continued his friendship with Philip Dawe,
in whom he evidently found a congenial companion.
His only recreation, we are told, was a long walk
every Sunday with Mr. Dawe, in course of which the
two visited the most remarkable places in London and
its environs. On these excursions, "his spirits and
limbs, freed from their weekly confinement, obeyed the
impulse of the moment, and he displayed all the in-
dications of being unaccustomed to the government of
himself: wild and void of self-command, his rashness
in tempting danger could only be equalled by his
awkwardness in extricating himself" (Dawe). This
is no more than we should expect of any town-bred
youth when he finds himself clear of the streets ; and
it is to George Morland's credit that his wildness
and want of self- command did not lead him into
scrapes. We hear nothing in this connection of the
taste for spirits, which he might surely have been
able to indulge had he so desired. On the contrary,
Dawe — by no means a lenient critic — says his tastes
were so frugal that a pennyworth of gingerbread

24

George Morland

sufficed him for the whole day. So absorbed was he
in his rural surroundings that he had no care for
anything else.

His powers of observation at this time were only
equalled by his extraordinarily retentive memory.
Little escaped his eye during a twenty-mile walk, and
nothing he noticed was forgotten. He appears never
to have found in these Sunday expeditions oppor-
tunities for sketching from nature : perhaps the
incessant work exacted of him from Monday morning
till Saturday night accounts for his disinclination to use
pencil and sketch-book on his Sunday walks; but
however that may be, he never drew on the 'spot,
depending entirely upon his memory.

So remarkable was this faculty that on one occasion
he produced two drawings of a scene which had
arrested his notice three months before. With Philip
Dawe he had rambled over Blackheath, Shooter's Hill,
and Woolwich Warren, returning through Charlton by
the Sand-Pits and Hanging Wood, the last a place always
admired by Morland as the most romantic spot of any
within an equal distance of London. As they passed the
Sand-Pits, Morland noticed some men digging and load-
ing their donkey-carts. His drawings of the scene so
exactly reproduced it that Mr. Dawe, when he saw
them, could hardly believe that they had not been
made on the spot.

Two works—" The Angler's Repast " and « A Party
Angling"— were doubtless the outcome of scenes noted
by George Dawe on these excursions. They were

25 ■ 4

George Morland

engraved by William Ward, and published in 1780 by
J. R. Smith.

These Sunday walks did not long content George
Morland, who was now approaching manhood ; he
was no longer of an age to be restrained like a child,
and began to follow the dictates of his own inclination.
He renounced Philip Dawe's society for that of " some
favourite mistress," with whom he drove about the
town visiting his friends. Dawe remarks that he never
attempted to conceal these proceedings, and attributes
the open manner of his association with women of the
town to his unconsciousness that there was anything
irregular in doing so. We find it difficult to believe
this : on Dawe's own showing, George Morland's parents
had endeavoured to reconcile him to restraint by
dinning into his ears lurid tales of the dangers attend-
ing fast life in London. He was in the habit of
discussing such matters during their Sunday walks,
as any two young men are likely to do under similar
circumstances ; and we may safely conclude that
Morland's candour about these early amours was due
less to innocence than to indifference to public opinion.
Furthermore, we must bear in mind that Morland
lived in a licentious age. When he drove out on
Sunday with some gay woman he did neither more
nor less than other young men were doing ; he was
" seeing life " after the fashion of the day, and we may
question whether the friends he visited with these
companions were greatly shocked at his proceedings.

Dawe mentions that one of these women " had the

26

His Life and Works

address nearly to persuade him to marry her " ; but
having regard to the facility with which the young man
bestowed and withdrew his affections a few years later,
it seems quite likely that the ardour of wooing was on
his side.

George Morland could not have spent all his leisure
in this fashion. Inasmuch as he was considered the
best horseman at Margate (then a fashionable resort)
when he was twenty-one, he must have been in the
habit of riding regularly while in his teens. On
occasions to which future reference will be made, he
seems to have displayed a measure of skill as a jockey
only possible to a man who was at home in the
saddle.

George Morland's apprenticeship was now drawing
towards its end. Whatever Henry Robert Morland's
failings in regard to his son's upbringing, it cannot be
laid to his charge that he neglected to make opportunities
of bringing the boy's genius to the notice of those who
might help him in his career. Mr. Gress,^ drawing-
master to the Royal Family, expressed a wish to take
him as a pupil ; and no less a painter than Romney ^

■ John Alexander Gress, or Gresse (i 74.1-94), a Swiss by birth,
excelled as a miniature-painter. The Morlands' acquaintance with him
may be traced to the fact that he was a member of the Free Society and
Incorporated Society of Artists.

^ George Romney had reached the height of his fame about this time,
17S2-84, being regarded as the one rival of Reynolds. It is a striking
tribute to the promise George Morland displayed as a portrait-painter that
one of the two foremost portrait-painters of the day should have wished to
secure him as a pupil. Romney's offer confirms Reynolds's advice given a
few years earlier, that the boy should be trained in the " grand line."

27

George Morland

offered to take him as an apprentice for three years
with a salary of ;^300 a year.

To these propositions the young man turned a deaf
ear ; and having regard to the strictness with which he
had been kept during the time he was articled to his
father, his disinclination to renew the ties of apprentice-
ship to any one at the time when the freedom he craved
was within sight is no matter for surprise.

The bonds of restraint were considerably relaxed
when George attained the age of twenty-one, and he
continued to reside with his parents in Stephen Street
for six months. Although he knew that his work com-
manded ready sale and had received abundant proof that
when he elected to begin life on his own account he
would not lack patronage, he hesitated to become his own
master. It is reasonable to think that his unwillingness
to " stand on his own feet " was the natural result of
his upbringing. He had been treated as an irresponsible
child, who could not be trusted out of doors alone, until
he was eighteen years old, and thus could have acquired
none of that independent spirit which enables a young
man reared under wiser and more liberal-minded con-
ditions to rely upon himself.

However this may be, the fact remains that George
remained at home. It was now (1784) that he entered
as a student at the Royal Academy School of Painting,
the course then extending to six years. The register
reveals no more than his name and the circumstance
that he took no prizes ; no record has been kept of the
attendance of students. Dawe states that he attended

28

His Life and Works

the school on three nights only, but occasionally attended
the lectures ; also that the only drawing he ever made
at the Academy schools was one from the statue of
Meleager.'

The slender use he made of the opportunities he
sought at the Royal Academy schools was characteristic
of him. Having no gift of application, he was averse
from steady work of any kind : he gave up the reading
with which he had been used to wile away his leisure
during apprenticeship ; Dawe doubts if he ever owned
a book in his life ; and for a time he neglected the
music in which he had formerly found pleasure. He
seems to have possessed few interests or resources in
himself apart from his easel ; he never took interest in
political or other subjects, and would not tolerate a
companion who took up a newspaper unless there were
something sensational to be read aloud.

According to Dawe, who Is more censorious than
indulgent towards his hero, George Morland at this
period "neglected everything not intimately connected
with some Immediate and amusing object " — the
natural outcome. It may be suggested, of the system of
repression to which he had been subjected during his
youth.

His favourite haunt was the famous Cheshire Cheese
in Russell Court. Here he was In the habit of spending
his evenings, and here he made new acquaintances and
found at least one old friend in the person of Philip

' Meleager, son of CEneus, King of ^tolia, famous in mythology as
slayer of the Calydonian boar.

29

George Morland

Dawe. We are told that he was obliged to submit to
the irksome restraint of keeping the early hours pre-
scribed by his father, and "generally conformed with
tolerable regularity " to them ; but this obligation lay
lightly upon him when in the mood for adventure.

On one occasion he bade good-night to his com-
panions at the Cheshire Cheese about ten o'clock, with
the apparent intention of going home. George, how-
ever, had other objects in view. With no definite
purpose, and, it would seem, acting upon impulse, he
took the hoy^ to Gravesend, arriving about two o'clock
next morning. It was, of course, dark, and he had
never been at Gravesend before. Not knowing where
to seek lodging for the night, he threw in his lot with
a couple of total strangers, — one a carpenter, the other a
ragged sailor, — and with them, " in the utmost terror,"
walked five miles of the way towards Chatham.
Neither of his companions could have been very
attractive, for when they parted Morland was sorely
perplexed to decide which of the pair he should
accompany. He saw danger in the tools carried by
the carpenter, and also in the bludgeon with which the
sailor was armed ; and as he had no particular destina-
tion in view, there was not much to choose between the
men. He elected to go with the sailor to Chatham,
where they arrived before daylight. They went to a

1 A hoy was a small vessel, usually rigged like a sloop, used for carrying
passengers and luggage from one place to another, particularly on the sea-
coast [Chamben's Cyclopadia, 4 vols., 1 787-1 789). There was a regular
service of hoys between Southwark and Gravesend.

30

His Life and Works

public-house, and having gained admittance refreshed
themselves with purl ^ and gin, afterwards sleeping on
benches until dawn.

Morland made friends with his new acquaintance
over their drink, and went with him next day for a trip
to the North Foreland on a small trading vessel
" which according to his account," says Dawe cautiously,
" had nearly been wrecked." Returning to Chatham,
he spent the night in the same public-house, and next
day made his way back to Gravesend, where he arrived
with eighteenpence in his pocket, enough to pay his
fare to London.

As he rarely failed to do in subsequent adventures,
he turned this expedition to account. His habit of
gleaning knowledge from people who knew more of a
subject than he did was exercised to advantage, and he
" brought back such a store of nautical information as
astonished the company " at the Cheshire Cheese.

Gradually he began to drift into ways of life which
were quite at variance with those early hours upon
which his father strove to insist. He had, as has been
already mentioned, been taught that London life was
beset with dangers, and had arrived at an age when he
felt that he must ascertain how much of truth parental
teaching contained. " Unrestrained by fear or virtue,
he indulged every impulse, insomuch that he would
frequent the lowest haunts of vice at all hours of the
night, and, what is most extraordinary, without any

1 Purl was an early morning drink popular in the eastern counties ; it
consisted of beer or ale warmed, and flavoured with some aromatic herb.

31

George Morland

associate ; he seemed to pride himself in doing every-
thing which his parents had represented to him as
pernicious, and the more he could throw off his juvenile
fears the more he thought himself a man" (Dawe).

Any excitement in the shape of a street brawl
attracted him. Once he, with some companions, was
arrested by the watch and spent the rest of the night
in custody, to be dismissed next morning by the
magistrate on the bench. This adventure only furnished
him with food for amusement, and he sought for more
of the same kind.

It does not appear that Morland was guilty of any-
thing worse than recklessness and folly at this period
of his life ; but it was impossible that he could spend
his nights in this fashion and do any justice to his art
by day. His father's control over him was weakening,
and when Morland senior endeavoured to curb his
son's love of nocturnal adventure he only succeeded
in making him seek means to free himself from the
restraints of life at home.

Still he shrank from the risk of depending upon his
own unaided exertions. It is possible that he was
conscious of his own weakness, and knew that if he
started upon an independent career he should neglect
work ; it seems also probable that he had not made up
his mind to which department of art it would be best
to devote himself. As we have seen, he had received
great encouragement to apply his talents to portrait-
painting ; on the other hand, he knew that he could
produce work of a slighter description which com-

32

His Life and Works

manded a ready sale. The event sufficiently proves
that his hesitation to leave home was due to timidity
about facing the world without the certainty of a liveli-
hood however modest ; for when the chance of making
such a livelihood was offered, he embraced the
opportunity and quitted his father's house without
demur. We shall find reasons for concluding; that
Morland senior had no ill-will towards his son ; on
the contrary, that he continued to regard him with
affection : but it must be confessed that evidence to
show George in a favourable light as a son is entirely
wanting.

33

CHAPTER IV

Morland's practice of employing a friend to sell his
drawings has already been mentioned. Dawe says that
the dealer, an Irishman living in Drury Lane, purchased
them in ignorance of the identity of the artist, and paid
a fair price for the pictures ; " but no sooner did the
purchaser become acquainted with the artist than, dis-
covering his ignorance of the world, he bargained for
them at half the former price." The statement bears
out the opinion already expressed that George Morland,
with all his recklessness in street adventure, was timid
and distrustful of himself in business matters ; and the
treatment to which he, for a time, submitted at the hands
of this Irish dealer confirms this view of his character.

None of his biographers mentions the name of the
man, and examination of Lowndes' London Directory for
1784 does not help us. Drury Lane at this period
was principally occupied by dealers in woollen goods
and allied commodities. None of the residents is
described as a picture-dealer, and none has a distinctively
Irish name. Under the circumstances, we must be con-
tent to refer to George Morland's new master as the
Irish dealer.

34

CONSTANCY

(Size of original picture llj x 10 inches.)

George Morland

This man, we are told, used to supervise the work
Morland did for him privately while he still lived in
Stephen Street ; and learning that George was dis-
satisfied with the restraints of home, would have found
little difficulty in persuading him to accept the pro-
position he made. This was that the artist should take
up his residence in quarters provided for him, and there,
a free and independent man, exercise his art exclusively
for his employer.

George Morland fell into the trap, for it was nothing
else ; and leaving his father's house, was installed by
the Irish dealer in an attic in Martlett's Court, Bow
Street, the rent of which was paid for him. He quickly
discovered that he had made a change for the worse.
He found himself condemned to a state of slavery.
Lest he should acquire means of independence, the
Irishman paid him just enough to live upon in the
humblest fashion ; he would let Morland work for
none but himself, and, mindful no doubt that the artist
when at home had contrived to evade his father's super-
intendence and work on his own account, was almost
continuously at his elbow.

His meals were carried up to him by his employer's boy,
and when his dinner was brought, which generally consisted of
six- pennyworth of meat from the cook-shop with a pint of beer,
he would sometimes venture to ask if he might not have a
pennyworth of pudding. He would occasionally solicit for five
shillings. "Blood and oons, man !" the Hibernian would reply,
"d'ye think I am mad or made of money? There is half-a-
crown for you, and you may think yourself very well off with

35

George Morland

that : by you have not done half-a-crown's worth of work

to-day." (Dawe.)

In this condition Morland laboured for some months.
Kept remorselessly at work, he painted so large a
number of pictures that the Irishman was able to fill a
room with them and hold what may be called the first
Morland exhibition, for admission to which he charged
half-a-crown. "The multitude of his labours," says
Dawe, " did not equal their depravity " : in fact, all
the pictures painted for the Irish dealer are said to have
been of a description which " did little credit to artist
or employer." Dawe adds, " It is said that many of
them were added to the private collection made by the late
Lord Grosvenor " ; and Mr. Williamson ' says, " Some
of the works which now belong to the Duke of West-
minster are said to have been painted at this time."

There is reason to doubt whether Morland painted
any works of the character indicated. If there be one
quality more conspicuous than another in aU the vast
number of pictures produced by this artist, it is purity
of motive : it is impossible to find one which displays
anything but perfect chastity of mind, a circumstance
the more noteworthy when we consider the class from
which he chose his boon companions and the coarseness
of the age in which he Hved. If any such pictures ever
were painted and were purchased for Lord Grosvenor's
collection, they are not to be found there now ; the
Duke of Westminster, to whom application for informa-

1 George Morland: His Life and Works. By G. C. Williamson,
1904.

36

His Life and Works

tion on this point was made, kindly writes that there
is no picture of a depraved character by Morland
at Eaton : that the only work by this artist in his
possession is a portrait of Richard, Earl Grosvenor.

If, then, George Morland did consent to prostitute
his art in the fashion suggested, the bondage to which
he submitted at the Irish dealer's hands must have been
as repugnant to him as an artist as it undoubtedly was
to him as a man ; but we may regard it as unlikely
that he did anything of the kind.^

There is another point in connection with this pass-
age in his life which justice to his memory requires
should be made. We hear nothing of indulgence in
drink while he lived in Martlett's Court. Now if this
Irish dealer had had any reason to suppose that the
artist was addicted to drink, he would not surely have
neglected so potent a means of strengthening his hold
over him. It seems only reasonable to suppose that
had Morland exhibited any craving for liquor, so crafty
a man as this employer would have played upon the
weakness of his profitable slave for his own advantage.
At any rate, no confirmed tippler would have submitted
to deprivation of all liquor saving that daily pint of
beer, as Morland did for some weeks at least.'-

' It is only proper to add a note from James Ward's MSS. quoted by
Miss Frankau. He says : " Morland, whilst under my brother's roof, was
chiefly employed in painting obscene pictures, and my brother in engravin-
them." James Ward's iU-wiU towards George Morland, as shown in hit
MSS., is very apparent.

2 The fact that the Royal Academy Exhibition of this year, 1785 included
one painung and six sketches by Morland, described as of 14 Stephen Street,

37

George Morland

How long he might have endured being " brow-
beaten and used like a Turk," to use his own language,
if opportunity of escape had not been put in his way, we
need not conjecture. But even as he had submitted to
the restraints of home until this dealer ensnared him
to drudge for himself, so did he endure the drudgery
of the Irishman's rule until a new employer offered
him work. This was a Mrs. Hill, described as " a lady
of fortune," who lived at Margate. How Morland's
merits were brought to her notice, and how she obtained
his address, we do not know ; but from the fact that
her letter was an invitation to come and paint portraits
of herself and of her friends, it is probable that she
heard of him through Reynolds, Romney, or Mr.
Gress, each of whom had, as we know, a high opinion
of Morland's promise as a portrait-painter.

Here was a chance of escape from the attic in
Martlett's Court, and Morland seized it. Keeping
his own counsel, he wrung from the Irishman as much
money as he could induce that worthy to part with,
locked the attic door, and, either with the object of
concealing his departure as long as possible or to
irritate the employer who was responsible for the
rent, and whom he assuredly had no reason to love,
carried off the key. Then, hiring a horse, he set out
for Margate. This occurred in the summer of 1785.
He wrote to Philip Dawe two days after his arrival at

Rathbone Place, suggests that the painter may have been residing with his
parents up to the time works were sent in for exhibition in April. If this
were the case, his stay in Martlett's Court could not have extended to more
than a couple of months.

38

JUSTICE: OR. THE MERCILESS BAILIFF
(Size of original pictuTe IS x 13| inches.)

His Life and Works

Margate, but omitted to date his letter. A later
missive is dated, and enables us to infer that he left
London in June or early in July.

At this juncture it may be well to glance at George
Morland's personality. He was a man of middle size,
and well built, if we may judge from portraits ; his
forehead was high, " with the frontal veins singularly
apparent when under the influence of passion or intense
thought" ; a somewhat aquiline nose, dark hazel eyes,
full and piercing, and well-formed mouth complete the
picture. His general demeanour was pleasing, and he
quickly made friends among those with whom he was
brought in contact. At this period of his life he was
something of a dandy. Hassell says that "his dress and
appearance were characterised by the most whimsical
display of eccentric and even ridiculous habits —
finical, fantastical, and grotesque rather than natural,
proper, or fashionable, and in the very extreme of
foppish puppyism. His head, when ornamented
agreeably to his own taste, might properly be said
to resemble a snowball, to which was attached, as an
appendage, a short thick tail not unlike a painter's
brush." We may, however, suspect that this biographer
rather exaggerates the case : his dandyism, at all events,
was not carried so far as to make him ridiculous in the
eyes of the people with whom he associated at Margate,
for it is very obvious that he quickly won the goodwill
of all with whom he came in contact.

Arriving at Margate, he took up his quarters with
Mrs. HiU, and wrote to his friends in London that he

39

George Morland

was "comfortably settled, and provided with everything
he could wish for." It was while he resided with this
lady that he addressed to his friend Philip Dawe the
first and perhaps the only descriptive letters he ever
wrote. George Dawe remarks that the negligence of
his disposition is reflected in the inaccuracy of his
spelling ; but it may be remembered that at this
period slipshod spelling was the rule rather than the
exception in the letters of persons who had enjoyed
much greater educational advantages than fell to the
lot of George Morland.

The artist's first letter to his friend Philip Dawe
was written from Dover, whither he had ridden to see
the country ; it contains nothing of any importance.
Morland gives his first impressions of Margate, and
mentions the probability of his visiting France with
Mrs. Hill.

Favourably as his new quarters compared with
those he had left in London, his Bohemian instincts
were averse from the mild restraints imposed upon
him by residence in a lady's house, and he wrote his
friends that he did not believe he should remain long
in it. Dawe observes that " the irregularity of his
conduct entirely frustrated the kind intentions " of
Mrs. Hill : but this was hardly a fair way of stating
the case ; it is clear from Morland's own letter that
while he remained with the lady his behaviour was
orderly enough, and that when he did leave they parted
on excellent terms, Mrs. Hill continuing to show him
many attentions, and giving him, in the current phrase,

40

His Life and Works

" the run of the house." It would be much nearer the
mark to say that the regularity of Mrs. Hill's establish-
ment frustrated her own kind intentions. Nothing
could be clearer than the fact that Morland, with his
love of late hours and congenial company, found
observance of Mrs. Hill's wishes irksome ; though to
his credit he did observe them while he stayed with
her — witness the remark, " As I do not go out of a
night, I have time to do you some more," in the
letter transcribed below, which was written while he
was in her house. There is much in this letter of
interest to the biographer : —

Saturday Night, Margate,
August 13, 1785.

Dawe — Now I have done some little sketches for you ;
and as I do not go out of a night, I have time to do you some
more. I shall be glad if you will answer it [f/V] as soon as
possible, and mention the dimensions more distinct, and if
they must be free from any story ; for I have an excellent
opportunity of drawing some smart women, as there are many
about, and there is one of the sweetest creatures in the house I
lodge that ever was seen by man. She is upwards of six feet
in height, and so extremely handsome that I have fell desperately
in love, and, what is charming, I find it returned. She has not
been long come from Liverpool, and is but seventeen years of age.
... I should certainly marry here [her ?], only as I am a great
favourite of Mrs. H., she has made me promise to go to Paris
this September, and marrying would exclude me entirely from
that . . . besides ... I have a shaking of the hand, and
faUing off very fast (these are not very comfortable symptoms) :
I begin to reflect a little now, but hope it is not too late. I
have smoked but two pipes since my absence. iVIy house for

41 6

George Morland

smoking is the King's Head Inn in High Street, a good pleasant
house — for at high water the sea comes to the very wall of
the house, and if you was to fall out of window must surely
be drowned ; but I seldom use it, by reason the company are
so disagreeable, a parcel of old sleepy fellows.

The girl with whom he had fallen " desperately in
love " was Jenny, Mrs. Hill's lady's-maid. It is prob-
able that Mrs. Hill discovered Morland's philanderings,
for when next we hear of the girl she has left her situa-
tion and is living in London with her brother, at whose
house Morland calls, with a friend, to see her. Mrs.
HiU evidently regarded Morland's tenderness for the
girl as a thing to check in the interests of both parties,
and sent the maid away.

Jenny's departure from Margate and Morland's
departure from Mrs. Hill's seem to have taken place
about the same time. When the girl left, the only
attraction Mrs. Hill's house possessed for him vanished,
as, in his own words, " he could not bear to be stuck
up in the society of her old maids " ; he therefore
brought his stay to an end, and, after a brief visit to
London, the chief purpose of which was to see Jenny,
he returned to Margate, where he found lodgings in a
house part of which was occupied by Mr. Sherborne, a
brother of Lord Digby. This gentleman had artistic
tastes and was musical ; and having heard Morland
perform on the violin one evening, he invited him to
his rooms to play duets. Morland's happy knack of
making friends is referred to by his early biographers,
and his possession of what is now called " personal

42

His Life and Works

magnetism " is manifest in this connection. Mr. Sher-
borne ordered pictures from him, took lessons in draw-
ing, and advanced him money ; and though Morland
treated him with great discourtesy and ingratitude,
Mr. Sherborne continued to court his acquaintance.
Morland, according to Dawe's account, got all he could
from his friend, and when tired of him shunned his
society. The affection would seem to have been all on
the one side, since Morland could not, or professed
inability to, remember the name of the man who invited
him to breakfast every morning ! The following letter
is worth quoting from Dawe : not only does it shed
light on Morland's personal character and tastes at this
period, and testifies to the fact that good relations still
subsisted between Mrs. Hill and himself, it gives us
a glimpse of the life led by young men of leisure at a
fashionable seaside resort in George III.'s time : —

Now I will inform you how I amuse myself: first, I get
up in the morning after being called several times, 'tis generally
about ten o'clock ; then I take a gulp of gin, as I have got
some made me a present ; then I gang me down to breakfast
with a young gentleman, some nobleman's brother, but I forget
the name. I was to find my own breakfast, or to go and break-
fast with Mrs. Hill, but as he invites me, 'tis more convenient
to have it in the house. A four o'clock dinner is sent to me ;
after that comes my hair-dresser ; then dress, and go and take a
little ride upon the sands, if 'tis a fine day, if not fine, why
then I only ride up the town, down Church-field, through Cecil
Square, and into the stable again ; then I drink tea with my
companion and sup at Mrs. Hill's, though these two nights I
have not been out of doors, by reason of it being so very stormy.

43

George Morland

. . . There is plenty of diversion here for the polite world :
such as dancing, coffee houses, bathing houses, playhouses, etc.

About the time he left Mrs. Hill's he learned that
the owner of the horse he had hired to carry him to
Margate was making serious inquiries about it. With
characteristic carelessness he had retained the animal for
his daily ride without a thought of returning it. When
the owner's inquiries reached him he sent the horse
back by a postboy, and his father paid the bill for the
hire, ;^io.

It is to be regretted that Morland did not say more
about the work he had come to do. Mrs. Hill, who
had a very high opinion of his talent as a portrait-
painter, introduced him to her friends and lost no
opportunity of pushing his interests. There is no
record of the portraits he painted during his stay at
Margate, and beyond the fact that he executed one of
Lord Loughborough ' and another of the Master of
the Ceremonies we do not know the names of his
patrons. He boasted, and apparently with good reason,
that he had more business than he could do, and that
among the " first connections " at Margate. He
acknowledged that Mrs. Hill's recommendations stood
him in excellent stead, but we need not doubt that he
owed his success to his own abilities.

It would appear that George Morland first acquired
a taste for drink while at Margate : that morning

' Dawe refers to him as "Mr. Wedderburn, since Lord Loughborough ";
but Mr. Alexander Wedderburn was raised to the peerage in 1780, and
Morland's portrait of him was painted in 1785.

44

THE PLEDGE OF LOVE

His Life and Works

"gulp of gin" to which he refers in the letter quoted
does not accord with habits of strict sobriety, and he
told his friends that he had spoilt the Master of the
Ceremonies' embroidered coat by placing a candle on it
while he was intoxicated. Nevertheless, these lapses
could only have been occasional. After he left Mrs.
Hill's house he was able to go his own way, and we
trace in the way he chose the first indication of that
taste for low society which distinguished him in later
life. We cannot, however, doubt that at this period
of his career he regarded it as a frolic to visit public-
houses with his violin, and play or sing to the company
he might find there.' His preference for the companion-
ship of his social inferiors had certainly not developed
when he was at Margate, for he writes to Dawe (22nd
October) expressing the conviction that " many gentle-
men would give my acquaintance up " if he married
Mrs. Hill's maid. As he was still in love with the
girl, the remark furnishes ample proof that at this time
Morland enjoyed and appreciated the friendship of men
of good social position, and was loth to risk the loss of
it even for the sake of the woman he loved.

' Dawe.

45

CHAPTER V

Our next glimpse of George Morland's life at Margate
is obtained from a letter to his friend Philip Dawe. In
this he describes his experiences as an amateur jockey,
and gives a sufficiently graphic picture of the turbulent
character of the mob brought together by an eighteenth-
century race-meeting. Morland's account of the pro-
ceedings is characteristic : he mentions neither the
names of the men for whom he rode nor those of the
horses ; and as neither the Racing Calendar nor
contemporary local newspapers contain reference to
the meetings it is impossible to supplement the artist's
own account. Such particulars, after all, are of no great
moment ; the chief interest of this letter lies in the
proof it furnishes that Morland's earlier life was not
one of such rigid confinement as some biographers
have assumed : —

You must know I have commenced a new business of jockey
to the races : I was sent for to Mount Pleasant ' by the gentle-
men of the turf to ride a racer for the silver cup, as I am

' Mount Pleasant, or King William's Mount, lies to the east of Minster,
which is five miles south-west of Margate.

46

George Morland

thought to be the best horseman here. I went there and was
weighed, and afterwards dressed in the tight striped jacket and
jockey's cap, and lifted on the horse, led to the start, placed in
the rank and file : three parts of the people out of four laid
great bets that I should win the cup, etc. Then the drums
beat and we started : 'twas a four mile heat and the first three
miles I could not keep the horse behind them, being so spirited
an animal ; by that means he soon exhausted himself and I
soon had the mortification to see them come galloping past me
hissing and laughing, whilst I was spurring his guts out. A
mob of horsemen then gathered round, telling me I could not
ride, which is always the way if you lose the heat ; they began
at last to use their whips, and finding I could not get away, I
directly pulled ofF my jacket, laid hold of the bridle, and offered
battle to the man who began first, though he was big enough
to eat me : several gentlemen rode in, and all the mob turned
over to me, and I was led away in triumph with shouts. But
however I did not fare near so well at Margate races, and was
very near being killed : I rode for a gentleman and won the
heat so completely, that when I came into the starting-post,
the other horses were near half a mile behind me, upon which
near four hundred sailors, smugglers, fishermen, etc., set upon
me with sticks, stones, waggoner's whips, fists, etc., and one
man, an innkeeper here, took me by the thigh and pulled me
off the horse : I could not defend myself : the sounds I heard
all where ; Kill him ! Strip him ! Throw him in the sea !
Cut off his large tail ! and a hundred other sentences rather
worse than the first. I got from them once, and ran into the
booth : some men threw me out amongst the mob again and
I was then worse off than ever : Michiner rode in to me,
dismounted and took me up in his arms, half beat to pieces,
kept crying to the mob to keep back, and that his name was
Michiner and he would notice them : at last a party of light
horsemen and several gentlemen and their servants, some post-
47

George Morland

boys, hairdressers, bakers, and several other people I knew armed
themselves with sticks, etc., and ran in to my assistance, and
brought me a horse, though the mob pressed so hard 'twas long
before I could mount.

Morland was not the man to put up tamely with
such maltreatment. Despite the mauling he had
suffered on the race-course, he went the same evening
to the inn he affected, the King's Head, and met there
" many of my bloods and bucks." After discussion
concerning the reason for the violence of the mob, and
concluding that " a parcel of blackguards who had been
laying sixpences and shillings against Morland's mount
wanted to make it appear 'twas an unfair start," the
assembly drank three crowns' worth of punch and
" then marched out to meet them, or some, if possible."
First they visited a fishing house and found so many
roughs there that though the members of the party
were armed they were put to flight. A sailor pursued
the artist and caught him by the collar, threatening
vengeance. Fortunately for himself, Morland was
armed with a sword-cane, which the sailor did not
detect. Morland found means to draw it, and had very
nearly run him through when his companions came up
and the sailor " got his gruel." The remainder of this
night's campaign was more successful : the innkeeper
who had dragged Morland off his horse was found, and
" he humbly begged pardon, as did most of the rest."
The artist was advised to take legal proceedings against
" one savage fellow who is a sore pest to this town,"
and he entered an action accordingly ; but of this we

48

WINTER: CATTLE
Signed, undated

(Size of original picture UJ X Hi inches.

His Life and Works

hear no more, and it is probable that Morland, with his
usual indifference, let the matter drop.

He was still engaged to Jenny, Mrs. Hill's lady's-
maid ; he received letters from her by every post, and
at the time of the race-meeting wrote to Philip Dawe,
" I shall be joined in three weeks : don't say anything
about the marriage." There is no date to this letter,
but on the 22 nd October his resolve to marry was
weakening ; he had begun to ask himself whether the
step would be judicious, and whether he could make
the sacrifices such a union would involve. He was
just about to start on the long-projected trip to France
with Mrs. Hill, and the letter which follows seems to
indicate the half-formed intention to avoid London on
his return, with the object of breaking off with the
girl.

After reference to a sketch from Voltaire, which he
says was made in the hour and a half at his disposal
to do that and answer a letter just received from Dawe,
he continues : —

We are just ready to set off [from Margate] to Dover, and
get there by tea-time, and set off for Calais at half-past ten
o'clock to-morrow morning on board the packet. As for Jenny,
hut however say nothing about that to anybody : I do not know
what to do about it : if I marry her I am undone, by reason
Mrs. Hill must find it out, it cannot be avoided, her acquaint-
ances in London would inform her of it in France, she would
then throw me aside : besides, many gentlemen would give
my acquaintance up if I perform my promise with her, and
which, as I certainly like her better than any other^ I am
determined to perform after my arrival in London if that should

49 7

George Morland

ever happen. I might marry a lady rather in years, with
money, which I only got off by declaring my aversion to the
matrimonial state.

Indecision could hardly be shown more clearly than
Morland shows it in the foregoing passage. The rest
of the letter is worth quoting as a picture of the
manners of the time : —

Last Monday week, almost everybody in Margate was drunk,
by reason of the Free Masons' Meeting and fox-hunt, and all
my male sitters disappointed me : some sent me word they
were engaged : some not very well : others could not get their
hair dressed, but I found it was one general disorder : this was
next morning. I shall be able to make [paint] many dresses
in France, as we are going to a town of more resort than
Paris, considering 'tis so little away from Calais : there are six
hundred English families in it already : I shall make many
drawings of their inns, etc. The theatres come on very well :
there will soon be three : I went to see the Duenna with the
Medley a pantomime : very fine scenery and dress, with a
tolerable band of music, and the houses crowded every night
they perform. I have just had two tokens of remembrance
sent to me : one a fine gold pin ; the other a handsome pocket-
book, with a silver lock and full of instruments : and t'other day
a remarkable fine patent watch-chain worth about two guineas,
a fine silver pencil-case, and hiding purse, and several dollars.

Remember me to Congress,'^ and if I ever should come back
again I shall have the pleasure of smoking a pipe — but for
reasons, am afraid that will never happen ; farewell, remember
me to them.

So ends the first part of Morland's stay at Margate.

• A smoking club which met at the Cheshire Cheese.
50

His Life and Works

It had been in one respect at least an important period
of his life. He certainly began it in a situation of
some dependence ; but it was a situation which enabled
him to discover that he could dispense with assistance
and stand on his own feet. He felt this after he had
been with Mrs. Hill, for when he came up to London
to see Jenny he " surprised his old companions at the
Cheshire Cheese by entering the room shaking a purse
of guineas, and boasting that he could get as many as
he pleased " (Dawe). He had learned his own powers
and had realised his independence ; and grateful must
the sense have been to him after the bondage of home
and the slavery to which he had submitted at the hands
of the Drury Lane dealer.

By far the greater part of his time at Margate seems
to have been occupied by painting portraits ; and there
can be no doubt that had his preference lain in this
direction he must have made his mark as one of the
first portrait-painters of his day. There are in existence,
however, works from his easel of the imaginative class,
painted at this period. Three of these would seem to
have been inspired by his affection for Jenny : " How
Sweet the Love that Meets Return," "Love and Con-
stancy Rewarded," and " The Lass of Livingstone."
The first and third were engraved in stipple, and
published by T. Gaugain ; the second was engraved
in mezzotint and in aquatint by Philip Dawe, and
published by W. Hinton. It was possibly the popu-
larity which these works attained, through engraving,
that led the artist to abandon portrait -painting in

SI

George Morland

favour of a class of work which appealed to a wider
public.

Of the life George Morland led at Margate there
is little more to be said : he associated, for the most
part, with people of good social standing, with whom
his work as a portrait-painter brought him in contact.
He used to visit public-houses at night, and it is certain
that he exceeded on occasion — witness the remark
in his letter of 13th August 1785 to Philip Dawe : " I
have a shaking of the hand. ... I begin to reflect a
little now, but hope it is not too late " ; also that
morning "gulp of gin" and the mishap with the
Master of Ceremonies' coat. But on the whole the
picture of George Morland we can piece together from
his letters is not an unpleasing one. It is that of a
high-spirited young man enjoying life after the fashion
of his fellows, earning the while enough money to
keep himself in comfort ; esteemed for his abilities
and popular for his personal characteristics. The atmo-
sphere of the society in which he lived is suggested in
that passage of his letter to Philip Dawe which explains
why all his male sitters disappointed him on a certain
occasion, — almost everybody in Margate was drunk :
the artist himself, let it be noted, was one of the few
exceptions. It is ridiculous to argue that because he
was impatient of " the society of Mrs. Hill's old
maids " he disliked that of all respectable people ; but
enough has already been said on this point to disprove
the suggestion of Hassell that he gave up portrait-
painting because " the society of fashionable ladies or

52

CAROLINE OF LICHTFELD

His Life and Works

gentlemen of polished manners was ... an object of
supreme abhorrence," which made every sitting a
matter of " extreme disgust " to him.

We next find Morland with Mrs. Hill at St. Omer,
which at this period was inhabited by a considerable
English colony. He writes to Philip Dawe giving a
vivid description of the discomforts of the rough cross-
ing from Dover to Calais ; which crossing, it is inter-
esting to observe, was " the most amazing quick passage
known these twelve years, 'twas no longer than one
hour and thirty-two minutes from Pier to Pier." Their
first business on arriving at the Hotel d'Angleterre was
to get dry after being drenched on board the packet.
Modern travellers may be interested to know that
although the boat arrived at Calais about half-past two,
they had supper and tea, and " sat up till they sent our
things from the Custom House, and then the fille de
chambre lit me up to bed."

Next morning they set out in a coach and four to
St. Omer, where they arrived soon after three o'clock.
Mrs. Hill had apartments " at the house of M. Petit,
Marchand de Bois, Rue de Commandant vis-a-vis
rh6tel novel d'Angleterre " ; but Morland starts out
after dinner to look for hotels, which he found " in
great plenty." He found many Margate friends in
the town, and was gratified to learn that the reputation
he had made had preceded him. He writes : —

I have very pressing invitations to stay and paint portraits
by many gentlemen and marquisses here : and there are already
upwards of six hundred English families, besides many more

53

George Morland

daily coming, all people of fortune : upon which I have promised
to return as soon as possible,' and I have already many com-
missions to bring with me from England.

Morland was a man of impulse, prone to let the feel-
ing of the moment run away with him. He was about
to leave St. Omer for Calais (by the barge which went
twice a week), and expresses his intention on reaching
England to come to London and give " Congress some
sort of a treat for supper," as when he returned to
France it was doubtful if he ever came to England
again. France he found " such a delightful country ;
no danger of robbing, and travelling very cheap ; and
a person may live very well for thirty pounds per
annum, and many have not more." Another advantage
of residence in France appealed to him, namely, the
cheapness of clothes : " I bought a fine satin waistcoat
yesterday for a quarter price of what it would have
cost in London ; leathern breeches are only half a
guinea per pair, shoes three shillings, cotton stockings
half a crown, worsted stockings are dear and very bad."

His letters show that he was keenly interested in
all he saw during his brief stay in France, and his
letters are both graphic and entertaining ; but for some
reason or another he went no farther than St. Omer,
even omitting to carry out the project of making a

1 It is worth pointing out that this statement goes to disprove that made
by Blagdon in connection with the artist's stay at Margate : to effect that
he neglected his work, that his employers were unable to obtain the por-
traits on which they had advanced money, and retired in disgust leaving
him to return to London with empty pockets and a large cargo of un-
finished canvases.

54

His Life and Works

day's trip to Lille. After staying only a few days at
St. Omer, he returned to Margate ; and there, neglect-
ful of the patrons at St. Omer whose portraits he had
promised to paint on his return, careless of the " many
commissions " he had undertaken to transact in
England, and forgetful of the charms of residence in
France which had caused him to doubt whether he
should ever live again in England, he settled down for
the winter. And, it may be added, never left his
native land again.

Dawe attributes his sudden return to impatience at
absence from his customary companions and entertain-
ments ; but Morland must have known that now
the Margate season was over, neither companions nor
entertainments were to be found at that resort. In
this connection it may be observed that from the time
of his return to England early in November 1785, he
appears to have completely severed acquaintance with
Mrs. Hill and his friends of the Margate season. The
only one of whom we hear again is Mr. Sherborne, who,
Dawe tells us, called upon Morland senior in order to
leave an invitation for George to go and see him.
This invitation was ignored : it was a particularly un-
graceful piece of neglect on the artist's part, as he owed
Mr. Sherborne money, and that gentleman, in seeking
to renew acquaintance, had begged him to dismiss the
recollection of his borrowing transactions altogether.

55

CHAPTER VI

In the spring or early summer of 1786 George
Morland left Margate and returned to London.* He
was tired of portrait-painting, a department of art he
took up solely, it would seem, because Mrs. Hill's in-
vitation to paint portraits offered opportunity of escape
from the slavery of Martlett's Court ; and, his connec-
tion with the lady at an end, he could go his own way.

His father and mother were still living at 14
Stephen Street, Tottenham Court Road, and when
George returned to London he lived occasionally
with them, " depending for subsistence upon adven-
titious employment " (Dawe). One picture from his
easel was exhibited at the Royal Academy of 1786,
namely, " The Flowery Banks of Shannon," and the
address given is that of his father.

His indecision concerning Jenny remained : his
first impulse on his return was to carry out his promise
to marry her, and, it is stated, he went so far as to
have the banns published.^ But as the prospect -of

' Dawe states that Morland's Margate trip (which included the visit to
France) lasted " about a year."

2 Evidence of publication cannot be found.

56

George Morland

marriage drew nearer, he liked it less ; he began " to
reflect seriously on the obstacles to his happiness, and
so insurmountable did they appear, that he was in
great trouble to avoid the intended match." He had
not the hardihood to withdraw frankly from an
engagement which had now endured for nearly a year,
so had recourse to deceit. He took a friend into
confidence, and the friend undertook to help him out
of the difficulty ; between them they arranged that
the brother with whom the girl was living should be
warned that George's health was very indifferent and
his circumstances equally undesirable, — which latter,
at the time, was no doubt true enough, — but that
Morland was willing to carry out his undertaking if
these objections should be overlooked. By a coinci-
dence which, let us hope, was undesigned, the friend
made his call upon Jenny's brother the day on which
Morland had intended to see the girl and settle the
date for their wedding. He told his story ; stated
that George was waiting at Gray's Inn Coffee-house
ready to adhere to his engagement ; and added, as if
it were his own opinion, that the marriage should not
be allowed to take place, for the girl would be thrown
away upon Morland. The scheme succeeded better
than it deserved : the brother went at once to the
Coffee-house, and- told Morland what he thought of
his conduct ; and the matter was at an end.

He was clearly a youth very susceptible to female
charms. Hardly had he freed himself from his
engagement to Jenny than he bestowed his affections

57 8

George Morland

upon another woman in the same rank of life. This
time his choice was a servant girl of whom we know
no more than the fact that her father was a tailor ; he
professed his determination to marry her, and persuaded
a friend to go with him to the father in order to
procure his consent. The friend accompanied him,
but with a different purpose, as during their walk to
the tailor's abode he used all his eloquence to dissuade
Morland from his intention. The artist remained
deaf to his friend's arguments until they were actually
at the tailor's door. Then George's moral courage
failed him : diffidence did what his friend's reasoning
could not do ; shrinking from the interview, he
admitted that his companion's view was right ; he
went no farther than the tailor's doorstep, and came
away saying he should think no more of the girl.

Dawe says it was about this time that George
Morland became acquainted with William Ward. The
famous engraver may, however, have known something
of the young artist, for he had engraved "The Angler's
Repast" six years earlier, in 1780. The Wards lived
at Kensal Green,' at that time a country hamlet far
outside London. George became a frequent visitor at
their house, and before long took lodgings with the
family — consisting of William, his mother, and two
sisters. He proved a very agreeable guest : even

' In the marriage register of St. Paul's, Hammersmith, George Morland
and his bride, and William Ward and his bride, Maria Morland, are in
each case described as " of this hamlet." This description is explained by
the fact that part of the straggling village of Kensal Green was in the
parish of Hammersmith and part In that of Paddington.

58

THE EFFECTS OF YOUTHFUL EXTRAVAGANCE AND IDLENESS
(Size of original picture 29i x 24k ini-hes.)

^^^._

r 1

\ ^^^ ^

m

His Life and Works

James Ward admits that he was " very good-natured,
pleasant, and lively." When his youthful spirits ran
high, William Ward used to say it was only the fire of
genius, and when married he would settle down into a
fine character. " But he did not," adds J. Ward ;
and with gloomy self-complacency he remarks that
Morland's drinking propensities caused him (J. Ward)
to shun liquor throughout his life.

Settled at Kensal Green, Morland applied himself to
work in earnest, stimulated, we may assume, by the
encouragement of William Ward or that of Miss
Ward ; and if some of the pictures he painted at this
time afford any indication of the trend of his thoughts,
he intended to turn over a new leaf and devote himself
seriously to his profession. The first pictures he
produced while lodging with the Wards were two
small canvases entitled "The Idle Mechanic" and
" The Industrious Mechanic " ; these were followed
by "The Idle Laundress" and "The Industrious
Cottager." A moral lesson such as that conveyed by
these pairs of pictures, occasionally appears in the
painter's earlier works ; but, apart from that quality,
these may be regarded as the first of that series of
subjects of the homely and domestic school in which
he excelled.

Passing reference was made above to the possible
encouragement given Morland by Miss Ward. Ann
Ward, according to contemporary biographers, was a
very beautiful girl, and the impressionable artist speedily
fell in love with her. The young couple could have

59

George Morland

lost little time in making up their minds, for they
were married on the 22nd September at Hammersmith
Parish Church. Thus the first nine months of the year
1786 was an eventful period for Morland ; he jilted
one woman ; made such progress in the affection of
another that he was on the point of asking her father's
consent to marry her ; and wooed and wedded a third.

Once married, the painter appears to have settled
down to work industriously : two pictures, "Valentine's
Day" and "The Happy Family," are among those said
to have been painted during the earlier days of his
wedded life.

On the 19th October following, William Ward
married ^ Maria, Morland's sister ; and the two couples
tried the rash experiment of keeping house together.
The long and lonely road which lay between London
and Kensal Green was neither safe nor pleasant for
women to traverse, and accordingly the two young
couples moved to High Street, Marylebone, where
they started a joint establishment. It was during his
residence in High Street that Morland produced his
famous " Laetitia " series of six pictures, illustrating
the fall of a country girl, her desertion, and ultimate
return, penitent, to her parents. Mrs. Morland is said
to have furnished the model for this series of pictures,
as she did for other works painted about this time •^ ;

' Also at St. Paul's, Hammersmith. The next entry in the register after
Morland's is that of William Ward's marriage.

2 " Morland's wife and her sisters were almost his only female models,
hence arose his want of variety in this respect" (Dawe).

60

His Life and Works

and the portraits prove that Ann Morland possessed
both grace and beauty. Concerning the workmanship
of the " Laetitia " series, Dawe considers that

the figures are better drawn than in many of his later produc-
tions. The painting likewise is firmer, and the colouring, in
some respects, superior. . . . He had not adopted any of those
superficial and ostentatious modes of producing an effect by
which the art has been debased, and by which he was himself
misled and ultimately lost.

The joint establishment lasted less than three
months. We need not inquire into the dissensions
which arose and brought about its break-up ; the
arrangement was an impossible one, and the fact that
it lasted as long as it did says much for the amiability
of the four persons concerned. Collins states that the
relations between the two young husbands became so
bitter that they proposed resorting to a sandpit behind
the house and fighting a duel with pistols ; and that
the affair was brought to a conclusion by the interven-
tion of a friend, who induced the duellists to adjourn
with him to a neighbouring public-house, where the
immediate cause of quarrel was forgotten over pipes
and drink.

Whether the joint household did or did not come
to an end in the somewhat melodramatic way described
is not a point of much importance. It did come to
an end, and the Morlands went into lodgings in
Great Pordand Street. Here they remained for some
months. During their stay there, Morland and Collins
generally spent their evenings together, and the

6i

George Morland

biographer says " no man gave fairer promises of
remaining a good husband and a prudent artist."

Mrs. Morland's health rendering a country residence
desirable, the pair left Great Portland Street and moved
to Camden Town, then well outside London : here they
established themselves in a small house with a garden
in Pleasant Passage, " at the back of Mother Black
Cap's." About this time Morland was making twelve
guineas a week.^

Before we trace farther the story of the artist's
career — now more than half over, for he was in his
twenty-fourth year when he married — it is only just
to call the reader's attention to the fact that we
have so far heard very little concerning his drinking
propensities. With occasional lapses at Margate, where
he lived in what we should nowadays call a " fast " set,
he was a temperate man enough. His relations with
his wife during the earlier days of their married life
were of the happiest, he was working hard, and was
beginning to lay the foundations of his subsequent
fame.

Attention is drawn to the nature of his record at
this point, because we have now arrived at the stage
of his career when he began to seek the society of
dissolute companions, and to acquire the habit, if not
of intemperance, at least of drinking.

Before we approach the brief, but brilliant, period
of his success and subsequent fall, it is necessary to
lay stress upon a trait in the artist's character, and in

' Dawe.
62

His Life and Works

connection therewith to the heavy disappointment he
sustained in 1787, apparently about twelve months
after his marriage, while living in Pleasant Passage.

George Morland was an ardent lover of children :
we have the assurances of his contemporaries as to this —
Hassell observes that he was always remarkably affable
with children — and, in the absence of such assurances,
his pictures of child life would sufficiently prove his
affection ; for he painted them with the sympathy and
understanding that can be derived only from genuine
love of childhood.

When painting his juvenile subjects, he would invite the
children of the neighbourhood to play about his room, and
made sketches of them whenever any interesting situations
occurred ; justly observing that to take them thus, in their
unconscious moments, is the best mode of studying their
peculiar attitudes, and to catch a thousand various graces, of
which it is impossible to conceive a perfect idea in any other
way : grown persons may be placed in appropriate postures,
but with children this is not practicable. The writer has
in his possession one of JVIorland's sketch-books, containing
several of these studies of childhood. They are touched with
his wonted spirit, and form a sort of middle style between his
laboured minuteness while with his father, and the looseness
of his later drawings. (Dawe.)

Children always delighted in Morland's society, and
he was never happier than when in theirs. The follow-
ing passage is from a letter ^ written about him while

• Quoted by Mr, G. C. Williamson [George Morland, Bell, 1904). The
names of writer and recipient are not given.

63

George Morland

he was living at Enderby, about six miles from Leicester,
in 1790 or 1791.

The artist was to be seen —

Seated on the floor of a large barn, surrounded by about a
dozen children and a score of animals — fowls, pigeons, and
ducks were close about him — he was fondling two rabbits, one
guinea-pig, and half-a-dozen tiny puppies at the same moment :
a young foal had hold of his hat, and a calf was nibbling at his
foot ; while with one hand he was striving on a bit of rough
cardboard to malce some sketches of the creatures about him,
with the other he was patting all his companions ; and while
all this was going on was striving to interest the children with
a fairy tale.

The reason for noticing here this trait in Morland's
character is that the incident which occurred during his
residence in Pleasant Passage was one which must have
had influence on his future career. To put it in a few
words, Mrs. Morland was delivered of a still-born
son ; and her husband learned that another effort of
maternity would gravely imperil her life. The loss of
his child was a terrible grief to a man of his tempera-
ment ; but time would no doubt have softened the
sorrow. To so devoted a lover of children the
knowledge that he could never hope to be a father
must have been a shock greater and far more lasting
than that caused by the loss of the child which did not
survive birth. And perhaps there is significance in the
fact that Morland's endeavours to find distraction away
from his home date from this time.

His practice of finding subjects for pictures from

64

THE DIPPING WELL
Signed, undated

(Si2e of original picture 14i x ll)[ inches.)

His Life and Works

events in his own life is exemplified In this connection.
In 1787 he painted "The First Pledge of Love," a
nurse presenting an infant to a young man in riding-
dress : in the background is the mother sitting up in
bed. This work, which may fairly be regarded as the
pictorial reflection of the artist's hopes, was engraved
by "William Ward, and published in January 1788 by
T. Prattent.

He became restless, and ceased to work as indus-
triously as he had done since his marriage. The stage
coaches from London to Hampstead, Highgate, and
Barnet ran close by his door, and he used to amuse
himself by taking the box-seat next the driver and
travelling up and down the road. This was the com-
mencement of his acquaintance with coachmen, postboys,
and similar characters. Acquaintances of this kind in-
creased, and about the same time the painter began to
spend his evenings at the public-houses in the neigh-
bourhood.

We need not picture him loafing in bars and drink-
ing more than was good for him. There is much
reason to believe that Collins is right in attributing
development of the habit to his love of music :
"singing clubs of the genteel kind were then much
more in vogue than now, where several of the players
resorted ; which societies were generally composed of
persons whose means were adequate to recompense
the professional singers at their benefits." To such
entertainments Morland went often, remaining late
and making new acquaintances with his usual facility.

65 9

George Morland

His wife began to suffer from neglect. He had found,
to his disappointment, that though she had an un-
commonly sweet voice and a correct ear she cared
nothing for music. He bought a piano, and tried to
persuade her to learn to play ; but she lacked inclination,
and could not or would not share his chief pleasure
with him. Collins, remarking on her lack of musical
instinct, hints that she cared more for dress than any-
thing else, and refers to " domestic jarring " as a cause
which contributed to make him seek distraction away
from home.

Morland was now getting on In the world, and the
cottage in Pleasant Passage was too small for him.
Accordingly he sought a larger dwelling, and found one
in No. 9 Warren Place, Camden Town : it was a new
house, and was in some details unfinished. To this
residence he moved in 1787, and when established
there was guilty of what Collins not unjustly calls "an
act of stupid folly, more closely bordering on idiotism
than any other in the whole catalogue of his errors."
He took into his house a friend named Irwin. Dawe
describes Irwin as " a young man of genteel manners,
... of a gay disposition, and willing to go where and
do what Morland pleased." Collins says that the
friend ^ thus taken into the house " was not remarkable
for his conversation or judgement, being as wholly
ignorant of the arts as he was destitute of either wit or
humour," and states that he made it his business to
trade upon Morland's carelessness in money matters

1 Collins omits the name, but the reference to Irwin is obvious.

66

His Life and Works

for his own profit. The service expected of him ^ was
to sell Morland's pictures to the dealers, receiving a
share of the proceeds, as well as board and lodging, for
doing so. Until he formed his friendship with Irwin,
the painter had conducted his own transactions with
the art publishers ; but he had the greatest dislike to
being his own salesman. Either from bashfulness or
indolence, says Dawe, he could never bear to offer his
own works for sale, and would rather take a quarter
of what he might have obtained than submit to that
necessity. Irwin had no disinclination to act in the
capacity of broker, and had no scruple in making it
exceedingly profitable. Dawe enumerates thirty-six
works, the greater number of which Irwin bought for
seven guineas each, and, carrying them to Mr. J. R.
Smith the publisher in King Street, Covent Garden,
sold for fifteen guineas each. CoUins maintains that
Morland was ignorant of the profit Irwin made on these
transactions ; but the knowledge of the artist's character
we gain from his biographers points to the belief that
he was fuUy aware of the advantages reaped by his
friend. His remarkable carelessness in money matters
— which probably was the real secret of his dislike to
selling his own pictures — was shown by his manner
of receiving the caution that Irwin was obtaining
more than twice the sum he paid. He dismissed the

1 Like other associates of the painter, he acted as model on occasion.
Hassell says that the recruit and recruiting sergeant in " Enlisting a Recruit "
are portraits of Irwin. On the wall of the cottage outside which the party
is represented hangs a board bearing in bold characters the words
"Cumberland House, D. Irwin from Carlisle."

67

George Morland

matter with a laugh : he had enough for the needs of
the hour, and there his interest in money affairs began
and ended.

Irwin played upon this indifference, but sometimes
overreached himself. He used to obtain, on occasion,
from his brother, a man of property, nearly the full
price of pictures in advance, and Morland was never
in a hurry to finish a work for which he had thus been
paid : indeed it appears that there was often much
difficulty in persuading him to complete his under-
taking at all. Dealers who had advanced money on
pictures to be painted were sometimes obliged to take
them unfinished and place them in the hands of other
artists to be completed.

There seems no doubt that while Irwin was an
inmate of the house in Warren Place, Morland drank
more than was good for him, though his splendid con-
stitution and active habits enabled him to throw off
the effects. Irwin seriously injured his health by try-
ing to keep pace with him : when he died, at the age
of five-and-twenty, Morland is said to have referred to
him as " the first man he had killed."

68

CHILDREN PLAYING AT SOLDIERS
(Size of original jnctwe 2S x 35 inches.)

CHAPTER VII

It was during his residence at Warren Place that
Morland turned his attention to the production of those
pictures of child-life which, through the medium of the
engraver's art, attained such immense popularity and
contributed so greatly to the establishment of his re-
putation. He had made one essay in this direction
while still apprenticed to his father in his " Children
Nutting," which was engraved in mezzotint by E.
Dayes, and was originally published in 1783 by J. R.
Smith. He evidently did not repeat the experiment
until the year 1788. There had grown up about this
time a great demand among the publishers for prints
dealing with juvenile subjects, occasioned by the success
of those painted by Bigg ' ; and Morland was induced
to try his hand on works of this description.

The first of the series was " Children playing Blind
Man's Buff." An agent of Mr. J. R. Smith, the art

' William Redraore Bigg (1755-1828) excelled as a painter of children.
His first work of this description, " Schoolboys giving Charity to a Blind
Man," was exhibited in 1778, and this was followed by others of a similar
character. These works were reproduced by the ablest engravers of the
time, and achieved much popularity. Bigg became A.R.A. in 17S7, and
was elected R.A. in 1814.

69

George Morland

publisher who had issued the prints of the first picture
by Morland which was engraved,^ and kept an eye on
the painter throughout his career, happened to call
while the unfinished canvas was on the easel, and re-
ported upon it to Mr. Smith in such glowing terms
that his employer at once offered twelve guineas as soon
as Morland should have completed the work. This
sum was much more than Morland had expected,^ and
the prospect of receiving so large an amount in hard
cash exhilarated him in such a degree that he promised
his servant-companion, Brooks, to drink twelve glasses
of gin with him on receipt of the money. He finished
the picture, and sent it to King Street ; and hardly had
Mr. Smith's messenger brought the money than Mor-
land "threw open the windows and, with his companion
Brooks, gave three cheers, then set off to the public-
house, where they piously performed their engagement "
(Dawe).^

These pictures of child-life are included in the list
of those which are enumerated by Dawe as having been
sold for the most part at seven guineas to Irwin, who
passed them on to the publisher at fifteen. They are
as follows : —

' " The Angler's Repast," engraved by William Ward, 1780.

^ As an example of the price Morland sometimes received for a picture,
his work "The Mad Bull" may be cited. "This," says Dawe, "he with
difficulty sold for half a guinea, and within six months it was resold for
five guineas." "The Mad Bull " was engraved by R. Dodd, and published
in 1787 by P. C. Cornman.

^ This incident lends some colour to James Ward's assertion that it was
success that wrought Morland's undoing. He says : " His sudden reputa-
tion was more than he could bear, and he took to drinking."

70

His Life and Works

" Children playing at Blind Man's Buff"—" Children
playing at Soldiers" — " Children Nutting" — " Children
Bird's-nesting " — " Juvenile Navigators " — " Boys Bath-
ing " — " Boys Robbing the Orchard " — " Boys Skating "
— "Gathering Butter-flowers" — "The Kite Entangled"
— " Gathering Blackberries " — " Angling " — " The
Snowball" — "Selling Guinea-Pigs" — "Dancing Dogs."

These were engraved by different hands, William
Ward being entrusted with many of them, and were
published by J. R. Smith during the years 1788-90.
Their success was great and lasting.

Before going farther, it is necessary to say a
few words concerning Morland's servant-companion.
Brooks, to whom reference was made above. This
man's appearance has been made familiar to us by his
portrait in " The Sportsman's Return. " Brooks is
represented as a big, red-faced, jovial-looking man in a
cobbler's stall at an inn door : he was a shoemaker by
trade. How Morland first became acquainted with him
does not appear ; but Morland never found difficulty
in making friends with any one, and the fact that
Brooks plied his calling, as was the usage in those
days, in a stall placed, for the convenience of wayfaring
customers, by the door of some inn, perhaps sufficiently
explains the acquaintance. However this may be,
Brooks became an inmate of the house in Warren
Place as Morland's companion and general factotum.
There can be no doubt that the man was not a reput-
able character ; but if he made his intimacy with
Morland profitable to himself, it is only fair to say that

71

George Morland

when Morland became involved in difficulties Brooks
more than once rendered useful service in aiding his
escape from importunate creditors.

He entered the artist's service at the time when Irwin
was exploiting Morland so much to his own personal
gain ; and each recognising in the other a rival in the
confidence of their employer, the situation soon became
strained. It could not well be otherwise : Irwin,
though not a very estimable character, was not of fibre
sufficiently coarse to make a friend of such a person as
the shoemaker, and the favour Morland transferred to
Brooks aroused his jealousy. How long this curiously
mixed company lived together it is impossible to say,
but the arrangement appears to have continued for
some few months at least. Morland had an unfortunate
propensity for quarrelling with his associates, and his
quarrels with Irwin had been frequent. They became
more frequent and more violent after Brooks gained a
footing in the house, as the new-comer was at pains
to foment disputes with the object of driving Irwin
away : a purpose he eventually accomplished.

It was in 1787^ that Morland undertook the only
public office he ever held — one for which he was
peculiarly unfitted both by disposition and habit. A
friend of his having been elected Head Borough (i.e.
Head Constable) for the St. Pancras Ward^ in the

' Presentments of Constables to the Middlesex Grand Jury, 1785-1815.
KB. Miscel, Public Record Office.

- London at this period was divided for police purposes into four
divisions, each under a High Constable. These divisions were subdivided
into twenty-six wards, and the wards into precincts, in eacli whereof was a

72

BOYS ROBBING AN ORCHARD

(.Sir? o/origiiuU picturf 27 x 35 inches.)

His Life and Works

Holborn Division, Morland took it into his head to
relieve him of the office. Collins says he was so
anxious to obtain the appointment that he gave the
friend five guineas and a supper for four or five friends,
to assign the duty to him. He said nothing of his
purpose until he had been sworn in, knowing that his
relatives would try and dissuade him, as well they might
in view of his passion for practical joking,^ to say
nothing of the hindrance to his work the constableship
would necessarily entail.

Morland had his own motive in undertaking the
office, according to Collins. Some of the publicans
in his neighbourhood had incurred his displeasure, and
as Head Borough he had it in his power to revenge
himself. The duties of the office were very various,
as we learn from the MS. reports to the Grand Jury,
preserved in the Public Record Office. The Head
Borough was required, among other tasks, to provide

constable. The St. Pancras Ward was policed by a Head Borough and
eight petty constables. " Such as are chosen into the office are obliged to
place the King's Arms and the Aims of the City over their doors . . .
that they may be the more easily found when wanted " [Ckambers's Cyc/o-
padia).

' Dawe gives an example of the " frolics " in which Morland indulged.
Returning home from London at two or three in the morning, he over-
took a patrol, and to " try the man's courage " or, far more probably, for
the fun of giving the man a fright, discharged his pistol close to his ear
and ran off. The watchman pursued him with fixed bayonet, and brought
him to a halt with a threat to fire. Whether this incident occurred
during Morland's tenure of the Head Boroughship is not clear ; but inas-
much as, " having carried his joke as far as he durst, he laughed, and dis-
closed his name," it would seem as though the trick had been played on
a man who was one of his subordinates for the time being. Otherwise,
disclosure of his identity would hardly have settled the matter.

73 w

George Morland

billets for soldiers passing through his ward, and
Morland proposed to turn this duty into an instrument
of annoyance to his enemies.

He was duly sworn in for a year of office, but very
speedily tired of the distinction.

When he undertook the office the weather was fine, he was
but Httle employed, and his time consequently not of much
value. In short, all would have been very pleasant could he
have exercised his authority when and in what manner he
pleased ; but he had forgotten that he should be obliged to
attend to his duty in winter as well as in summer, and to obey
as well as command. When busily engaged in finishing a
picture, and in great need of the money, or just going on some
favourite excursion with a jovial party, a precept would arrive
from the High Constable ordering him to some distant place
on disagreeable business that would occupy the whole day.
Thus his plans, whether for pleasure or profit, were often
destroyed. If he had to serve a summons for a jury, he was
ever behindhand in executing it, and seldom accomplished it
till he had exhausted the patience of the coroner, who did not
fail to reprimand him severely. He was not only embarrassed
in the discharge of his duties as Head Borough, but his com-
panions, the hired constables, imposed on his inexperience
by feigning that there were disagreeable commissions to be
executed, to get rid of which he would treat and bribe them
in various ways. It is not extraordinary that in such circum-
stances he should have been thoroughly tired of his office long
before the time of its expiration. (Dawe.)

He carried out his intention of "plaguing" the
offending publicans to the utmost by billeting soldiers
on them as often as he possibly could ; but these pro-
ceedings involved him in so many scrapes that he

74

THE DESERTER'S FAREWELL
Signed, 1792

(Size o/origiiml picture 21J x 163 inches.)

His Life and Works

was reluctantly obliged to make over his staff to the
neighbour who had allowed him to take it, the
neighbour receiving another " treat " for resuming the
office. 1

Of course Morland made opportunity to turn the
experience forced upon him as Head Constable to
account. His talent for turning to profitable uses the
annoyances to which he was subjected in this capacity
is displayed in the series of pictures " The Deserter."
On one occasion a sergeant, drummer, and some
private soldiers on their way to Dover in pursuit of
deserters came to require him to find them billets for
the night. Morland's artistic instinct was stirred.
Putting aside the question of finding quarters, he took
the men to his favourite resort. The Britannia, and
gave them drink, while he plied them with questions
concerning methods of recruiting, courts-martial, and
the punishments meted out to deserters. While he
listened to them, the plan of his pictures was taking
shape in his active mind, and he resolved to make the
most of the opportunity. Instead of billeting the
men on the neighbours, he took them all back to
Warren Place, and providing more drink and tobacco,
spent the whole night in their company, questioning,
sketching, and making notes. The next day being
Sunday, his guests, willing enough no doubt, were
persuaded to remain in his painting-room while he

' Hassell says that " an early and proper opportunity was taken to
supersede him " owing to his practice of plying the watchmen with
liquor.

75

George Morland

industriously continued the work for which they
furnished models.

The four pictures known as " The Deserter " series
were engraved by G. Keating, and published by J. R.
Smith in 1791. These represent only a portion of
the fruit of Morland's entertainment of the sergeant's
party, for we need not doubt that "The Soldier's
Farewell " and " The Soldier's Return " (engraved by
G. Graham, and published by T. Simpson in 1790),
and another pair, "Changing Quarters" and "The
Billeted Soldier " (engraved by J. Hogg, and published
by T. Simpson in 1791), were inspired by the same
incident.

Nothing by Morland was exhibited at the Royal
Academy in 1787. This may have been partly due
to the demands made upon his time by the Head
Constableship, which he would have undertaken in
January of that year.^

The year 1788 was a very busy one with the artist ;
at least thirty-three pictures from his easel were
engraved and published, and had he exercised the most
elementary judgment in managing his pecuniary affairs
he must have made money. He worked with extra-
ordinary rapidity, and though he squandered a great
deal of his time on the box-seat of passing coaches, in
public-houses, in conviviality in his own house, and in
playing idle tricks on his neighbours, he nevertheless
contrived to produce a very large number of pictures.

' Constables in London were "sworn into their offices at a court of
Aldermen on the next Monday after Twelfth Day " [Chamben's Cyclopa:Ma).

76

His Life and Works

Collins is no doubt correct when he states that the
pupils Morland received at this time— to whom we
shall find occasion to refer later — enabled the painter
to satisfy the demands of the dealers. At least two of
these learned to imitate their master's method with
some skill, and were useful to him in his work.

Want of money was the spur which kept Morland
up to the collar : when in funds he was idle and
dissipated ; when out of cash he worked long hours,
painted quickly, and stuck closely to his business. Yet,
as we have seen, when a picture was done he was
utterly indifferent about the price he accepted, always
and only provided it sufficed for his immediate needs.
There can be no doubt that he could, when he pleased,
concentrate his attention on his work in a way few men
could do it. " When surrounded by companions who
would have entirely impeded the progress of other
men, he might be said to be in an academy, in the
midst of models. He would get one to stand for a
hand, another for a head, an attitude, or a figure,
according as their countenance or character suited."
He spared no pains to achieve accuracy of detail in his
pictures,^ but the methods he adopted must have been
a trial to his wife. When painting his picture "The
Cherry Girl " Dawe tells us that he had a donkey with
its panniers brought into his parlour that he might the
more conveniently paint the animal and its equipments ;

I The writer of the sketch in Chalmers's Biographical Dictionary (1S15)
says " he %¥oul<i never risk truth, but would rather give twenty guineas to
have a cat stolen for him than presume to paint one from uncertain re-
membrance."

77

George Morland

and when working on stable scenes he would scatter
straw about the room. Pigs, rabbits, guinea-pigs,
pigeons, and other creatures were made welcome in
the studio, and were usually found there by any visitors
who chanced to call.

His method of obtaining temporary models was
simple and audacious. He would station somebody at
the window with instructions concerning the model he
required, and when a suitable person passed he would
send out and ask him, or her, to come in to stand for
him. He was usually liberal in rewarding the people
thus pressed into his service.

Morland rarely dealt with subjects that occupied
the public mind ; as his biographers state, he took no
interest in public affairs. The picture he exhibited
at the Royal Academy in 1788 therefore deserves
mention. It was in 1785 that feeling in England was
aroused against the negro slave trade then flourishing.^
William CoUins, the friend and biographer of Morland,
had written " The Slave Trade," a poem ; and passages
in this furnished the painter with ideas for two works
dealing with the subject : " Execrable Human Traffick,
or the Affectionate Slaves," negroes being shipped to a
vessel lying off a rocky coast; and " African Hospitality,"
negroes rescuing shipwrecked Europeans. Both in-
dicate the views of an ardent Abolitionist, but whether

' In 17S6, 130 ships under the English flag were engaged in the

business, and during that year carried 42,000 slaves from Africa. In the

following year Messrs. Clarkson, Wilberforce, and Dillwyn founded the

" Society for the Suppression of the Slave Trade " and launched the
agitation which eventually (1807) brought about its abolition.

78

THE DESERTER PARDONED

(Size of original pic.tmr 21 x 17 inches.)

His Life and Works

Morland actually had strong opinions on the matter is
doubtful. These two works were engraved in mezzo-
tint, and published as a pair in 1814 by J. R. Smith.

The pictures of children, however, were those
through which Morland achieved his early popular
success. The engravings made by William Ward had
extensive sale not only in England but in France and
Germany. The prints of " Dancing Dogs " and
" Selling Guinea-Pigs " are mentioned as particularly
successful, five hundred pairs being sold in a few
weeks.

Success to Morland merely meant scope for in-
dulgence in extravagant living. He might point the
moral on canvas ; two such pictures as " The Fruits
of Early Industry " and " The Effects of Youthful
Extravagance and Dissipation," which were painted
about this time, might have been conceived in a spirit
of penitence or intention to reform, but reformation
went no farther. He launched out as host, entertain-
ing large parties of his friends, painters, colourers, en-
gravers and their apprentices.

Instead of going to an ale-house after he had done work,
often in his painting-coat with one skirt and half a sleeve, he
would now proceed in boots and buckskin breeches to take the
chair at the Britannia, a tavern in the neighbourhood, at which
these treats were usually given. (Dawe.)

He also entertained on the same extensive scale in
his own house. His credit was good, and he ordered
his mode of living in accordance with his ability to

79

George Morland

borrow rather than to make money. His wife exerted
all her influence, and friends who had his welfare at
heart endeavoured to restrain him ; but such endeavours
only provoked a spirit of opposition and brought about
new outbursts of extravagance and dissipation. Enjoy-
ing the facility with which he could raise money on
promissory notes, he ran into debt with a light heart,
and squandered everything he got as soon as it came
into his hands.

About this time he gave up travelling on the stage-
coaches and took to riding hired horses instead,
making frequent excursions with companions, the cost
of which he defrayed. These excursions usually
occupied a day ; but sometimes he went farther afield,
and on one occasion spent a week on a trip to Whitby.
He was, we are told, deeply impressed by the grandeur
of the Yorkshire coast ; and perhaps we may trace
conception of the two pictures " Anxiety ; or the Ship
at Sea " and " Mutual Joy ; or the Ship in Harbour "
to this Whitby expedition. These paintings were en-
graved by Philip Dawe, and published by W. Dickin-
son in 1788.

80

THE DESERTER PARDONED

Reproduction of a coloured engraving by G. Keating, published 29th July 1791
by J. R. Smith, King Street, Covent Garden, London.

(Size o/origitml engraving 1T§ X 21^ inches.)

CHAPTER VIII

No doubt the calls of the office Morland had so thought-
lessly undertaken gravely interfered with his artistic
work ; and it would seem that he borrowed with more
freedom than his previous wont to meet his expenses.
When first he began to raise money on promissory
notes he was scrupulous about discharging his obliga-
tions when they became due. Those were the days of
imprisonment for debt and Morland at this period had
a horror of endangering his liberty.^ As, however,
he became accustomed to the sense of indebtedness he
troubled himself less about his ability to honour his
promissory notes when they fell due ; with the more
reason, as he found little difficulty in persuading his
creditors to renew them. His reputation was
established and creditors were often only too anxious
to oblige him thus if they could obtain a picture to
compensate them for the indulgence.

The brother of his friend Irwin was one of those
to whom he owed money : indeed it would appear that

' As much of the latter portion of Morland's life was passed in evading
creditors, it is well to bear in mind that a debtor could not be arrested
while within his own house or lodging.

8i II

George Morland

this gentleman was his principal creditor ; he had ad-
vanced money on pictures that were to be painted and
the work had not been done. So long as Irwin re-
mained with him, Morland's indebtedness to the
brother did not greatly trouble him : Irwin was
making the connection sufficiently profitable to himself
and could be depended on to prevent matters coming
to a head ; but Irwin's position in the house had
undergone a change. Morland no longer needed his
services as salesman to the dealers : his reputation now
was such that the dealers were glad to wait upon him
and buy pictures direct.

Morland's unfortunate propensity for quarrelling
with his associates has been already mentioned ; and
his quarrels with Irwin were frequent and violent. After
the man Brooks entered his service, disputes between
the painter and Irwin became more frequent and more
bitter, Brooks fomenting them to serve his own ends.
Irwin and Brooks were men of such widely different
stamp it was not likely they would agree in anything
but their regard for their employer, whose singular
fascination attracted both : they were fiercely jealous
of the artist's favour ; and a time came when Morland
would no longer allow Irwin to remain in the house.

Probably he turned out his quondam friend in a fit
of temper : at all events he did it without considering
consequences, as was his impulsive nature. Irwin left : '

' Irwin did not live many months after he separated from Morland.
According to Dawe, " like several others of Morland's dissipated companions,
he fell a victim to the excesses in which he had participated." Hassell

82

His Life and Works

and when he had gone Morland had leisure to re-
member that he owed the man's brother money and to
reflect that the brother had now no reason to refrain
from pressing for payment. His other creditors were
showing signs of impatience ; and though the sum
total of his debts was not more than ;{!200 he was
thoroughly alarmed. He believed himself to be in
imminent danger of arrest and Imprisonment, and in
his alarm sought advice from a lawyer, Mr. Robert
Wedd, who, it may be said here, proved a constant
and valuable friend to him throughout the remainder
of his career.

Morland had all the defects of the artistic tempera-
ment ; he was a nervous man, and it was quite
impossible that he should apply himself to his work with
the fear of arrest hanging over him. He could do
nothing and think of nothing but his personal safety
until he felt secure from his creditors ; and though,
had he been able to master his terror, stick to his
business and live quiedy for a few months, he could
have paid his debts without difficulty, he determined
to leave Warren Place secredy.

It may have been at this time, late in 1789, that he
paid what is believed to be the first of his several visits
to the Isle of Wight. He is known to have executed
some very clever pictures there at some time during
that year.i A " Winter Piece," painted at Eglantine

states that Brooks "fell a sacrifice in following the excesses of his com-
panion," but none of the earlier biographers give a clue to the identity of
the " several others."

' Hubert Garle : J Driving Tour in the Isle of Wight, 1905.

83

George Morland

Cottage, Shanklin, was painted about this time. There
seems good reason to believe that these works indicate
a sojourn in the Isle of Wight, where he would be
free from the unwelcome attentions of creditors, while
his legal adviser was arranging his affairs for him.

If it is correct to assign his visit to Shanklin to this
period, he must have returned to London before his
difficulties were properly adjusted ; for Mr. Webb
recommended him to take lodgings "within the verge
of the court, at that time considered a sanctuary for
debtors " ' (Dawe), and Morland lost no time in
following his advice. The prospect of relief from fear
of arrest seems to have raised his naturally elastic
spirits at once. Brooks undertook to convey secretly
to a lodging in Buckingham Court, Charing Cross, the
pictures Morland had in hand — they represented all
the artist's portable property worth mention, as the
furniture at Warren Place had to be made over to an
upholsterer who held promissory notes — and with a
haven of refuge in sight Morland entered heartily into
the bustle and novelty of " giving the slip to the people
of Camden Town." In December 1789 he gave up the
house in Warren Place, apparendy without paying the
rent, as Dawe tells us " nothing was left for the land-
lord but several loads of cinders, in which were found
many public-house pots ; and he esteemed himself

' The Court, of Verge, or Palace Court, was instituted by Charles I. to
" try all personal actions, as debt, trespass, slander, etc., between party
and party within twelve miles of Whitehall." A defendant might give
sureties for his appearance at the court, which was held " with that of the
Marshalsea once a week at Southwark" [Chambers's Cyctopadia).

84

PHEASANT SHOOTING
(.Vise of original picture 15^ x 20 inches.)

His Life and Works

fortunate to get back his premises on any terms before
they were quite in ruins, which doubtless would soon
have been the case, as he had let them to Morland in
a half-finished state." The artist's practice of bringing
into the house any animal he might want as a model
would not contribute to the maintenance of a dwelling-
house in good repair.

Various expedients were tried to relieve him from
his difficulties. Collins says he urged him to raise his
prices, but that his counsel was defeated by the re-
presentations of the interested persons who always
surrounded the artist eager to buy at a low price
pictures they could sell to their own advantage. It is
said that while he was in hiding six gentlemen came
forward with a proposal to buy up his debts and take
all the pictures he painted at a reasonable price until
they were reimbursed ; this proposal being coupled
with an offer to provide him with a convenient house,
rent and taxes free, a good table for Mrs. Morland and
himself, ^{200 a year for clothes and pocket money, and
the use of saddle horse for two hours daily. Morland
is reported to have refused the offer with " the most
sovereign contempt." Collins does not vouch for the
truth of this story, which, however, appears quite
credible when we consider the eagerness displayed
by the artist's real friends to help him at subsequent
crises in his career. Nor need it be doubted that the
offer was refused ; it contained too many elements of
bondage to commend itself to Morland.

He remained "within the verge of the court"

85

George Morland

otherwise, in a locality where he was free from danger
of arrest — for about a month. At the end of that
time Mr. Wedd had succeeded in putting his affairs in
order and procured for him a letter of licence ' which
enabled him to show his face again. He then left
Buckingham Court and took up his quarters in
Leicester Street.

By this time his name was widely known, through
the sale of his engraved works ; and when Morland
established himself in Leicester Street it is not too
much to say that he found his prospects brighter than
ever. Hitherto he had worked only for the dealers ;
now, private gentlemen sought him out and pressed
commissions upon him, offering terms far more liberal
than those he received from the men of business.
The private patrons for whom he worked appear to
have left choice of subject and style of treatment to
him, in contrast to the dealers who had directed his
labours in accordance with the demands of the market
for prints ; and Morland was therefore free to indulge
his own taste.

Great as had been the success of his juvenile and
domestic pictures, these were not of the class of work
which afforded him most pleasure ; and it is hardly
necessary to observe that Morland, when given a free
hand, would paint that which pleased him rather than

' This document was " an instrument or writing granted to a man who
has failed, signed and sealed by his creditors : which letter usually gives a
longer time for payment, so that the debtor, having such an assurance,
may go about his business without fearing an arrest " [Chambers'i

Cyclopanlia) .

86

His Life and Works

that which would bring most money. With his move
to Leicester Street and change of clientele, we find
a change in the style of work he produced ; and the
change was in the direction of the true bent of his
genius. He now, in Dawe's words, was " enabled to
follow that style of English rural scenery which was
more congenial to his taste and inclinations." This,
let it be noticed, was early in the year 1790 ; and all
judges of art from Morland's own time to the present
day are agreed that that year marks the beginning of
the brief period (1790-93) during which the artist
produced his finest work.

One of the first pictures he produced in Leicester
Street, when free to follow the guidance of his own
taste, was a large canvas entitled, " Gypsies Kindling a
Fire," painted to the order of Colonel Charles Stuart.
By way of illustrating the rapidity with which he
worked when spurred by want of money, Dawe tells
us that Colonel Stuart called one morning while the
canvas was on the easel and asked Morland when the
picture would be finished. The artist replying that it
would be done by four o'clock that afternoon. Colonel
Stuart expressed doubt, seeing that the work was then
very far from completion. Morland repeated his
assertion, which induced the Colonel to declare, in
French, to the friend who was with him his disbelief
in the possibility of finishing the work by the time
stated. The painter, who, as mentioned in an earlier
chapter, had some knowledge of French, understood
the remark, but concealed his comprehension of it ; and

87

George Morland

Colonel Stuart left, saying he would return at four
o'clock.

As Morland had received nothing in advance, and
as he had been promised forty guineas, " which at this
time he considered a very liberal price, being twice as
much as was paid by the dealers," he determined to
keep his engagement at all costs ; and

As soon as the gentlemen were gone he began to consider
how he could curtail the work. With this view he obliterated
several figures which he had sketched, and in their place intro-
duced one in a carter's frock, threw in masses of shade and
foliage, which diminished the labour, and by three o'clock his
task was completed. ( Dawe. )

In connection with this achievement in rapid execu-
tion we learn that as soon as Morland had cashed
Colonel Stuart's cheque, which he did promptly on re-
ceiving it, he disappeared. It is probable that he went
to the Isle of Wight, as Mr. Garle says on one of his
visits to Chale, in 1790, he painted a fine picture of
Blackgang Chine. For how long he absented himself
we do not know ; but he left unfinished a picture
he had undertaken for a friend, and before going sold
another work which had been ordered by a gentleman
to some other person, the former not having appeared
to claim it at precisely the hour appointed. From
which sequel to his day's work we infer that Morland
was neither more steady nor more dependable after the
fright which drove him into " sanctuary " than he was

before.

88

His Life and Works

Whatever his defects of character, these did nothing
to retard the increase of his reputation, which during
this year (1790) must have been greatly enhanced by
the number and variety of engravings from his works
published by eight or more different art dealers. No
fewer than twenty-eight engravings ^ were thus issued
in course of this year, and as these were of very various
character, they appealed to an equal variety of taste, and
made the painter's name very widely known.

It was in this year that Morland was invited to paint
"a room of pictures " for the Prince of Wales. He
declined the invitation ; probably because he never felt
at ease among people of higher station in life, and also
because he had the greatest dislike to any undertaking
which involved steady work. He gave up accepting
commissions from private individuals, as he resented
their giving directions or offering suggestions as to the
pictures they desired. " The reasons Morland assigned
for disliking to work for gentlemen were, his not
choosing to accommodate himself to the whims of his
employers " (Dawe). Self-indulgent to the last degree,
he hated what he would have called interference, though
it must be admitted that the ideas of some of his
patrons would have irritated a far more complaisant
artist than Morland :

" There," said he, " is a picture which Mr.

returned to have a fine brilliant sky painted in ; he will allow

' See Appendix II., included by kind permission of Mr. Ralph

Richardson : the list has been brought up to date (1907) for the present
work.

89 12

George Morland

me five guineas for ultramarine. It will spoil the picture, and
the absurdity of it is, he will not suffer the tree to be touched,
but expects me to paint between the leaves."

"When we consider the boldness and breadth of
Morland's method in his landscapes we can well under-
stand his feeling towards the employer who wanted him
to " paint between the leaves."

Though not more industrious than the whim of the
moment permitted him to be, he was doing well in a
pecuniary sense, paying off" the creditors who had
signed the letter of licence which procured his release
from sanctuary in the previous December. Dawe
states that in fifteen months from that time he
satisfied every creditor.

He was very restless during the first six months of
1790, changing his lodgings no fewer than four times.*
From Leicester Street he removed to Tavistock Row ;
thence to Great St. Martin's Lane,^ and subsequently
to a locality not recorded (probably the Isle of Wight),
whence he appears to have gone to live in a house
opposite the White Lion at Paddington.

While living in Great St. Martin's Lane he made
the acquaintance of his elder brother, Henry, the two
being brought together by Collins. Of Henry Mor-
land we know little, but that little is all to his credit :
Collins states that he ran away from the rigours of
home life at an early age and went to sea ; and having
spent the greater part of his life out of England, George
had never met him. Henry seems to have been the

1 Dawe. 2 Collins.

90

PARTRIDGE SHOOTING
(Size of original picture 15^ x 20 inches.)

His Life and Works

only person, other than Mrs. Morland, for whom the
artist ever entertained any real regard, and it is clear
that his brother earned the right to enjoy George's
affection by reason of his constant, if futile, endeavours
to induce him to lead a more regular life, to say nothing
of his untiring efforts to help him escape from creditors.

After the frequent changes of lodging referred to,
Morland grew tired of town life ; he had, when out
riding, often put up his horse at the White Lion at
Paddington : with his usual facility he had made a
friend of the landlord, Mr. Cattel, and the place had
other attractions of a more practical kind. He was
now devoting himself to country scenes and pictures in
which domestic animals figured conspicuously, and the
"White Lion was the " drover's house " at which the
men bringing cattle, sheep, etc., in to the London
market were accustomed to halt their charges. Such a
spot offered great facilities to a painter continually in
search of models, and we may ignore Dawe's uncharit-
able remark that " as he was always prepared with some
pretended reason for everything he did, he discovered
that living in town was inconvenient, on account of the
continual interruptions to which he was liable, since his
connections had so greatly increased."

Morland took a small house opposite the White
Lion, furnished it, and made the first floor front room
his studio ; a purpose for which it was well adapted, as
the windows commanded full view of the picturesque
old inn and everything that passed, or stopped at, its
door.

91

George Morland

Mention must be made of Morland's pupils : he had
three pupils at different times, David Brown,^ Thomas
Hand, and Tanner, the last the son of a tailor who
paid a heavy premium for his admission to the studio.
Tanner was a tall, well-made, but " remarkably boney "
youth of about nineteen ; his face was deeply pitted
with small-pox, and high cheek-bones, dark complexion,
and black hair " something finer in texture than a
horse's mane," made up an unprepossessing whole
which earned him the nickname of " the Mohawk."
He was an inoffensive youth whose conspicuous failing
was his conviction that he had natural genius as an
artist. He had in reality so little talent, that only
after several months Morland succeeded in teaching
him to dead colour, fill in outlines and do other
journeyman work. What Tanner lacked in ability he
made up in industry ; he would be in the studio soon
after dawn and worked incessantly. He idolised
Morland, and would undertake drudgery of any kind
to please him.

David Brown was a devoted admirer of the artist's
work ; a house and sign painter by trade, he cherished
higher artistic ambitions and had set his heart on learn-
ing to paint like Morland. There was something
pathetic about this man's infatuation. Brown had
become acquainted with the artist when the latter

* Collins states that this man's name was really Davis, and that " Davey
Brown was merely a nickname." The same authority says that Morland
had altogether five pupils ; the fourth, whose name is not given, he describes
as a " respectable brush who holds (i 805) a situation in the Queen's Mews " ;
and the fifth was Collins's own son, to whom further reference will be made.

92

DUCK SHOOTING
Signed, undated

{Sizr of original pu-ttn-c Ui x I'J inrhcs.)

His Life and Works

lived at Camden Town, and would have followed Mor-
land's fortunes then had he been permitted ; but, being
a sober, industrious fellow with a real object in life,
his attachment was not appreciated, and when Morland
left Camden Town, David Brown was one of the many
from whom the fugitive concealed his whereabouts.
When Morland became famous he could no longer
escape his admirer : Brown discovered him at Padding-
ton, and, his ardour unabated, sold his business, which,
Dawe says, brought him ;^200 or £2^0 a year, and at
the age of thirty-five articled himself to his idol.

It would seem that Morland accepted David Brown
as pupil or apprentice from mercenary motives ; the
man had a certain amount of money, and this was at
his disposal. By dint of hard work Brown learned to
paint respectable copies of Morland's pictures, and
these he sold. The connection between the two was
not altogether one-sided in advantage. Brown bought
Morland's works, and sold some of the best to advantage.
The most noteworthy pictures he purchased were " The
Farmer's Stable," which he obtained for forty guineas
and exhibited' in the Royal Academy of 1791, selling
it for 100 guineas^: and "The Straw Yard," a
companion work, which he sold for 120 guineas.

' Morland was elected a member of the Royal Incorporated Society of

Artists about the year 1788. "This is generally supposed to be the reason
why he never sent any of his performances to the Royal Academy for
Exhibition directlv from himself; and hence such as were seen there were
understood to have been sent by the respective proprietors or purchasers
without his permission or consent " (Blagdon).
2 This work is now in the National Gallery.

93

George Morland

Brown's pupilage seems to have lasted as long as
his money held out : that exhausted, the connection
came to an end and Brown endeavoured to support
himself by selling copies of the pictures he had pur-
chased.^ He did not succeed in this, and, having
disposed of the originals, took a situation as drawing-
master somewhere in the country.

' The demand for Morland's works led to much unscrupulous copying.
Hassell states that he once saw in a dealer's shop twelve copies from a small
original which was placed in the centre of them ; " the proprietor of which,
with great gravity and unblushing assurance, inquired if he could dis-
tinguish the difference." It is not suggested that David Brown attempted
to sell his copies as originals. He may have done so, but it does not
appear at all probable in view of the profound respect in which he held
Morland's talents.

94

CHAPTER IX

MoRLAND had by this time cleared off the debts which
induced him to leave Camden Town, and was rapidly-
running up new ones on a larger scale. Surrounded as
he always was by persons who vied with one another to
obtain his pictures, and strove to secure his preference
by advances of money, he had no scruples about taking
advantage of the position in which the demand for his
works placed him. If Dawe may be believed, his
admirers submitted to be exploited with amazing
docility. " He has been known to promise the same
picture to three or four persons while he for whom it
was really intended was waiting in the room, with the
money, to take it with him," says the biographer, to
whom it did not occur that this was merely an example
of Morland's schoolboy humour. Such profusion of
promise impossible of fulfilment is easily explained by
Morland's love of joking.

As reckless as ever of his own interests, he would
give a picture to a creditor to induce him to renew a
promissory note of ;^20 for a fortnight, the picture
being sold in his presence immediately for ten guineas.
It was the old story ; so long as Morland had enough

95

George Morland

for the needs of the moment he was content ; and he
had as little regard for the price he obtained for his
works as he had for the debts he was steadily increasing.
He gave pictures to friends who raised money for him
on his promissory notes ; and to the tradesmen who
supplied his house to reconcile them to delay in paying
their bills. He frequented bear baitings and bull
baitings, prize fights, and kindred entertainments, and
at these he picked up a choice selection of dissipated
companions, "all of whom," says Dawe, with his
customary tendency to exaggerate, " he converted Into
picture dealers."

His premises became the regular haunt of such
characters ; and in order to keep a space clear about
his easel he had a wooden frame erected across his
studio ; this was furnished with a hinged bar, which
was raised to admit any one with whom he had business
to transact. " In this manner he painted some of his
best pictures while his companions were carousing on
gin and red herrings around him " (Dawe).

Morland's passing craze for boxing took possession
of him while he lived at Paddington. It was his
pleasure to pose as a patron of the Ring, and he dis-
played his Interest in pugilism by hiring a large room
to serve as a boxing school : this establishment he
maintained at his own cost — or, more strictly speaking,
at the cost of his creditors — giving prizes for sparring
matches, and entertaining all comers with his usual
profusion.

When at work in his studio the loungers therein

96

THE FOX INN
Signed, 1790

{Size 0/ original picture 54 x 63 inches.)

His Life and Works

included prize-fighters who enjoyed themselves at his
expense. Collins on one occasion called to see
Morland about eleven o'clock in the morning and
found him in his painting-room ; the furniture included
neither tables nor chairs, and six or seven pugilists
stood about, eating and drinking. Bottles from one of
two large hampers were passing from hand to hand,
and one of the men, answering an exclamation from
the visitor, informed him that " this was the way they
lived ; it was luncheon time."

As may be supposed, these men were not very
scrupulous in their dealings with Morland, and, trading
on their prowess with their fists, made use of his
property as they pleased. Ward^ one day borrowed
from the painter a horse to ride to some prize-fight ;
and when Morland, a week later, asked why it had not
been returned. Ward insolently told him he had sold
it, and threatened to thrash him if he referred to the
transaction again.

Morland seems to have acquired some skill in
boxing from the pugilists he encouraged. One day he

' Joe Ward, called " father of the present race of pugilists " {Boxiana,
by Pierce Egan, i8 18-19), "'^^ born in 1751 at Billericay in Essex. He
began life as an engraver's apprentice and first entered the Ring about
1770. He was remarkable for his activity and the gameness with which
he fought heavier men than himself One of his few defeats %vas sustained
in a fight with Jonathan Starling in Hyde Park, when his arm was broken ;
and in another " casual set to " he broke a leg. He is described as having
fought one Reginald on Brighton Racecourse, ist July 1788, "in the
most manly and scientific style." He displayed a great love of pictures in
later life, and collected a large number of sporting works in his old age
when he kept The Green Dragon in King Street, near Swallow Street.

97 13

George Morland

and Bob Packer ^ were waiting for some of their boxing
friends at the Rummer, Charing Cross, when the Duke
of Hamilton^ came in, recognised Packer, and learned
from him who Morland was.

" Can he spar ? " inquired the Duke. Assured on
this point, His Grace told Morland to stand up and
have a round with him. The Duke's first blow
knocked him across the room ; and he afterwards
admitted that he was so overawed by the social stand-
ing of his opponent that had he possessed the utmost
skill he could not have employed it — a statement quite
in keeping with his disinclination to associate with
persons of higher rank than himself.

With reference to the incident of Ward's borrowing
and selling the horse, it must be explained that at this
period Morland was living in an extravagant style and
his craze for the time was horseflesh. He had, stand-
ing at livery, eight ^ horses for the use of himself and
his friends. He appears to have bought his horses as

' Packer, a west country boxer, was not in the front rank of pugilists.
He was beaten by Caleb Baldwin on Hounslow Heath after forty-five minutes
of "most severe fighting." On 29th September 1790 he beat Aaron, cousin
of Daniel Mendoza, at Doncaster after a "most severe contest." Packer
owed his success to an act which under later rules would have lost him the
fight. The two closed and fell, Aaron Mendoza uppermost ; Packer
"raised his knee and threw him a perfect somerset against the railing"
Ward was Packer's second on this occasion. [Pugilistica, by H. D.
Miles, 1S80-81.)

- Alexander, loth Duke of Hamilton, is mentioned by J. R. Robinson
{The Last Earls of Barrymore) with the Prince of Wales as one of the
principal supporters of the Ring "just beginning to be fostered by
sporting members of the nobility and gentry."

■^ Dawe says "ten or twelve."

98

His Life and Works

carelessly as he did everything else, paying what the
owner chose to ask for an animal that took his fancy.
As ready money was always scarce he usually gave the
seller a bill, and in this fashion would pay ^^50 for a
horse not worth half the amount.^

After spending some time- in the house opposite
the White Lion, Morland moved to 20 Winchester
Road, a larger and more convenient dwelling. At the
bottom of the garden was a chaise-house and stable
which served admirably for housing the various animals
he required as models for his work. Here he kept an
old horse which he had purchased from a man who
was taking it to be slaughtered, a donkey, goats, pigs,
foxes, dogs of all kinds, besides monkeys, rabbits,
squirrels, guinea-pigs, and dormice. He was never at
a loss for animals, as his friends were always eager to
procure for him whatever he wanted.

While Morland lived at Paddington, his biographer,
Hassell, became acquainted with him. Hassell, on
his way to visit a sick relative in that neighbourhood,
saw before him a man carrying a young pig in his arms
as if it had been a child. Whenever a dog barked at
the squealing pig, the man set it down to pit it against
the dog, a proceeding which gave rise to trequent chases

' The white horse which figures in so many of Morland's pictures was
a favourite of the artist for several years. He rode it on many of the long
excursions he was in the habit of making.

2 Dawe says he lived "about a year" in this house; he took up his
residence there about June or July 1790, and the Catalogue of the Royal
Academy Exhibition of 1791, which opened on Monday, 2nd May, givei
his address as 20 Winchester Road.

99

George Morland

before the pig could be recaptured and petted. In
this fashion the pig's owner eventually reached the
house to which Hassell was bound ; he then learned
that the pig was a present for his invalid relative,
and that the bearer was none other than George
Morland.

At Winchester Road he maintained his household
on a scale more wildly extravagant than ever, and
entertained largely in his riotous fashion. Collins says
that he " valued himself extremely on his ability to see
all his companions completely sewed up, as he phrased
it " ; and his powers of resisting the effects of liquor
seem to have been something exceptional. The wine
on these occasions was unpacked in the garden, and no
doubt the host's intention was fulfilled, for the cost of
the drink consumed by about a dozen guests, servants,
and hangers-on, at one dinner given to celebrate the
opening of the Academy Exhibition, amounted to
£1^0. The wine merchant received Morland's pro-
missory note for the sum, and renewed It over and
over again in return for pictures.

Though at this period the artist spent much time
enjoying himself on country excursions and otherwise,
he was doing his finest work, and was approaching, if
he had not reached, the zenith of his fame. His
picture " The Farmer's Stable," when exhibited at the
Royal Academy by Its purchaser, David Brown, as
mentioned in the last chapter, had attracted universal
attention, and was, we are told, the most admired work
of that year. The demand for his pictures was keener

100

His Life and Works

than ever, and for a time he enjoyed apparently
boundless credit.

This is not remarkable, having regard to his
enormous power of production. When in the mood
to work he painted with a rapidity as remarkable as
that displayed by Sir Edwin Landseer. A friend
called one morning and found him at the harpsichord
in the parlour, dressed only in his nightshirt and
slippers. Morland said he was in trouble (for want
of cash, as it proved), and if his visitor would come to
his studio he would ask his advice. The friend went
with him, and Morland, remarking that work would
help him to compose his mind, took up a large blank
canvas and proposed to sketch out a picture he had in
mind. He gave his friend a volume of Swift to read
and set to work. After reading for an hour the visitor
got up and went to look over Morland's shoulder ; he
saw a picture more than half completed. He went
back to his book, and an hour and a half later the
work — two pigs lying down in a sty and a man stand-
ing near — was finished. It had been begun from the
first stroke and completed in two hours and a half.
He at once bought it at the painter's own price — ten
guineas.

Morland ordered his affairs, as at Camden Town,
in conformity with his ability to borrow rather than
his ability to earn, though the latter was sufficiently
considerable.^ He had two grooms and a footman in

' Morland's eagerness to obtain ready cash (he disliked notes) was a
weakness of which purchasers who understood him took advantage. " By

Id

George Morland

livery ; he kept open house ; he was so particular
about his dress — which was that of a groom, a compli-
ment to the " horsey " class of men with whom he
associated — that he was perpetually buying new clothes,
more particularly leather breeches, of which he is said
to have bought a new pair once a week.

The most prodigal waste appeared in every department of
his household ; even his colours were used as much for pelting
the coachmen and others who passed as for painting. Such
was his senseless profusion and mistaken generosity that he
would give away his horses, make presents to his companions
of great-coats, boots, or other articles which he had scarcely
used, or order his tailor to clothe them and their families from
head to foot at his expense. (Dawe.)

It may fairly be said that Morland was ruined by
his own success ; he did a great deal of excellent work
while at Winchester Road, but could have profited
litde by it, as he gave away his pictures to holders of
his promissory notes in order to secure renewals. He
never made any secret of his embarrassments, and
dealers and others who lent him money made their
own terms for the accommodation.

When pressed by his creditors he was in the habit
of going into the country, sometimes under an assumed
name, and would remain in hiding, with Brown or
Brooks as his companion, long enough to paint pictures
which he knew would be accepted in place of punctual

the judicious display of a few guineas this artist has been induced to part
with a picture to-day which to-morrow, perhaps, would have brought him
double the sum " (Hassell).

102

GIPSY ENCAMPMENT
Signed G. Morland, J. Rathbone, 1791

{Size of original picture 17| X 24 inches.)

His Life and Works

payment of his obligations. He sometimes chose the
Isle of Wight for these excursions, as " in those days
there was perhaps no better spot to select for a hiding-
place. . . . During his first visits he mostly lodged
in Shanklin, at an old thatched dwelling known as
Eglantine Cottage, kept by Mrs. Williams, and it was
in this humble cot that many of his finest works were
executed. . . . Morland would often run down to this
village, throw off a number of sketches, take them to
London, and after adding a few of his magical touches,
sell them for a large figure, with which he would satisfy
the demands of the more pressing of his creditors." '
He could not, of course, adopt another name when
visiting places, such as Shanklin, where he was known,
and indeed he was now too widely known to be able
to remain long unidentified in any retreat. Where-
ever he took up his quarters he was betrayed by the
pictures upon which he employed himself. The
presence of an artist would be made known to the
gentry of the neighbourhood, and his identity quickly
discovered. The result was often an invitation to him
to visit some admirer of his works, but diffidence, or
dislike to decent society, usually forbade his acceptance
of these invitations. On one occasion only, to which
reference will be made, he appears to have taken
advantage of the hospitality of a country patron. In
this connection it may be mentioned that while he was
living at Paddington his Margate friend, Mr. Sherborne,
made a second endeavour both personally and by letter

• Hubert Garle.
103

George Morland

to renew his acquaintance. The letter Morland burned
unopened, " as he did many of those which he did not
choose to be at the trouble of answering."

His domestic relations had become unhappy ; he
quarrelled so frequently with his wife that when, on the
occasion of his asking a visitor to join him in his
painting-room that he might confide a trouble to him,
the caller expected that the matter was one involving
Mrs. Morland. References to the lady by the bio-
graphers are few, but having regard to her husband's
disposition, habits of living, and mode of conducting
his household, we are justified of the belief that her
lot was by no means a happy one, though she never
lost her affection for Morland.

A time came when his credit was no longer equal
to the strain he put upon it. He was leading an
intemperate life, and the impression that his health
was declining spread among his creditors, rendering
them more anxious to obtain specimens of his work
than to renew his bills or make fresh advances. He
seems to have been sorely pressed for money when he
took the step which brought him into such difficulties
that he was obliged to leave Paddington.

Dawe states that a certain bun-baker of the neigh-
bourhood sent his son with a large sum of money to
purchase some Government appointment, after the
manner then usual. For some reason not stated the
young man failed to transact the business, and on his
way home called at the house in Winchester Road.
He had been drinking, and, proud of the_large sum

104

His Life and Works

he had about him, displayed it before the artist, who at
the moment was working upon a landscape. Morland,
whose funds and credit were at their lowest, observed
the young man's admiration, and resolved to get his
money. He plied him with liquor, and then induced
him to make over the cash in return for his promissory
note and the picture. The young man returned home
in such condition that he could give no account of his
proceedings, and the transaction with Morland was not
made known to his father until the following day.
The enraged baker sent his son immediately to return
the promissory note, and recover the money ; but it
was too late ; Morland had disappeared.

When he returned it was without the money : part
had been spent in paying off his most pressing creditors,
the rest he had squandered after his usual fashion.
The affair was compromised for the time by giving the
baker notes ; but, as usual, Morland failed to meet
them when they fell due, and he realised that his career
of reckless extravagance must come to an end.

His first idea was to go abroad. Among his friends
was a German, whose stories of adventure had often
amused him ; and Morland proposed to take this man
as his travelling companion for a prolonged continental
trip. The German, however, had seen too much of
the world and of Morland, to fall in with the scheme.
He was a married man, and he stipulated that during
his absence a weekly allowance should be paid to his
wife. We need not doubt that Morland willingly agreed
to this, he was always liberal of promises ; but when

105 14

George Morland

the German friend required some guarantee that the
allowance would be paid, he raised an insuperable
difficulty. The continental trip was first postponed,
and then abandoned : and Morland, whose debts now
amounted to ;^3700, incurred during eighteen months,
found himself obliged to seek safety in another direction.

He borrowed what money he could, and, with his
wife and the faithful Brooks,^ took flight to Enderby
in Leicestershire. Dawe says that he boarded in a
farmhouse at Enderby : Hassell, that he received an
invitation from Mr. Claude Loraine Smith to visit
him at that place, and accepted it. Perhaps we can
reconcile these apparently conflicting statements by
the assumption that Mr. Loraine Smith gave such an
invitation ; that Morland accepted it ; and shrinking,
with his peculiar shyness from the — to him — oppressive
atmosphere of a country gentleman's house, when he
reached Leicestershire took up his quarters in the
farmhouse near his would-be host.

Mr. Loraine Smith was " renowned not only for his
abilities as an artist, but also for his liberal encourage-
ment of the arts " (Hassell). He was also a keen
hunting man. He showed the artist much attention,
taking him about the neighbourhood to point out
views and scenery which might appeal to his artistic
sense, and showing him sport with the hounds.

How long Morland remained at Enderby we do
not know : his stay could not have been one of very

* Collins states that Henry Morland accompanied his brother on this
visit.

1 06

His Life and Works

long duration, as the place of his retreat was kept a
secret from the creditors, who were led to believe that
he was in France. His works show that he was not
idle, and we may conclude that country life — for a time
at least — pleased him. To his residence here we can
trace various works, for example, "A Leicestershire
Cart-horse," and the hunting pictures, which were
engraved and published during subsequent years.

He collaborated with Mr. Loraine Smith in the
production of at least one work : a fact worthy of
notice, for this is one of the very few instances^ on
record in which Morland collaborated with any one,
and bears eloquent testimony to the tact of Mr. Loraine
Smith in winning so large a measure of the painter's
confidence. The picture is " A Litter of Foxes "
(engraved and published in 1797 by J. Grozer), in
which Mr. Loraine Smith painted the foxes, and
Morland the landscape.

In a former chapter we have given the passage from
a letter which shows Morland in the most pleasing light,
sitting in a barn surrounded by children and animals,
enjoying himself in a fashion widely different from that
he pursued among his dissipated companions in London.
It need not be doubted that this is representative of the
life the painter led at Enderby. The pity is that he
did not remain in the country.

1 Hassell says that George Morland finished the picture, " A Lady's
Maid Ironing," which his father began, and painted a coach and horses in
a landscape by John Rathbone (" Mail Coach in a Storm "), a painter in
oil and water colour, who practised in Manchester, London, and Preston
(1750 ?-i8o7).

107

George Morland

His stay in Leicestershire, however, was brought to
a close by the exertions of Mr. Wedd, who succeeded
in persuading his principal creditors to agree to terms,
and sign a letter of licence. The terms of this document
show us Morland's powers of earning at this period. He
engaged to pay off his debts at the rate of ;^I20 per
month : ^ he had no part in arranging the conditions,
and the monthly sum fixed by Mr. Wedd proves that
gendeman's knowledge of his earning powers, and the
confidence of the creditors. No significance would
attach to any promise of the kind made by Morland
himself: he would have set his hand to anything in
his reckless indifference to both money and possibilities.

A well-considered endeavour also was made to save
the unfortunate man from himself Two of his creditors
made themselves responsible for the rent of No. 63
Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square ; and Morland, on his
part, promised to occupy it, devote himself to work, and
break with his disreputable Paddington friends.^ So
far as the pugilist fraternity was concerned, the latter
undertaking was quite in accord with his own wishes :
he had never forgotten Joe Ward's conduct in that
matter of the horse, an incident which had gone far to
disgust him with boxing men and their methods.

Morland agreed to all the conditions, making a single
reservation in favour of one Paddington acquaintance.

1 Dawe.

2 This arrangement recalls the offer said to have been made Morland
when he was residing within the verge of the court at the end of 1789,
see p. 85.

108

GATHERING STICKS
Signed, 1 79 1

{Size of original picture 15J x llj inches.)

His Life and Works

This was a man named Crane, who had given up his
trade, that of butcher, to attach himself to the painter.
Crane, Morland represented, was so useful he could
not dispense with him ; and Crane was allowed to
remain in his service to grind colours at a salary of a
guinea a week.

This second letter of licence was signed in 179T.

109

CHAPTER X

Under the very favourable auspices described in the
last chapter, Morland returned to London, and took up
his residence in Charlotte Street. He had been released
from all fear of arrest, his reputation was at its highest,
and he could sell pictures as rapidly as he painted
them : and had he only possessed a little stability of
purpose he could not only soon have discharged his
liabilities, but have made a fortune.

For a time he appears to have worked diligently,
and to have kept his promise in the matter of dropping
his Paddington friends. It was during the early days
of his residence in Charlotte Street that he painted for
Colonel Stuart the picture of " The Benevolent Sports-
man." ^ Colonel Stuart had commissioned Morland to
paint a companion work to " Gypsies Kindling a Fire,"
which he had purchased more than two years before.
This work occupied him a week, and Colonel Stuart
paid him seventy guineas for it. About the same time,
Morland completed in a single day two small pictures,

' The engraving from this work executed by J. Grozer, and published
in 1795, is entitled "Morning; or the Benevolent Sportsman," and was
issued as a companion work to "Evening ; or the Sportsman's Return."

110

George Morland

" Watering the Farmer's Horse " and " Rubbing down
the Post Horse," for which his solicitor, Mr. Wedd,^
gave him fifteen guineas. It is worth mentioning the
prices the artist's works now commanded ; they show
how easily he could have kept the engagement made
in the letter of licence which stipulated for payment of
his debts at £i20 per month.

The artist had not been long at Charlotte Street
when he discovered that cash was less easily obtained
than it had been previously. His patrons and creditors
had grown wary, and were no longer eager to advance
money on pictures which might never be completed, or
might be sold to other people if they were. Moreover,
his creditors expected that his larger works should be
sold for their benefit ; a fact which qualified the artist's
willingness to undertake large pictures ; and to evade
the claims of his creditors and obtain supplies of ready
money, he spent most of his time painting small canvases
which he sold to new patrons. With these new
connections, says Dawe, he pursued the same course
as with his former patrons, for they were equally
infatuated.

He kept his word as regards dropping his Paddington
friends, or most of them ; but this availed little, for he
soon assembled round him a new set of acquaintances
of the same stamp and equally undesirable. Hassell

' Mr. Wedd, by reason of the professional assistance he was frequently
called upon to render Morland, had exceptional opportunities of securing
pictures and he made the most of them ; in course of time he became the
owner of a large collection of his client's works.

Ill

George Morland

attributes his preference of low companions to his love
of flattery : no man, he says, was more accessible to
flattery than Morland, "and the more gross and strong
the mode wherein it was served up, the more highly
he relished it. An ostler or postboy applauding his
observations was sure to be touched in the palm with
half-a-crown, or perhaps to receive a pair of leather
breeches, little the worse for wear."

However that may be, such companions were indis-
pensable to Morland, and he was soon surrounded by
persons of the class whose society he enjoyed. One
of his new friends was a Jewish colourman named
Levi ; he is described by Dawe as " a fellow of some
humour, and as much jocular vulgarity as suited the
taste of his patron, who associated with him only for
the entertainment he afforded, for in reality he despised
him." This Jew's sense of humour, however, did not
prevent him from caring for his own interests : failing,
like so many others, to obtain payment of his bills from
Morland, he had the artist arrested. Morland, in course
of a few hours, succeeded in regaining his freedom,
and went at once to Levi's shop. After lavishing
abuse on the man in such manner as to collect a crowd
round the door, Morland off^ered to fight him, and
gave proof of his readiness by leaning over the counter
and hitting the Jew in the face with all his strength,
amid the plaudits of the mob. Though a much bigger
man than his customer, Levi dared not return the blow
— popular feeling in those days would be entirely
against the Jew in a quarrel with a Christian — and

112

MORNING; OR. THE BENEVOLENT SPORTSMAN
{Sue it/origitml picture 43 X 58 i}u:Ji^^.)

His Life and Works

Morland left in triumph. Levi threatened an action
for assault, but no more was heard of the affair.

Another new friend was a watchmaker named
Tupman ; we certainly hear of his presence in public-
houses, but he does not appear to have been one of
the disreputable acquaintances, and his claim to notice
rests on the curious dealings Morland had with him.
Tupman, like every one else, wanted pictures, and
Morland took it into his head to give pictures in
exchange for watches ; and when short of cash would
sell for three or four guineas a watch which had cost
him a picture worth many times the money.

Brooks the shoemaker continued to be one of the
artist's friends, as also did Thomas Hand, who had been
his pupil in the Camden Town days. Hand was a
character very different from David Brown ; he had
" entered with zeal into all his master's amusements, of
which he was a much more successful imitator than of
his paintings. He, however, acquired a little of his
manner, and copied his pictures with tolerable facility."
Hand was a congenial spirit, and therefore retained
Morland's friendship ; ' he seems to have made himself
useful, to his own profit no doubt, when difficulties
again thickened round the unfortunate painter.

Five works were exhibited in the Royal Academy of
1792, while he lived in Charlotte Street. These were
" The Benevolent Sportsman," painted for Colonel
Stuart; "Goats," "A Farmyard," "A Shipwreck,"
and "A Farmer's Kitchen." No doubt these con-

' His death occurred about six weeks before Morland's.

"3 IS

George Morland

tributed to his popularity, but Morland was growing
restless, and disinclined to take advantage of his grow-
ing fame. It may have been that his load of debt
weighed upon him, and he shirked settling down to work
at pictures which would be sold to satisfy his creditors ;
but whether that were the case or not, the fact remains
that he resumed his habit of making excursions into the
country to the neglect of his brush. He made these
expeditions sometimes on the impulse of the moment.
Once, while with friends at Camden Town, he ordered
supper, and mentioning that the coach for Derby left at
seven o'clock, proposed to go thither if any one would
accompany him. Hand agreeing, Morland at once
went home to Charlotte Street and told his man to pack
up clothes and painting materials and forward them to
him at Derby by the next stage-coach. Within an hour
of their arrival, as they sat smoking, Morland said
Derby was too dull a place for him and voted for an
immediate return to town. Hand agreed, and they
took the next coach back, leaving instructions for
Morland's clothes and painting materials to be returned
as soon as they arrived.

Another anecdote, which illustrates his thoughtless-
ness not less than his habit of acting upon impulse, is
told by Dawe, and lends point to that biographer's
remark that if the poet Gray were never a child " it
may, with equal truth, be asserted of Morland that he
never was a man." On one occasion he took a great
fancy to the head of a black ox with a white muzzle,
and purchasing it for a guinea had it sent to his house,

114

His Life and Works

intending to make drawings from it at once. The
head was deposited in his studio, but Morland was
suddenly inspired with a craving for the country ; and
in his usual impetuous fashion he locked up the studio
and set off. A month later he returned to find his
house almost uninhabitable ; the weather was hot, and
the state of the forgotten head in the locked studio
sufficiently explained the stench. It cost him a crown
to induce the dustman to remove the carrion. Mrs.
Morland, it should be said, was in the habit of going
to stay with her own relatives during her husband's
absences from home.

Accustomed to flattery and adulation from his chosen
friends, he could not brook a word of reproof Any one
who thought to bring him to a sense of his duty by re-
proaches speedily discovered his mistake. Dawe tells
us how Morland, having a picture to finish, asked in a
couple of friends to keep him in company while he
painted, and laid aside his brush to put on the gloves
for a round with one of them. While the two were
boxing, the gentleman who had the chief conduct of
the artist's affairs came in and asked if the picture were
finished. Morland said it would "be done by-and-
by," and the visitor, pardonably angered by the
artist's indifference, asked if " that were the way to do
it ? " adding, " A pretty manner this of going on."
Morland made an insolent reply, and the visitor re-
minded him that it was already past the time when the
picture was to be ready for the gentleman who had
ordered it. To this Morland made no answer, but

"5

George Morland

shouted to his man to bring his boots, and, discarding
the gloves, proceeded to resume the clothes he had
taken off. Ignoring protests, he went out with his
friends, swearing that it should be long enough before
he finished the picture. " If you once attempted to
cross him in anything he was doing for you, it was a
chance if it ever was finished," says Dawe ; and it
would seem from the foregoing anecdote that the
chance was much against completion.

To make Morland adhere to any engagement in
connection with a picture was a task requiring judgment
and punctuality, as well as tact. On one occasion he
incurred a debt to an acquaintance named Dean for the
keep of a horse he had borrowed, which, having been
taken to the wrong stables by mistake, involved the
owner in heavy expenses before the error was discovered.
Morland acknowledged that the mistake had originated
with himself, and gave his note for the amount incurred.
When it fell due he offered Dean a picture to renew it ;
the latter consenting, Morland eventually finished the
promised work, but Dean, failing to take away his prize
at the moment, could never afterwards obtain it.

He could be tricked into keeping faith with those
who employed him if they knew how to set about it.
Hassell on one occasion, having promised a French
patron, Mons. de Calonne,' a picture by Morland,
induced the painter to be punctual by a stratagem.

1 Mons. de Calonne, who died October 29, 1802, sacrificed his fortune
to his loyalty to the throne in the French Revolution. He was an en-
thusiastic admirer of the sciences and patron of the liberal arts.

116

His Life and Works

Having advanced half the price, and knowing that re-
monstrance was useless, he instructed a couple of men
to personate bailiffs and sent them to Paddington with
orders to breakfast at the White Lion and hang about
as if watching Morland's house. The artist was a
very early riser, and was often at work by six in the
morning if not sooner ; and Hassell paying him an
early visit found him, as he anticipated, already in his
studio. He reminded him of his promise to finish the
picture for Mons. de Calonne, and pressed him to keep
his word. It was quite useless ; Morland was in a
teasing mood, and the more he was pressed the more
jocular and evasive he became. Then Hassell, as if
by chance, went to the window and discovered two
suspicious-looking characters lounging about the door
of the White Lion opposite. He called Morland's
attention to them ; every trace of jocularity vanished
from the artist's demeanour as he cautiously inspected
the men. Always easily alarmed, he never doubted
that they were sent by some of his much-tried creditors,
and would pounce upon him the moment he left the
house. There could be no outdoor exercise for him
that day, and he turned to his easel greatly subdued.
Hassell was all sympathy ; he recommended that the
house door be kept shut, that if any one called the
servants should answer from an upstairs window that
the master had not been home all night, and that
nobody should be admitted. These measures, he
suggested, might perhaps cause the suspicious-lookmg
strangers to take themselves off. Then, having got his

117

George Morland

man into a more amenable frame of mind, he produced
the other half of the stipulated price in gold, and once
more begged Morland to work upon Mons. de Calonne's
picture.

No interruption occurred, and all supplies being for that
day apparently cut off, the artist made a virtue of necessity and
finished a landscape and figures, one of the best pictures he ever
painted ; and that in less than six hours after he had dead-
coloured it.

The picture completed, it only remained to relieve
Morland's apprehensions. Hassell went to the window
again, and after studying the supposed sheriff's officers,
it struck him that the face of one was familiar. Could
they be bailiffs after all ? He went out, appeared to
satisfy himself on the point, and restored Morland to
complete composure of mind by bringing in one of the
watchers and giving him the picture, wet as it was, to
carry home for him !

Morland's excursions into the country, once under-
taken from sheer restlessness, had for some time past
been made as a means of escaping from his creditors.
He paid two or three instalments on the letter of
licence whereby he had promised to give ;^i20 a
month, and then disappeared ; where he went to on
these occasions nobody but the companions of the
moment knew. He would remain in hiding, collect-
ing ideas for pictures and painting, and after a time
return to Charlotte Street, generally in fear and trem-
bling, lest some new creditor should cause his arrest.
From the old ones he was safe under his letter of

ii8

FARMYARD
Signed, undated

{Size of original picture 28 x 35 inches,)

His Life and Works

licence ; but his reckless mismanagement of money
afFairs, as exemplified by his dealings with Tupman the
watchmaker, had involved him in a fresh series of debts,
and the year 1792 had not passed before Mr. Wedd's
services were again required to arrange his afFairs. A
third letter of licence^ was obtained from the long-
suffering creditors, while he was hiding in the country :
under this he engaged to pay £100 per month, and,
free once more from fear of arrest, he returned to
London. Again he paid a few of the monthly instal-
ments, and again failing to keep his engagements,
retired to some safe rural retreat to escape the con-
sequences.

While the painter was thus leading the life of a
hunted animal, unable to show his face in the town,
his reputation was at its height. No more convincing
tribute to his genius, no more eloquent commentary
on misused talent could be offered than the fact that
in this year, 1792, while George IVIorland was dodging
his creditors from one hiding-place to another, Mr.
Daniel Orme, the art-publisher, opened in Bond Street
the " Morland Gallery." In a building erected for the
purpose he exhibited upwards of a hundred of the
painter's best works which he had purchased from
various owners. In this gallery, to quote the some-
what stilted language of Blagdon —

' Dawe refers to this document as " the second " of the series, and
continues to count subsequent letters of licence as though that granted in
1791, stipulating for payment of ;f 120 per month, had been the first. He
overlooks the letter of licence granted in December 1789 and mentioned by
himself, which was really the first.

119

George Morland

Many of the first characters in the kingdom became pur-
chasers, and the place was the resort of all who wished to
obtain the appellation of amateurs. As many excellent imita-
tions of his drawings or sketches were also engraved at that
time by Mr. Orme^ . . . they promoted the demand for his
works to such a degree that pencil sketches made in about an
hour were sold at auctions for nine and ten guineas each.

No doubt this exhibition was open while Morland
was actually in hiding. Exactly where he sought
refuge at this time cannot be ascertained, but the
existence of a " Scene in Westmoreland " bearing date
1792 (see list in Chapter XX.), gives a clue to his
whereabouts. He preferred the North Road, says
Dawe, " for his favourite public-houses lay in that
direction," more probably, we may suggest, because
his habit of travelling on the coaches, when he
lived at Camden Town, had made him familiar
with many quiet villages on the North Road. His
preference might also be explained, partially at least,
having regard to his impecunious state, by Dawe's own
statement that while at Camden Town Morland became
so well known among the coachmen and postboys
" that he could have been conveyed to any part of
the kingdom free of expense." Morland might forget
his friends when he was tired of them, but it is not
necessary to insist again upon his enviable faculty for
gaining and keeping the affection of those with whom
he came in contact ; and it is quite likely that the

' The feature of Blagdon's Mt-moirs is a collection of twenty engravings
in colour after works by Morland exhibited at Orme's gallery in 1792.

120

His Life and Works

coachmen with whom he made friends in the Camden
Town days were pleased and proud to render such
service as a free trip to an old acquaintance who had
become so famous as Morland.

The artist hated being alone ; but in taking with
him on these occasions such friends as Brooks and
Hand, he had a double purpose. They kept him
company in whatever retreat he might select, and they
were useful as agents to convey pictures to London
for sale. A m-an named Burn is mentioned as a fre-
quent participator in these country visits ; and Tupman
the watchmaker was another confidant. All that was
asked of these friends was that they should sell the
pictures and keep their employer's place of concealment
a secret : and as they could dispose of the works to
great advantage and Morland was quite indifferent to
the amount he might receive for them, we need not
doubt that the secret was faithfully kept for as long as
the painter deemed concealment necessary.

While in the country he was always busy. When
not actually painting he was among the peasantry,
visiting their cottages and playing with the children,
to whom he often gave money — he never lost his love
of children. He sometimes joined sporting parties,
and if he sought a refuge on the coast he associated
with the fishermen and sailors. Endowed with ex-
ceptional powers of observation, he found models at
every turn ; sometimes he assisted memory by making
slight sketches of attitude, dress, and surroundings
which might be useful for a picture : —

121 i6

George Morland

Whatever might be his situation, whether he was riding
on horseback, or in a stage-coach, or sitting surrounded by
vulgar companions, his mind was seldom wholly inattentive,
though it displayed at the time nothing but an eagerness to
partake of the amusement that was passing, in which he
appeared to be as deeply engaged as any of the company, for
he never mentioned to others the result of his serious and
useful reflections. (Dawe.)

Thus Morland lived for nearly two years, 1792 and
1793. His patient creditors continued apparently to
hold themselves responsible for the rent of the house
in Charlotte Street, for the painter made that his
headquarters when the state of his affairs suffered him
to show his face in London. From this time forward
he always went in fear of arrest. While the terms of
his fourth letter of licence were being negotiated by
Mr. Wedd, he ventured up to town in order to see
the lawyer at the house of a confidential friend, and
during his stay it occurred to him that he would like
to know how matters stood in Charlotte Street. Not
daring to go himself, he prevailed upon a friend to go
and ascertain whether his creditors had put in the
bailiffs. This incident is recorded by Collins as an
example of Morland's love of practical joking. The
man who undertook to reconnoitre in Charlotte Street
was a poet and somewhat timid. Morland's house, as
ever, was full of pets, including various dogs, and the
painter rightly conjectured that these would be hungry,
and their reception of any one who might open the
door would be alarming. The unfortunate poet

122

His Life and Works

escaped from the dogs with some difficulty, and his
flight was aggravated by terror lest the storm of bark-
ing should attract the notice of the bailiffs supposed to
be on the watch, if not "in possession," and get him
into trouble.

123

CHAPTER XI

The friend's report led Morland to conclude that it
would be imprudent to show himself in Charlotte
Street ; he therefore remained three or four days in
London to interview Mr. Wedd, who was negotiating
the terms of the fourth letter of licence. His legal
adviser recommended him not to appear abroad,
assuring him that the matter would be speedily settled
if he " kept close," and the artist followed his advice.

Being in want of ready money, he was not idle ;
Dawe tells us that in a few hours he made three draw-
ings in black chalk tinted with crayons, which the friend,
in whose house he was staying, undertook to sell.
This was very easily arranged. The obliging friend
called upon a dealer and told him he had received from
Morland, who was in the country, a couple of drawings
which he might have for three guineas apiece. The
dealer jumped at the chance, bought the sketches, and
asked if there were any prospect of getting more.
Informed that a third was expected next day, he called
at the house and bought that also.

This visit to London took place in November or
December 1793. The creditor Morland most feared

124

GIPSY ENCAMPMENT
Signed. 1791

(Six 0/ oriffi-nal picture 24^ x 2S1J inches.)

1

i\ ,j^^^^B .^^^^^^^^^1

^1^1

i

^ ^B^^^^^^^^l

b

^ -■■

1

George Morland

at this juncture was Dean, the man at Bar net to whom
he had given a promissory note for expenses incurred
over the keep of the horse his messenger had taken to
a wrong stable, and to whom he had promised a picture
in consideration of renewal. The note had never been
met, and the promised picture, as already stated, had
been given to somebody else. It was necessary to
pacify the man, and, accordingly, Morland sent for him,
and made over part of the proceeds of the drawings
which had been sold for him. Dean was evidently
one of those who were making difficulties about the
new letter of licence ; for the fact that the document
was signed a few days afterwards, suggests that the
timely payment of a few guineas won over a reluctant
creditor. Under the new (fourth) letter of licence,
which was signed in December 1793, Morland under-
took to pay £^0 a month ; and once more he was able
to appear abroad without danger of arrest.

His relations with his wife continued to be unhappy :
" their disagreements were frequent," says Dawe ; and
we infer that Morland's frequent absences from home,
which sometimes extended to two or three months at a
time, were resented by the much-tried wife. Where
he went on these occasions nobody knew, but certain
of his pictures enable us to trace him, sometimes at all
events, to his old haunts in the Isle of Wight.' His

• Blagdon says, " Morland had a near relation who was deeply connected
with the dealers alluded to, and when they wanted to pack h'wi off to work
for them at the Isle of Wight, they pretended that the bailiffs were in search
of him ; on which he gladly made his escape, and suffered them to send
him in a post-chaise to any part they might choose ; and where, by keeping

125

George Morland

" Storm on Coast with "Wreck of Man-of-War " was
painted in the island in 1794, and two sea pieces,
"Storm ; Coast Scene" and "Calm ; Coast Scene," also
done in the Wight, are dated 1796.^

Dawe explains the life-like character of his gipsy
pictures by the fact that he often associated with gipsies,
and, accompanied by Brooks, lived with them for days
together, adopting their mode of life, and sleeping with
them in barns at night. A gipsy woman, who was
sitting to an artist one day in a country churchyard,
asked him " if he knew one George Morland. Lord
love him 1 " she continued, " I wish I could find him
out : he lived with us three days last summer upon
Harrow Wild (Weald), and drawed the picture of a
child of mine that's since dead ; and now the gendeman
who begot the child would give twenty guineas for the
picture."

As before stated, Mrs. Morland used to go and
stay with her own relatives when George was away,
and the house being left untenanted for weeks or
months together, it practically ceased to be " home "
in the true sense of the word. Morland, when he
appeared there, which he did without notice, lived in

him upon a short allowance of money, they soon obtained a number of his
exquisite productions." As the only "near relations" Morland possessed,
at all connected with the art publishers, were his brother Henry, and his
brother-in-law, William Ward, one of these two must be referred to as the
instrument of the dealers. But Henry's behaviour to George renders it
highly improbable that he ever stooped to such practices, and there is
absolutely nothing on record to show that William Ward ever did so.
' Hubert Garle.

126

His Life and Works

hand-to-mouth fashion with only a boy to wait on
him.

It appears to have been about this time that he,
acting on the representations of friends, bought copper
plates with the intention of etching and publishing
his own drawings, whereby he should divert into his
own pocket the large profits which now went to the
publishers. The only use of them he ever made,
however, was to alarm the publishers by threats, so
procuring better terms.

His freedom from danger of arrest lasted but a
short time; as before, he failed to produce the
stipulated monthly sum after one or two instalments
had been paid, and then held his hand until such
pressure was brought to bear upon him, that he was
obliged to satisfy his most clamorous creditors with
money. The patience of others, as before, he contrived
to buy with pictures : and, when fairly run to earth, he
displayed a degree of address in soothing his captors,
which bears testimony to the singular fascination he
exercised over those brought in contact with him.

To set the bailiffs on Morland's track became, after
a while, worse than useless. He exercised his arts
upon them with so much success that they became his
sworn friends, and instead of effecting his arrest, would
give him timely warning to get out of the way. Nor
did only bailiffs submit to the spell of his personality.
Dawe tells us that on one occasion a creditor, of whom
Morland stood in much awe as a shrewd and resolute
man, himself accompanied the bailiffs to Charlotte

127

George Morland

Street, determined to see that the men did their duty
and executed the writ of arrest. Morland was just
leaving in a coach when the party arrived and, finding
escape impossible, gave himself up. He induced the
creditor and bailiffs to join him in a visit to a public-
house, and over their drink succeeded in persuading
the resolute creditor to discharge the writ.

He was not always so fortunate ; on more than one
occasion he was actually arrested and conveyed to a
sponging-house ; but his friends never failed him, and
until 1799-1800, when he spent a day or two in the
King's Bench, he always escaped imprisonment. Bail
was always forthcoming ; and it is much to Morland's
credit that, untrustworthy as he was in all other money
matters, he invariably proved loyal to those who gave
bail for his appearance and was at pains to ascertain on
what date his presence would be required ; faithfully
keeping the engagement, though he knew the much-
dreaded loss of his liberty might follow.

From the beginning of 1794 he continued to live,
with brief intervals, his hunted life. Once, when he
returned from one of his periodical country excursions,
he learned that the bailiffs were watching the house in
Charlotte Street, and with unusual boldness determined
to outwit them by taking up his quarters almost under
their eyes. There was at the end of the court at the
back, a stable ; and he had the hayloft above it con-
verted into a studio where he pursued his work in
such security as he might with a ladder in readiness to
let down from either of the two windows ; one of these

128

His Life and Works

overlooked the mews, the other, the backyard of his
house. With this arrangement and a sentinel at the
corner of the mews to give notice of the appearance of
the enemy, he remained in seclusion for six days. Un-
able then to endure the confinement longer he ventured
out, and meeting some bailiffs whom he knew, learned
who of their fraternity were on the look-out for him.
This piece of information was all that Morland wanted ;
he sought out the bailiffs, bought off their attentions,
and went about his business openly for a time. But
the creditor by whom the men were employed growing
restive, the obliging bailiffs wrote informing Morland
that their employer's anxiety to know why they " didn't
grab " was becoming so pressing that he had better go
into hiding.

Morland promptly acted on the suggestion, and
Charlotte Street knew him no more. He sought the
aid of his brother Henry, to whom he had given the
nickname of Klobstock, or Klob, and ordered his man
George Sympson to pack up his painting gear ^ ; Henry
found a refuge for him in Chelsea, and there he
remained for a little while in safety.

Not for long, however ; he was confiding enough to

' Morland had "all the necessary apparatus for painting and drawing,
with a month's stock of bladder colours as well as dry, pencils, and an easel
which he took to pieces in a moment, contained in a neat mahogany box
about thirty inches square. For as if he had anticipated the numerous
wanderings and changes of abode that were henceforward to be his lot, he
gave orders to a cabinetmaker, — soon after his arrival in Charlotte Street, —
for the said convenient painting chest or box at the very time every person
but his brother and a few friends thought him permanently settled there."
(Collins.)

I2q 17

George Morland

tell an " old friend " whom he met In the street where
he was living, careless of the fact that he owed the
friend ;£300. He not only disclosed his address but
invited the man to come and see him, offering a picture
as a present to induce him to do so. The friend came
next day, received the picture, and left, renewing his
promises of secrecy and continued friendship ; and on
the following morning he had Morland arrested. Bail
was forthcoming as usual, and he was soon free again.
While we render all justice to Morland's skilful
management of his creditors, we must not overlook one
peculiar feature of his situation. One set of creditors
was continually hunting him with a view to arrest and
another set was as constantly shielding him, helping
him to evade arrest, and going bail for him, with the
object of procuring pictures.

He would not return to Chelsea after this experience,
and sought refuge with Sympson in the house of a
waterman at Lambeth. Here he remained for a month,
never leaving his hiding-place until after dark, when he
would get the waterman to row him across the river,
that he might visit his favourite public-houses in the
neighbourhood of Charing Cross. He was apparently
beginning to grow nervous at this time, for, without any
particular reason, he became dissatisfied with the house
at Lambeth, and wanted to go farther afield where
he thought he might be more secure from pursuit ;
accordingly he took a furnished house at East Sheen
where his wife joined him.

It is probable that one motive for leaving Lambeth

130

GIPSIES IN A WOOD

(Size of original picture lii^ x 25i inrhes.)

His Life and Works

for East Sheen was to obtain more exercise and freedom
of movement. For weeks together in London he had
only ventured out after dark, and the confinement was
telling upon his health and spirits. He worked inces-
santly : if he did not go out in the evening he seldom
left his painting room until he went to bed ; he ceased
to take his meals regularly, but would "sometimes have,
at seven in the morning, beefsteaks and onions with
purl and gin, or a pot of porter for breakfast. His
dinner he would take at eleven or twelve or one or
three o'clock as his appetite served." Even while at
Charlotte Street, where at first some regularity was
maintained in their domestic arrangements, he seldom
sat at table with his wife, but cooked his own food in
the studio and ate it from a chair beside his easel. It
would seem that during such periods of self-imposed
confinement he indulged the habit of "tippling."
For weeks together he would be perfectly sober,
working hard ; and then he would give way to drink,
swallowing liquor of all kinds in quantity. He never
drank tea, maintaining that it made his hand shake.

Dawe says that though Morland did drink " vast
quantities of spirits, his feats in this respect have been
exaggerated." On occasion he went to extremes, as
witness the following extraordinary record which he
sent to his brother Henry —

G. Morland's bub for one day at Brighton (having nothing
to do).

Hollands Gin ] „ r r.

Rum and milk } ^^^°'^ Brealcfest.

George Morland

Coffee — Breakfast.

Hollands, Porter, Shrub, Ale, "v

Hollands and Water, Port Wine > Before Dinner.

with ginger. Bottled Porter, J

Port Wine — At dinner and after.

Porter, Bottled ditto, Punch, Porter,

Ale, Opium and Water.

Port Wine — At Supper

Gin and water. Shrub.

Rum on going to bed.

This remarkable list of liquors was adorned with a
sketch of a tombstone bearing a skull and cross-bones
and the epitaph : " Here lies a drunken dog."

There is no date to this singular document, and
there is no clue to the year when the visit to Brighton
was paid ; it may have been one of the artist's many
excursions from London in search of pleasure or of
temporary escape from creditors.

Such a day's " bub " must have been very exceptional.
Morland's constitution was a strong one, but no con-
stitution could possibly have withstood frequent out-
breaks on this scale. Dawe assures us that when in
the company of a temperate person he drank no more
than his companion. His love of the saddle stood
him in excellent stead, and as long as he was able to
ride he suffered little from the effects of intemperance.

The man was a mass of inconsistencies ; even as he
painted pictures to point the moral of Industry and
Economy while he was indulging in wild extravagance,
so in his sober moments he would descant with

132

His Life and Works

eloquence and earnestness upon the evil effects of
drink. He seemed incapable of applying his precepts
to his own case ; and when invited to do so would
dismiss the matter with a laugh expressing his preference
for a " short life and a merry one," or in more serious
mood would declare his resolve to turn over a new

leaf

How long Morland remained at East Sheen it is
impossible to discover. Collins says he stayed there
"for a considerable time in perfect security," and it
was during his residence there that Mr. Wedd arranged
yet another compromise with his creditors. Under
this agreement he undertook to paint two pictures a
month, which were to be sold for the benefit of those
to whom he owed money. This arrangement, accord-
ing to Dawe, was made in November 1794 ; "but as
might have been expected he never completed any
pictures on these terms." The undertaking at least
enabled him to go abroad without fear of arrest for a
time ; but when no pictures were forthcoming creditors
began to grow impatient, and Morland once more went
in fear of arrest. He therefore left East Sheen, and
went into hiding in Queen Anne Street, East, a retreat
selected by his brother Henry.

This place was so well chosen that for three months
he remained in security. Henry Morland had been
mindful of his brother's requirements, and was in-
fluenced in taking these lodgings by the fact that
Portland Chapel being immediately opposite, the rooms
occupied by George were therefore not overlooked.

133

George Morland

His creditors were more than usually desirous of find-
ing Morland at this juncture, for one of them offered
a reward of £io for information as to his place of
concealment. His only companion in Queen Anne
Street was an attendant of " demure deportment and
somewhat puritanical disposition," whose peculiarities
were a source of amusement to him. The constant
anxiety inseparable from the hunted life he led was
telling now upon the artist's disposition ; his light-
heartedness forsook him, and his temper, says Collins,
" grew troublesome to himself and those about him.
Brooding over his difficulties and starting at the sound
of a strange voice, he wrought himself up to a pitch
of nervous apprehension which made existence almost
unendurable to him. His terror of imprisonment
increased, and, we are told, he was on one occasion
near taking his own life."

His stay in Queen Anne Street was brought to a
close by arrest. Brooks, his former servant, was strongly
suspected of betraying his hiding-place. It is possible
that the man, roused to jealousy at his dismissal in
favour of another, was guilty of this act of treachery ;
on the other hand, Morland's own habitual carelessness
which often led him into acts out of all harmony with
the caution he should have observed, and sometimes
carried to extremes, may have led to his arrest. The
latter seems the more likely explanation by the light of
subsequent events.

Arrangements were made, as usual, with the
creditors at whose instance he had been arrested,

134

THE WOODMAN
{Size of original picture 24 X :i7 inches.)

His Life and Works

and Morland was soon free. He then left Queen
Anne Street, and sought refuge with his friend Mr.
Grozer, who had engraved many of his works and
"deemed it an honour to reckon him among his
inmates." Whether Mr. Grozer thought to turn the
genius of his lodger to his own personal profit, or
Morland suspected this motive on the part of his host,
or whether the unwelcome attentions of creditors
suggested the desirability of another move, does not
appear. "Whatever the reason Morland did not stay
long at Mr. Grozer's ; the engraver having occasion
to leave town for a time, his lodger seized the oppor-
tunity to decamp, which he did without paying his bill
for board and lodging.

Inasmuch as mention has been made of the suspicion
which rested upon Brooks in connection with the arrest
effected in Queen Anne Street, it is to be noticed that
when Morland decamped from Mr. Grozer's house, it
was Brooks who assisted him in his flight. Thanks
to his dexterity, Morland made good his retreat to
lodgings kept by Mrs. Ferguson in the Minories, his
address being known to none but Henry Morland
and Brooks.

He was soon frightened out of the Minories lodging.
While working one day at his easel he happened to
glance out and saw a man and a woman staring at him,
over the blind of a window opposite ; the ever-present
terror of discovery and arrest Instantly seized him ; he
mentioned the matter to his brother, who inquired of
Mrs. Ferguson whether she knew anything of these

135

George Morland

two inquisitive persons, and Henry, failing to obtain a
satisfactory account of them, was unable to reassure
George as to the innocence of their intentions. The
couple kept their station for two hours that day, and
next morning resumed it soon after the artist went to
his easel. Mrs. Ferguson was sent for and attributed
the attentions of the two gazers to curiosity, in which
she was no doubt correct ; and, roused by Morland's
announcement that he must leave the house unless the
annoyance ceased, suggested a method of stopping it
which reflected more credit upon her ingenuity than
her regard for propriety. Her suggestion appealed to
the coarse humour of George and his brother, but they
did not take it seriously, and resolved to seek a new
hiding-place. Accordingly, Henry made arrangements
for him to lodge with his mother-in-law, Mrs. Ward,
at Mansfield Place, Kentish Town.

Here he remained for a short time, then, suspect-
ing that his retreat had been discovered, he left Mans-
field Place by night and sought refuge with his brother
in Frith Street. While at Frith Street, feeling himself
secure, he painted two or three good pictures ; but ere
long he began to realise that his brother's house was
no place for him. Henry at this period appears to
have been the only person to whom the sale of his
pictures was entrusted — and indeed, having regard to
the nature of the life he was leading, always in conceal-
ment, it is very improbable that he ventured to employ
any one else. His works were still in demand, and
Henry Morland's house was the resort of persons

136

His Life and Works

anxious to buy them. George, therefore, was frequently
alarmed by recognising the voices of creditors, old and
new, and made up his mind to leave. His manner
of quitting Frith Street was characteristic of him in his
mood of extreme caution ; he did not acquaint his
trustworthy brother with his fears or his intention, but
left abruptly. Acting thus upon his own account, he
was not inclined to seek a new hiding-place for himself,
and therefore sought refuge once more with Mrs. Ward
at Mansfield Place.

137 '8

CHAPTER XII

There are no means of ascertaining how long the artist
spent in thus dodging his creditors. The arrangement
mentioned in the last chapter, under which he was to
paint two pictures a month for their benefit, was made
in November 1794 while he live at East Sheen, which
place he appears to have left soon afterwards. Where
he was living in 1796 when Mr. Wedd induced his
creditors to sign a fifth, and last, letter of licence, it is
impossible to determine with certainty ; but, as already
said, he visited the Isle of Wight during that year.
How low the artist's credit had then fallen may be in-
ferred from the fact that this undertaking pledged him
to pay only ^^lo per month. It was signed by few of
the creditors, and the fact that many declined to put
their names to it, sufficiently accounts for Morland's
life of concealment during these years. Those who
signed this final letter of licence were little better off
than those who did not ; for Dawe tells us that Mor-
land made fewer payments under this agreement than
he had done under any of the previous letters.'

' It will be remembered that Morland "satisfied ever)- creditor" who
signed the first letter of licence in December 17S9. Apropos of the fifth,

A ROCKY COAST SCENE WITH FISHERMEN
(Size of original picture 35g x 46J inches.)

George Morland

He left his mother-in-law's house after a short stay,
and went into lodgings at China Row, Walcot Place, on
the Surrey side of the river : thence to Poplar Row,
Newington, in the same locality, whence he retreated to
Kennington Green, where he found refuge in the house
of a cobbler. This cobbler, who was a Methodist hold-
ing strong religious views, made, it is stated, many
endeavours to reclaim his lodger. On one occasion,
hearing Morland break out in a fit of angry swearing,
he left his last and came upstairs, Bible in hand, to re-
monstrate. The painter made no attempt to check the
stream of exhortation, but, setting a canvas on the easel,
set to work to sketch the cobbler in the act of preach-
ing. The latter must have been a good fellow, for
when, his address concluded, he was shown the sketch,
he only observed, with a smile, that it was a thousand
pities the devil should have in his service a man so
clever. Morland, satisfied with his jest, destroyed the
caricature at once, lest it should find its way into a
print shop to the annoyance of his well-meaning
host.

At the end of 1797, Henry Robert Morland died.
It was soon after his father's death that George was
advised to claim the dormant baronetcy, but the advice

and last, arrangement of this kind, Dawe states that in the course of five
years Morland "paid at the rate of nine shillings and five pence in the
pound to his creditors generally. To effect this, however, he had been
continually borrowing money from new sources — hence it is probable that,
after paying this proportion of his old debts, he owed nearly as much as
before : his debt to his attorney alone for law expenses and money
borrowed had, in this period, increased from £900 to £i 500."

139

George Morland

could scarcely have been given at a time when it was
less likely to be followed. We cannot determine the
artist's precise whereabouts at the moment of his
father's death, or at the time when he was advised to
put forward his claim ; but as we are able to give the
date of the next incident in his career from independent
evidence, it is quite clear that the opportunity of
becoming Sir George Morland came when the artist
was using his utmost endeavours to conceal himself
from clamorous creditors.

We are told that when he heard there was no
pecuniary advantage attached to the baronetcy, but on
the contrary much expense would be involved by the
process of proving his claim, he relinquished all
thought of claiming the distinction, observing that
"plain George Morland" would always sell his pictures,
and there was more honour in being a fine painter than
a tided gentleman ; that he would have borne " the
disgrace of a title " had there been any income to
accompany it, but as the matter stood he would not
trouble himself. This, without doubt, is a very correct
statement of the artist's views. To have come forward
as claimant to a baronetcy without estates at the time
he was dodging between his brother's house and his
mother-in-law's, or secretly transferring his belongings
from one humble lodging to another in the Newington
district, would simply have been to invite the attentions
of the creditors he was trying to evade, without any
compensating advantage. But even had his circum-
stances at the time been less precarious we know quite

140

His Life and Works

enough of Morland's character and social tastes to be
certain that a baronetcy — or any other distinction —
would be distasteful to him.

It was about the end of the year 1797 or early in
1798 that Morland called in the assistance of his brother,
and moved, with his usual secrecy, to a cottage at
Hackney. It cannot be said where he was living just
before this move ; but when he went to Hackney he
was joined by his wife. Collins states that all the
time he remained there he was remarkably steady and
industrious ; and for proof that at last the unfortunate
artist enjoyed some peace of mind, this authority
observes that all the pictures painted by him while in
this retreat were conspicuous for the careful and
judicious manner in which they were finished. "Each
of his drawings also was, in like manner, beautifully
worked up, and evinced a marked and finished attention
in those parts which, in too many of his other works,
dashed off under less favourable circumstances, have
been evidently neglected." Collins further says that, as
a result of the great improvement in Morland's work
during his stay at Hackney, the prices rose fully forty
per cent : and Dawe's statement that he resumed his
old extravagant style of living, perplexing his neigh-
bours by the profusion of his expenditure and the
great quantities of wine and other luxuries carried
into his lodging, confirms the conclusion that, for a
time at least, Morland was again doing well. So
flourishing were his circumstances, thanks to sobriety
and hard work, that he appears to have cherished the

141

George Morland

idea of paying off all his creditors ; and inasmuch as
many of them, according to Collins's account, would
gladly have accepted nine shillings in the pound in full
settlement, there is no reason to doubt that under
favourable conditions he would have been able to
clear himself, and make a fresh start in life. He was
only thirty-five years of age ; his powers, when he
abstained from over-indulgence, were still at their
height ; and he had every prospect of arriving at the
position of comfortable independence his genius justified
his friends in hoping he would attain.

It was not to be, however ; from the date of his
arrival at Hackney his peculiar methods attracted first
the attention, and then the suspicion of his neighbours.
Still fearful of arrest he left his lodgings only in the
early morning or late in the evening ; and to escape
the bailiffs he imagined to be always on the watch for
him would often climb the garden palings and enter
the house by the back-door. Such proceedings on the
part of a new-comer to a quiet village near London
were quite enough to stimulate local gossip : and when
George and Henry Morland, over their drink in the
public-houses, were overheard speaking of copper-plates,
engraving and impressions, the local intelligence thought
it had discovered the clue to the mysterious doings of
the new arrival.

Having regard to the frequency of the crime of
forgery in those days, and to the doings that fired the
curiosity of the Hackney folk, the conclusion at which
they arrived is quite explicable. Here was a stranger

142

HARROWING
{Size of original pktvi-i' T'J- x lU- nf/tp-'^.)

His Life and Works

who lived in luxurious style, who remained shut up all
day, who went out and returned home at unorthodox
hours, who preferred to climb over the palings rather
than go in by the front door like an honest man, and
discussed with his friends matters savouring of forged
bank - notes. The Hackney people, putting these
things together, concluded that painting was merely
a blind, and that the artist was a forger of bank-
notes. They laid information accordingly, and
Messrs. Winter and Key, the Bank's solicitors,
promptly took action, despatching a party of Bow
Street officers to arrest the supposed forgers. This,
as the records of the Bank of England show, occurred
in June 1798.

George Morland, having received warning that the
officers were close by, and were inquiring for the
dwelling of a painter, jumped to the inevitable con-
clusion that they were bailiffs, and instantly quitting
the house by the back-door, climbed the palings and
made his way across the brickfields to London.
Henry Morland or Mrs. Morland, or perhaps both,
remained to receive the officers, who would listen to
no explanation until they had ransacked the premises
with the thoroughness their mission required. When
every drawer had been broken open and every hiding-
place " that could hold a pack of cards " rummaged ;
and the search had revealed nothing but unfinished
pictures, painting materials, and property equally
innocent, the explanations of the artist's relatives were
accepted, and apologies were tendered.

143

George Morland

George Morland, in the meantime, had found a
temporary hiding-place in London, where he appears
to have remained for a week. He was discovered by
his friends, and the mission of the Bow Street officers
being explained to him, he took counsel with Mr.
Wedd. That gentleman at once approached Messrs.
Winter and Key with a claim for compensation in
respect of the inconvenience caused his client by the loss
ot a week's work and the damage done to his property :
but, according to Dawe's account, he obtained no satis-
faction until he threatened the Bank with an action for
trespass, when he obtained a solatium of twenty guineas.'
It was little enough, if, as Mr. Wedd represented, the
loss of a week's work meant to Morland the loss of
thrice that sum.

This incident gave the painter a distaste for Hackney,
where he had resided for six months, and he resumed
his wandering life. He stayed for a time in the house
of Mr. Merle, a carver and gilder, who was an old
acquaintance, and one of the few sincere friends who
never took advantage of his distress. During his stay
with this friend, who lived in Leadenhall Street, he was
extremely industrious. Unable to venture out, he rose
at six o'clock every morning and continued at his easel
until three or four in the afternoon. But industry
now was not accompanied by the more sober habits
he had adopted while living with his wife and brother

' Blagdon gives the sum as " two bank-notes ot £20 each," but the
Bank books confirm the statements of Dawe and Collins that it was £z\,
" nothing having been found to justify the suspicions of the police."

•44

His Life and Works

at Hackney ; confined to the house, and released
from the influence of his relatives he gave way to
drink. Dawe says that the habit was growing upon
him, and his constitution was suffering from the
effects.

No doubt this was the case ; the life he was leading
would have broken down any constitution. Unable,
for fear of arrest, to venture abroad, the long rides in
which he had formerly found health as well as pleasure,
were denied him ; and he could have taken little
exercise of any kind. He sought oblivion from his
money difficulties in drink, and had already had one
slight attack of apoplexy which, in conjunction with the
swelled condition of his legs, alarmed him into seeking
the advice of the famous physician John Hunter.
From Hunter he received due warning of his danger
and the cause of his malady ; Morland, however, had
no illusions as to its cause, and was quite well aware
that it was drink. While living at Mr. Merle's he
seldom went to bed before two or three in the morning ;
the hours were probably spent tippling.

After a time he left Mr. Merle's house and took a
lodging at Fountain Place, City Road ; and from
Fountain Place he went to his brother, who had now
taken a house in Dean Street, Soho. He was not idle
at this time. Collins says that while with his brothei
he painted several fine pictures, specifying that or
"The Poacher," which was engraved by S. W.
Reynolds, and published in 1800 by W. Jeffryes & Co.
From this time (the latter part of 1798) Henry Morland

145 19

George Morland

was almost constantly with his brother, and obtained by-
far the greater number of the pictures he painted.

His dislike to the society of other than persons of
the lower classes appears to have been as strong as ever
at this time. While living in Fountain Place, Mr.
Wedd asked him to go to the house of Mr. Serjeant
Cochill to repair some injuries which had been sustained
by a picture of his. Serjeant Cochill's real motive in
endeavouring to induce Morland to visit his house to
retouch the picture was the desire he shared with so
many others to see the famous painter at work. Mr.
Wedd had great difficulty in persuading the artist to
meet the Serjeant's request ; but eventually Morland
gave way, and, accompanied by his brother and Mr.
Wedd, spent a few hours on the painting. While in
the house he refused to take any refreshment in the
presence of his host and hostess, apparently because
he thought if he accepted a glass of wine it would be
incumbent on him to drink the Serjeant's health.
Whenever Serjeant Cochill and his wife happened to
leave the room where he was painting, Morland at once
asked his brother to make haste and give him some
Burgundy and cake ; but nothing would induce him to
eat or drink in his host's presence.

This incident offers an illustration also of the good
feeling which accompanied the painter's morbid shyness.
Serjeant Cochill, it appears, had always treated him in a
friendly manner, and had offered him professional aid
should he ever require it ; and Morland, before going
to the house, stipulated that he was not to receive

146

His Life and Works

money for the service he was about to render. The
Serjeant had not been told of this stipulation, and when
the work was done strove to press upon the painter " a
purse of guineas" ; this Morland resolutely declined to
accept, and Mr. Wedd was at length obliged to explain
the condition on which the painter had consented to
come. When we remember that Morland was in a
chronic state of impecuniosity, and at the same time
was so fond of having gold — in contradistinction to
paper money — to finger in his pocket, that the
picture-dealers played upon this trait to their own con-
siderable advantage, his refusal to yield to the tempta-
tion is all the more to his credit. He seems to have
mistrusted his ability to resist Serjeant Cochill's repre-
sentations, for he whispered to Mr. Wedd not to leave
him lest he should give way. We can well understand
that shyness alone would have led him to accept the fee,
had the kindly lawyer continued to press it on him
when there was no one else present.

The output of the engravers during the period
1795-98 shows that the demand for Morland's works
was as brisk as ever. In 1795 thirteen pictures and
three "studies" were published ; in 1796 sixteen were
published, and in 1797 thirteen. It is worth noticing
this circumstance, as these three years cover the period
during which the artist was eluding his creditors with
more energy than he had ever done before. The year
1798 showed a great falling off, only three works
having been published.

In 1795 and 1796 nothing from his easel was

H7

George Morland

exhibited at the Royal Academy; in 1797 no fewer
than seven pictures ' were shown.

1 The exhibitor's address is given as 28 Gerrard Street, Soho. It is im-
possible to identify the owner of the pictures, as the old rate-books do not
give the numbers of houses. Mr. Wedd, Mr. John Harris, and a Mr. J.
Manson who bought many of Morland's works, all lived in this street.

148

CHAPTER XIII

MoRLAND and his wife remained in London for several
months. Mrs. Morland had been ill during the latter
part of 1798, and she was attended by Dr. WiUiam
Lynn of Westminster. The doctor had conceived a
warm interest in the pair, attracted, no doubt, by the
artist's singular fascination as well as by his genius ;
and Morland having expressed his anxiety to get away
from London and the people by whom he was
surrounded. Dr. Lynn placed at the disposal of the
couple a cottage ^ he possessed at Cowes in the Isle of
Wight. Thither accordingly Mrs. Morland, with a
servant, went in April 1799, her husband and George
Sympson following soon afterwards.

This, it is evident, was not the first time Morland
had enjoyed the hospitality of Dr. Lynn at the Cowes
cottage. He had been acquainted with him for at least
two years, as witness the " Cottage Scene ; Dr. Lynn
and his Children looking at a Horse," painted in 1797,
while the artist was in the island. And had this been

> This dwelling, known as Surrey House, is still standing ; it is in Carvell
Lane near the railway station. (Hubert Garle.)

149

George Morland

the first time he occupied the house he could hardly
have gathered round him during the three days or
thereabouts that his stay lasted the sailors, fishermen,
and smugglers who, says Dawe, filled the apartment
in which he painted from morning till night. It seems
tolerably clear that the brief visit to Dr. Lynn's cottage
in April 1799 was celebrated by extension of hospitality
to old friends of the social grade in whom Morland
delighted.

These gatherings, blend of the festive and the
industrious, were rudely checked by the usual cause, —
an alarm of bailiffs. Henry Morland had intended to
accompany his brother, but, luckily for the latter, was
detained by business. Creditors, as ever, were seeking
the unfortunate painter, and by some means his address
at Cowes became known. About three days after
George had left London, Henry chanced to enter the
White Horse Inn, Fetter Lane, and while there over-
heard one of a small party of men observe in exulting
tones that he had " found out Morland's retreat at last,
and before three days pass would fix him as fast as the
bars in the cells of Newgate " ; the speaker added that
a writ was then being prepared, and that he intended to
go down with the officers " to prevent all palming "
(bribery).

Henry Morland did not wait to hear more ; he
left the White Horse at once, and took the night coach
to Southampton, whence he crossed to the Isle of Wight,
arriving at Cowes in time to warn his brother. The
painter immediately left Dr. Lynn's cottage and sought

150

FEEDING TIME
(Size of original picture 57 A x 80 inches.)

His Life and Works

safety at Yarmouth on the nor jst coast of the
island, where he found lodgings in the house of a man
named George Cole, said to have made a fortune by
smuggling. Here he stayed for a time until the alarm
was over, when he moved into the George Inn at
Freshwater Gate, kept by Mr. Plumbley, with whom
he was on terms of great intimacy ; here he was joined
by his wife, brother, and Sympson ; and anxiety as
regarded pursuit being at an end, Morland set to work,
drawing and sketching on the beautiful coast.

Dr. Lynn's kindness to Morland would seem to
have been not wholly disinterested. We are told by
Dawe that when the artist was on the point of leaving
London for the island, Dr. Lynn pressed upon him a
letter addressed to a medical friend living at Newport,
which letter desired the friend to purchase whatever
pictures or drawings Morland might have for sale ;
and that Morland refused the letter, " but was after-
wards under the necessity of accepting it."

It is not easy to understand how the painter ever
became " under the necessity " of accepting the intro-
duction to this purchaser at a time when the dealers
were eager to buy pictures and his brother Henry was
with him. But it would seem that he did accept
and make use ot the introduction ; for, a few weeks
after his arrival in the Isle of Wight, the Newport
doctor wrote Dr. Lynn to the effect that he had bought
drawings to a considerable amount. He was clearly
no judge of art, for he added that in his opinion they
were very dear, mere scratches with a pencil on a piece

151

George Morland

of paper, and he could buy better for threepence apiece
at any shop in Newport. Dr. Lynn, however, knew
what he was doing, and begged his friend to purchase
as many of these drawings as he could obtain. Like
every one else who was brought into contact with
Morland, Dr. Lynn was anxious to procure pictures,
and knew that the most trifling sketches were well
worth buying.

As this visit of the year 1799 appears to have been
the most prolonged of any Morland paid to the Wight,
his mode of life whilst there may be noticed. The
late Dr. Joseph Groves of Carisbrooke, who had con-
versed with several persons who saw the painter and
with some who knew him well, was kind enough to
send the following information which, at an earlier
period of his life, he had gleaned from Morland's
personal acquaintances —

I have seen many public-house signs he had produced to
wipe off a score, and paintings he had sold in the neighbour-
hood. So far as I know not one remains in the Isle of Wight
now.^ . . . Morland consorted in the island with a class below
that of the small gentry and yeomen, but it was said he
made sketches, for which they paid when he was short of
money.

The island was, of course, much more remote at the end
of the eighteenth century than since, and Morland was in hiding

' Mr. Hubert Garle mentions two signs painted by Morland as recently
existing in the island, that of the " Horse and Groom " at Shalfleet, and
"The Fighting Cocks" at Hall Common. The latter, which included
portraits of two local farmers named Roach and Hills, has been lost or
destroyed.

152

His Life and Works

from his creditors here. He stayed at Freshwater and along the
south-west coast, and sometimes he went inland. He was
particularly friendly with the landlord of a little inn ("The
George") at Freshwater Bay, or Gate, a Mr. Plumbley.

He was, adds Dr. Groves, in the habit of paying
periodical visits to Cowes, taking with him the canvases
he had finished to sell to the dealers, who used to come
from London to meet him ; and it was this practice
which brought him into a curious difficulty.

It is hardly necessary to observe, that at this time
England anticipated a renewal of the struggle with
France, and that at close quarters. In the previous
year French levies had landed in Ireland, and made
common cause with the insurgents, only to be routed
at Vinegar Hill ; and though Nelson had broken the
sea power of France at the Battle of the Nile, Pitt's
success in reviving the European coalition against
Napoleon in April 1799 had done little to allay the
wide-spread fear of French invasion. Throughout the
country preparations to resist attack were vigorously
pushed on, and precautions against foreign spies were
rigorously enforced ; volunteer corps were being raised
in every town, and the Government was deluged with
applications for arms and equipments. No foreigner
was allowed to enter the country without a passport ;
and to prevent spies communicating with the enemy,
an order was issued forbidding any foreigner to reside
within ten miles of the coast between Norfolk and
Hampshire. The whole country was in a state of
nervous apprehension ; people were prone to discover

153 20

George Morland

French influence or French machinations in the most
trivial incident ; and nowhere was this condition more
prevalent than in the Isle of Wight — naturally enough,
perhaps, in view of its comparatively defenceless state.
Only in April 1799 the arrest of a Mons. Audinot had
been ordered by the Government,^ he having carried
on a treasonable correspondence with the French while
residing on the island. Dr. Groves' letter says —

The men of Wight had been formed into a military body —
the Isle of Wight Loyal Volunteers, also called the Isle of Wight
Fencibles — the members of which were very enthusiastic, and
always on the alert, as it was supposed Napoleon contemplated
a descent upon the island. In a small community, such as that
of Cowes was in those days, the presence of a curious stranger
would excite comment, especially when it was noted that he
met strange men who came by the hoy from Southampton and
took " plans " back with them.

No doubt Morland had been under observation for
some time before the suspicions of the Cowes people
hardened into the conviction that he was a spy in the
pay of France ; and when his proceedings were reported
to Colonel George Don, then commanding the Southern
District of England,^ that officer took, measures for the
arrest of the supposed spy.^ An officer of the Dorset

' Aliens Correspondence, Public Record Office.

^ The country at this period was divided into two Military Districts,
North and South.

3 Dawe and Collins state that the arrest was made at Yarmouth. Dr.
Groves affirmed that it occurred at Cowes when Morland was there to meet
publishers with reference to his pictures ; and the latter seems to be the
more likely place of the two, having regard to the circumstances.

154

His Life and Works

Militia with eight men was sent to take George
Morland and his associates into custody ; and accord-
ingly the artist, his brother, and the man Sympson
were surprised early one morning at breakfast, and told
they were under arrest. Morland, always nervous
when his liberty was threatened, became so agitated
that the officer was convinced of his guilt. Henry,
cooler and more discerning, knew that a charge which
could be easily disproved need give them no concern,
and after remonstrating with the officer, opened his
brother's portfolios and showed him various pictures and
drawings to demonstrate the innocence of his pursuits.
Mr. Hubert Garle states that the work which furnished
the immediate cause of Morland's arrest was a sketch
of Yarmouth Castle (now in the collection of Mr.
Phillips), but there were others into which, if Collins
may be depended on, perturbed imaginations read
sinister meaning.

One fine drawing in particular, although it was only of a
spaniel dog in a landscape, was construed by the honest
lieutenant into the plan of the island, and the dog, he was
confident, represented the very part of it upon which the enemy
were to land. But the mystery of an oil painting nearly
finished which they showed him, was still more ingeniously
deciphered. This picture, which has since been engraved,^ is
the celebrated one of the farmer holding his purse, as if con-
sidering what he should give the hostler, who stands with his
hat in his one hand, and the bridle of a white horse over his
arm. The white horse ready bridled and saddled in the stable,

' Paying the Horseler (Ostler).

George Morland

he said, represented the plan of all the coast of England, which
latter place clearly was the stable ; the hostler meant the spy
or draftsman, who would not give up his work till the enemy
paid him. The farmer could be no other than the French
agent who was now in the Channel, reflecting upon the risk
he runs of escaping ; and therefore, as in the picture, even a
private in the ranks may see, is very loth to part with all his
money to the spy, as by that means all hopes of his retreat
would certainly be cut off.

We are not told who it was that read these ingenious
meanings into the pictures ; nor is the point of any
moment. The painter, his brother, and servant were
taken before Mr. Edward Rushworth, the nearest
Justice of the Peace, and were by him committed for
trial at Newport where the Magistrates, warned by
express,' were assembled in readiness to try the case.
The two brothers and Sympson were marched to
Newport, a distance of about five miles, carrying the
portfolios which contained the supposed proofs of their
guilt. The records of the Sessions or Courts held at
Newport for this period are, unfortunately, lost, and
the military archives at the Public Record Office
contain no mention at all of the matter. Dawe and
Collins agree that the prisoners were closely examined
and were dismissed, George Morland with a caution to
refrain from making any more sketches. Dr. Joseph
Groves, quoting from oral tradition, says that Morland
was sent to the Bridewell, and detained there until he

' The carriage of letters at this period was undertaken by the mail-
coaches, but despatches of urgency or importance were still sent by mounted
messenger called an "express."

156

SMUGGLERS, ISLE OF WIGHT
(Size of original picture 28 x 3ii inches.)

His Life and Works

could procure the good offices of his friend, Mr.
Plumbley, to bail him out ; and he adds that Morland,
in return for this timely assistance, painted Mr.
Plumbley's portrait in the uniform of the Isle of
Wight Loyal Volunteers.^

The whole business to us looks ridiculous enough ;

but if we can conjure up a fair idea of the state

. of nervous anxiety to which the country had been

wrought by fear of sudden invasion, we are able at

least to understand the attitude of the authorities.

The injunction to make no more drawings was
ignored by Morland, who remained in the Wight
pursuing his work. His favourite resort was a small
public-house, " The Cabin," at Freshwater Gate, and
while living here he made a large number of sketches
along the coast as far as Black Gang Chine, Undercliffe,
Steephill, Bonchurch, and Shanklin. The Cabin was a
resort after Morland's heart ; here he was found on
one occasion surrounded by smugglers, sailors, fisher-
men, and poachers, whose society he quitted with great
reluctance at the request of the friend who found him
there. Asked why he consorted with such people, the
painter's reply was convincing, " Reasons and good
ones ! See ! where could I find such a picture of life
as that (exhibiting his sketch-book) unless among the
originals of the Cabin ? " -

' This portrait, painted on a mahogany panel, was, in 1904, in the
possession of Mi\ Plumbley's daughter-in-law, Mrs. Wheeler, who showed
it to Mr. Hubert Garle.

2 Mr. Garle adds, " This inn, according to some of the village patriarchs,
is part and parcel of the present Albion Hotel, though others claim that

George Morland

Either during his stay in 1799, °^ °" former visits,
Morland made excursions to many parts of the island.
While at Freshwater he painted the pictures " Fresh-
water Bay," "The Needles," "Brooke Bay," and
"Freshwater Cave" (a moonlight effect), "The
Mermaid," and many others. The Mermaid was an
inn he sometimes frequented. Mr. Garle was informed
that Morland presented to the watermen of Freshwater
prints of his works, " Jack in the Bilboes " and " The
Contented Waterman," and that these were eventually
purchased by a Mr. Ball, whose father, a waterman,
the artist used to employ to row him about the coast
on his sketching trips. " The Tap-room " is said to
have been sketched in The Cabin.

A sporting picture, " The Death of the Hare," was
painted at Briddlesford : Mr. Garle suggests that it
" represents Mr. Jacob's harriers killing their hare, as
the pack would have been hunting about the time that
Morland was in the habit of paying visits to the
Wight." An interior, a rustic courting a milkmaid,
was painted in an old barn at Kingston since destroyed
by fire.

Morland appears not only to have continued
painting after the warning given him by the Newport
bench, but to have sent both pictures and drawings to
London, where they sold, says Collins, remarkably well.
Yarmouth was his headquarters, but he must have

its site is now covered by the sea at high tide. Be that as it may, there
are four very old rooms still remaining in the middle of the Albion
Hotel."

158

His Life and Works

spent much of the summer and autumn travelling
about the island. He was, as ever, in a chronic state
of impecuniosity, and it is recorded that on many-
occasions he paid his score at the inn where he might
lodge for the time being by painting a sign for the
owner, or executing a sketch for which he could always
find a ready purchaser.

159

CHAPTER XIV

MoRLAND returned to London in November, and took
lodgings in Kennington Lane, Vauxhall. Even as he
had gone away in debt, he came back in debt, and
was manifestly under apprehensions more than usually
serious with regard to his creditors. He must have
found reason to fear that his liberty was in danger, for
he took steps to baffle his enemies by procuring his
own arrest at the hands of friends. On 30th December
1799 ^^ ^^^ arrested, and on the following day was
committed to King's Bench Prison ' at the instance of
John Harris^ to whom he owed ;^30, and of one A.
Battye to whom he owed £iS- ^^- Harris of Gerrard
Street had always been a staunch friend to Morland, a
fine collection of whose pictures he possessed ; and the
sum, £2°} w^s °"^ which the painter, even in his
worst days, could have quickly paid off with a single
picture. It is obvious, therefore, that this step was
taken simply to avoid difficulties with more pressing
and larger creditors.

' Siueen's Bench Commitment Book, No. 1 6 ; Public Record Office.
^ Mr. John Harris (1758-1846) was a partner of Mr. Newbery, publisher
of tlic Gentleman's Mugazhie, and succeeded him in the business.

160

POST-BOYS AND HORSES REFRESHING
Signed, 1794

(Si^e o/original picture 19 x 2-') ifiches.)

George Morland

Having gone through the form of arrest, for under
these conditions it was little more, Morland was at
once granted the Rules of the Board of Green Cloth,
commonly known as " the Rules," and took a furnished
house in Lambeth Road, St. George's Fields. Here
nominally a prisoner for debt and therefore safe from
importunate duns, he settled down with his wife, his
brother Henry, and his servant, George Sympson.'
There was a garden attached to the house, and this
Morland, after his old custom, turned into a menagerie
where he kept the animal and bird models he wanted
in his work ; here he had asses, goats, sheep, pigs, and
rabbits ; eagles, hawks, and other birds.

During his residence in St. George's Fields
Morland led "a more regular though not a more
temperate life," if Dawe's statement may be accepted.
But something may be said on this latter point on a
future page. The greater regularity he observed was
probably due to the influence of his brother Henry,
for whom from this time forward a very large propor-
tion of his work was done. It is stated by Dawe that
while he lived "within the Rules" of the King's
Bench, and during the few remaining years of his life,
he ceased to sell his pictures, but accepted a daily fee

1 Sympson was obliged to leave Morland " soon after he went to the
Bench, his place being filled during his absence by several extraordinary
characters ; tor be it here observed that for several years he always had a
servant to attend in or near his painting-roora, at one guinea per week, and
often victuals" (Collins). Hassell says that a waterman, nicknamed " My
Dicky," was Morland's confidant and picture-salesman at this time ; this
individual is said to have been his constant companion and favourite, but
whether he ever acted as the painter's servant is not clear.

i6i ' ,,

George Morland

of two guineas and his drink from the patrons who
employed him. There is obvious reason, however, for
thinking that this method of selling his services was
only occasionally adopted, at all events while he dwelt
within the Rules. The painter could not have resumed
his old extravagant habits of living unless he had been
earning much more than two guineas a day, for trades-
men would hardly have given him, a prisoner for debt,
the liberal credit he enjoyed in former days.

We may accept, in preference, Collins's statement
that the sums Morland was in the habit of receiving while
at St. George's Fields, with anything like economy,
would have enabled him to pay every shilling he owed ;
but that economy was so foreign to his nature that when
he was liberated he was no better oiF than when he
courted arrest. The two-guineas-per-day arrangement
(Blagdon says the sum was four guineas) as a regular
practice must have been a later development.

From the time of his arrest Henry Morland con-
tinued to obtain the greater proportion of his works ;
but George also painted several pictures for Mr. Jones,
the Marshal of the prison, with whom he appears to
have been on intimate terms ; ' and he was in the habit

' Prisoners were allowed the " Rules " on condition that they did not
enter public-houses. Mr. Jones "passing one day along the road observed
Morland carousing in a public-house, on which, having remonstrated with
him to no effect, he threatened to recommit him to the prison. The same
day Morland painted a view of the tap-room with portraits of the persons
who were in his company. Among the rest the Marshal was seen leaning
in at the window, in the act of taking a glass of gin from the profligate
artist." (Blagdon.)

162

EVENING : OK, THE POST-BOV.S RK'I'URN
(Size of orlgiiwl picture 2.0 x 25 inches.)

His Life and Works

of working on occasion at the houses of various friends.
Mr. Harris of Gerrard Street, Soho ; Mr. John Graham
of Red Lion Square ; Mr. Donatty, a Marshalsea-court
officer who lived in Roll's Buildings, Chancery Lane ;
and Mr. Spencer, who kept the Garrick's Head in Bow
Street, are mentioned in this connection. Mr. Harris
was an old friend. Mr. Graham was evidently the
exhibitor of three pictures sent to the Exhibition of
1 799 ; and Mr. Donatty's address in the catalogue of
1804 ^ proves the ownership of the three pictures shown
in that year.

Collins states that from January 1800 till October
1804, when Morland died, he painted no fewer than
192 pictures for his brother alone. He remarks that
if he had not seen the regular account and description
of them he should hesitate to mention the number,
and proceeds to say : —

As there are several chasms in the account we saw of two
or three months in every one of these years, and as he painted
occasionally at three different persons' houses in these intervals,
besides for more than a dozen followers while in the Rules,
there is very little doubt of his having added to the already
stated number (192) during the above period, nearly two
hundred more.

Dawe fully bears out his fellow-biographer's state-
ment concerning the painter's industry during his last
years ; he refers, it will be observed, to the last eight
years of Morland's life : —

' Nothing from Morland's easel was exhibited at the Royal Academy
in the four years 1800-3.

163

George Morland

By his brother's books it appears that for him alone he
painted 492 pictures during the last eight years of his life, not-
withstanding frequent indisposition. And when it is considered
that besides these he executed perhaps 300 more for other
persons, the slightness of the greater part of them will be easily
accounted for. In addition to these he probably made upwards
of 1000 drawings within that period, as it was customary for
him to produce one almost every evening.

Collins observes that the pictures he painted during
the first year of his residence in St. George's Fields,
though many were extremely slight, " possessed all
that fascinating tone of natural colouring which dis-
tinguishes this painter's works from all others " ; and
he points to the eagerness with which purchasers who
bought from Morland to sell at a profit, returned for
more, as proof of the value placed upon his pictures.
And indeed the demand for prints shows that the artist's
fame stood as high as ever. No fewer than twenty-
nine engravings and etchings from his works were pub-
lished during the year 1800, while he was a King's
Bench prisoner. Numbers of people came in search of
him, some in the hope of being able to buy pictures,
others prompted by different motives. It seems that
he was popularly believed to do his best work when in
a state of intoxication, and the belief, no doubt, did
much to stimulate public curiosity. His abode, how-
ever, was not easily found : it was widely known that he
lived in St. George's Fields ; but the door bore a brass
plate with the name of " Pearce, Coal-Merchant," and
this misled many who came in search of him.

164

His Life and Works

Dawe affirms that while here he once more " kept
open house, and every day sat down to a good table, at
which Mrs. Morland always presided." Whenever the
painter had a settled residence for a time his wife joined
him, a fact which proves that though the pair might
quarrel there was no real estrangement.

As regards his habits while "enjoying the Rules"
the biographers differ. There can be no doubt that
Morland led an unhealthy life during the twenty months
of his nominal imprisonment. He was unable to go
beyond certain specified bounds, and thus could not
take the exercise on horseback which formerly had en-
abled him to resist, in great measure, the effects of
intemperate habits. Dawe's account of his mode of
life in St. George's Fields must be dismissed as unre-
liable,— it is self- contradictory. In two consecutive
pages he tells us that the artist never failed to get
thoroughly intoxicated when he had friends with him,
and as he " kept open house " companions were seldom
wanting ; and that, in obedience to his own strict orders,
he was never carried to bed when in this condition, so
" generally lay on the floor all night." This, during
the period when " it was customary for him to pro-
duce a drawing almost every evening " ! Then, as
though to prove the utter untrustworthiness of his own
assertions, Dawe proceeds to give direct contradiction
to "the common report that Morland painted best
when intoxicated."

He comes much nearer the truth when he says that
Morland " doubtless painted best when he was ex-

165

George Morland

hilarated by company, or by taking that quantity of
spirits which might be sufficient to steady his hand and
not injure his head."

Collins is a more credible witness in this matter.
He admits that reckless extravagance prevailed in every
department of the household — cellar, table, and dress ;
and makes special mention of Morland's boots, " not a
pair of which ever cost him less than two guineas," and
the drink he provided for any one who would sit with
him. At the same time he gives us to understand that
the artist's final surrender to drink did not take place
until after he was liberated.

It is quite in accord with all we know of Morland
that he, while "enjoying the Rules," should drink
more than was good for him, and spend much time in
dissipation with the fellow-prisoners who eagerly sought
the profuse hospitality of the richest man in the
Marshal's charge.

His life in St. George's Fields in some respects re-
sembled that he led when he lived at Camden Town
during the early years of his marriage. Opposite his
house were tea-gardens, a resort of the kind popular in
those days, and these afforded the painter opportunity
of taking part in the convivial gatherings he loved.
Some friend, with the view of keeping him within
reach of his relatives, suggested that a society should
be formed for the enjoyment of music and liquor.
Morland at once fell in with the plan, proposed that the
new society should be called the " Knights of the
Palette," and accepted with satisfaction the proposition

1 66

THE DRAM
Signed, undated

(.Sue of original picture 24^ X 295 inches.)

His Life and Works

of the eight cronies who were with him at the moment
that he, "Sir George Morland," should be the first
president. Morland, as we know, was singularly
susceptible to flattery ; and Collins remarks that
"perhaps the most finished parasite to be found in
all the courts of Europe could never have hit upon a
theme of adulation more flattering to his master's
vanity " than this compliment.

The painter at once took a palette and converted it
into the arms or insignia of the new society by paint-
ing thereon a bottle, glass, and crossed -pipes with
tobacco burning in them and blots of colour round the
edge.^ The palette was nailed to the ceiling near the
presidential chair in the " long-room " of the tea-gardens,
where the new society or club held its meetings, and
under it every candidate, after paying his admission
fee — a bottle of wine — was dubbed a knight, and drank
a glass to the health of " Sir " George Morland the
founder, and success to the club ; this ceremony con-
stituting him a member. The club would appear to
have become a great success, for Collins states that he
had counted as many as eighty persons present, though
some of the " knights " looked as though they often
went hungry to bed.

As president of such a gathering as this, Morland
was in his element ; the fact that he enjoyed being
addressed as " Sir " George Morland, though he would
not move a step to claim the dignity he was assured

• The British Museum collection includes a coloured print representing
this palette.

167

George Morland

he could obtain as a right, illustrates the boyishness of
his nature, and bears out the observation of Dawe that
he " never became a man."

During this passage in his life he paid at least one
debt with a picture. On one occasion he quarrelled
with a Mr. Clifton in a public-house, and Captain
Cunningham of the Royal Waggon Train,^ a fellow-
prisoner in the King's Bench, took Morland's part.
Clifton and Cunningham came to blows, and the
former took action against the artist's champion ;
which action, as he had been the cause of the dis-
pute, Morland felt himself bound to defend. Serjeant
Cochin's professional services were engaged through
Mr. Wedd, but as the case was settled on the terms
proposed by Clifton's legal adviser — each party to
pay his own costs — the Serjeant's forensic skill
was not required. Morland, in lieu of a fee, pre-
sented him with a drawing bearing a copy of the
endorsement on the brief, " Clifton vs. Cunningham :
brief for the defendant, Mr. Serjeant Cochill : Wedd,
Attorney."

No record exists of the pictures painted by Morland
during his stay in Lambeth Road, beyond the state-
ment that he worked up many of the sketches he had
made in the Isle of Wight. In his best years he
frequently signed and dated his paintings, but during
this period he omitted to do so.

' The Royal Waggon Train was the Transport Department of the army
at this time; it was broken up in 1833. Captain Cunningham's name
occurs in the Army List of 1 800 as that of an officer on full pay.

168

His Life and Works

In i8oi ^ was passed the act for the reliet of in-
solvent debtors whose liabilities did not exceed £1500,
and Morland took advantage of it to regain his liberty.
He appears to have been in no hurry to leave his
retreat in the Rules : he had made many friends of the
class he preferred, he was a person of consequence in
his own circle and no doubt he was loth to bid adieu
to the " Knights of the Palette " and their festive
meetings in the long-room of the tea-gardens. His
wife had left Lambeth Road some time before his
discharge — which took place on 1 2th August 1801 —
as the situation did not agree with her, and she was
living at Paddington, apparendy in lodgings by herself
To Morland's credit it is recorded that seldom, even
when funds were at their lowest, did he fail to send
her the sum of two or three guineas a week, on which
she lived.

He celebrated his restoration to freedom with a
drinking bout, which, as we gather from Collins, was
one of a series of excesses ; and "fell into the miserable
habit of drinking large potions of that pernicious liquid,
which at times brutalised his faculties, impaired his
understanding, and at length brought upon him a
return of the disease which put an end to his once

1 Dawe and Collins give the date as 1802, but this is a mistake. Issues
of the London Gazette, July iSoi, contain the official notices of prisoners
for debt that they purpose applying for their release under this Act (41 Geo
III.). George Morland's name occurs among hundreds of others in the
columns of the Gazette -. he is described as " formerly of South Yarmouth,
Isle of Wight, and late of Kennington Lane, Vauxhall, painter." The
biographers' error no doubt arose from the fact that Morland continued
to reside at Lambeth Road after his discharge.

169 22

George Morland

valuable existence." Collins laments Morland's failure
to leave Lambeth Road and the companions with whom
he associated there ; but we may doubt whether prompt
departure would have made much difference. He
remained there until another slight apoplectic fit of the
kind he had suffered in 1796 or 1797, following one
of his now frequent debauches, frightened him : as well
It might, for it rendered him incapable of working for
a time, and brought down upon him creditors whose
anxiety concerning their money was roused by his
cessation of industry.

In the hope of recruiting his health and escaping
from duns he gave up the house in the Rules and took
up his quarters at the Black Bull, Highgate, the land-
lord of which, " the celebrated Bob Bellamy," as Hassell
calls him, was an old friend. In earlier days he had
been a regular habitue of this inn, at the door of which
numerous coaches used to draw up on their outward
journey. It is not clear when he made this move :
Collins says that he remained at Highgate " for several
months until the latter end of the year 1802,"^ so he
must have quitted Lambeth Road some time in that
year.

Morland suffered from " a weekly sort of debility "
while he lived at Highgate, and spent most of his time
drinking with post-boys and other characters of the
same class who frequented the inn. He seems to have

' Dawe says his stay at the Black Bull extended to about two months ;
but as Collins at this time had frequent intercourse with Morland his
statement seems more likely to be correct.

170

WINTER-. SKATING
Signed, undated

(Size of original picture 19i x 25^ inches.)

His Life and Works

done little work — probably he was not In a state of
health to spend hours at his easel — and the landlord
began to grow uneasy about the bill. Morland's stay
was brought to an abrupt close by a quarrel with his
host : angered by some slight, real or imaginary, he
took offence, and demanded the reckoning, forgetting
his inability to discharge it. The bill was promptly
forthcoming, and the landlord took possession of the
pictures in Morland's room, " some being dead
coloured, and others something more than halt
finished," together with all the movables he found
there. Morland, in these circumstances, went to that
ever-open haven of refuge, his brother's house in
Dean Street.

Some of the pictures thus detained by the landlord
of the Black Bull were the property of other people,
and Morland proceeded to threaten him with legal
action ; but when the landlord defied him, and Mor-
land sought counsel with Mr. Wedd, it was found that
no redress could be anticipated by an appeal to law.
Shordy before his quarrel with the landlord, the artist
had fallen out with and dismissed his man ; ^ and as
the servant was the only person who could prove that
the bill was excessive, and he could not be found,
there was nothing for it but to pay the demand in
fuU.

• The servant appears to have been one named Gibbs. Morland painted
his portrait in the act of frying sausages in Mrs. Morland's lodgings at
Paddington. The artist said that this was intended as a companion work
to that painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds of his own kitchen in Leicester
Square — formerly the residence of Morland's father.

171

George Morland

Collins and Mr. John Graham ' signed his bond for
the sum due — something over ^^45 — and the affair was
settled ; but the landlord's success in " coming the
double chalk upon him " as Morland expressed it,
and the necessity for submitting to the imposition, was
a humiliation, and source of lasting irritation to the
painter. The recollection of his submission to " such
a despicable reptile," as he now stigmatised his quondam
friend, haunted him, and he found no respite from
anguished reflections but in drink.

' Collins describes his fellow guarantor as "the late candidate for West-
minster." Mr. Graham contested Westminster at the. General Election of
1802, Mr. Charles James Fox and Lord Gardner being his opponents,
Mr. Graham retired from the contest when he had polled 1691 votes against
2673 polled by Mr. Fox and 2+34 by Lord Gardner.

172

CHAPTER XV

After leaving Highgate, Morland continued to re-
side with his brother. Under Henry's influence, as
we may fairly assume, he applied himself to work again ;
for though suffering both in body and mind he paid
ofi^ his debt to Messrs. Collins and Graham in under
a month.

Collins claims to have weaned him temporarily
from drink during his stay in Dean Street. Deploring,
he says, the " downright extravagance of frequent in-
toxication and the condition to which excess reduced
him," he, by " constantly reminding him of the fatal
effects of drink, induced him to renounce gin," and for
six weeks Morland confined himself almost entirely to
the " best red port and about two pints of porter, that
is one at each of his meals." Collins was a very
frequent visitor at Dean Street, and he had a helpful
colleague in his task in the person of Morland's old
servant, George Sympson, who, having returned to his
service, took care that his master should have plenty
of nourishment.

It was while Morland was at Dean Street in March
1803, that Collins introduced his son to him. William

173

George Morland

Collins, junior, was then about fourteen years of age,
and his subsequent career^ fully justified the belief in
his artistic gifts his father then entertained. Collins,
senior, was very anxious to engage Morland's interest
in the lad, and the painter " happening to be in a very
good humour " one morning, young Collins was
brought into the studio by Henry, and was allowed to
stand behind Morland's chair and watch him painting
— a privilege rarely accorded to any one. The lad re-
mained at his post for about two hours, and no doubt
profited by the opportunity thus afforded him, though
his father may be suspected of overstating the value of
the lesson when he says " he seemed to imbibe the
essence, not only of his manner, but of the spirit of
this, his favourite master." This and another lesson
were all young Collins ever received from Morland :
neither Collins, " his disinterested friend for more than
twenty years," nor Henry " could ever induce him to
give the young student more than another hour's in-
struction relative to his profession, about a month
afterwards. So very tenacious was he of communicat-
ing the smallest hint to any one that might hereafter
enter into competition with him, however remote the
period." In the following year, Collins found oppor-

' William Collins (1788-1847) excelled as a landscape and figure painter.
He entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1807, and his first picture was
shown in the exhibition of that year. He won the Medal in the Life School,
1809, gained public attention by his picture "The Sale of the Pet Lamb "
in 1812 ; was elected A.R.A. in 1814, and became R.A. in 1820. His
works enjoyed great popularity during the period 1820-40. William
Wilkie Collins, the famous novelist, was a son of this artist.

^74

THK COTTAGE DOOR

(Si-zc of oHginal picture ZS{ x 45 J inrhes.)

His Life and Works

tunity to make a definite proposition for the apprentice-
ship of his son to Morland, but the scheme never came
to anything.

Some time in the spring of 1 803, the attentions of
creditors compelled the painter to leave Dean Street,
and seek a safer refuge : he found it at 19 Rolls
Buildings, Chancery Lane, kept by a sheriff's officer
named Donatty, a place to which he had occasionally
resorted on former occasions when he went into hiding.
Here he remained, Collins believes, during the whole
summer, practically a lodger, though he enjoyed the
security from creditors which attached to residence in a
sponging-house. While here he painted a number of
pictures for his host ; and the conditions of his stay in
Rolls Buildings permit the supposition that it was at
this period he painted for a fee of two guineas per day.
Three of his biographers are agreed that he did
submit to an arrangement of this kind during his last
years, though they are not at one as to the amount.
Blagdon says, that when he worked on these terms, he
contrived to make the working day two hours, and
always insisted on being paid daily, no matter how long
the picture might remain under his hands.' Mr.
Donatty had fitted up a garret to serve as a studio,
and this Morland used, not only during his residence
in the house in 1 803, but on other occasions.

The competition for his works was such that every
inducement to paint was held out to him by his intimates.
Mr. Spencer of the Garrick's Head in Bow Street, in
whose house he had sometimes worked while he was

175

George Morland

living in the Rules of King's Bench, always reserved a
room and bed for him, and Collins was shown Mr.
Spencer's preparations of " everything necessary for the
operation of painting and drawing," which had been
made in the hope of inducing the erratic artist to work
in the house. The hope was disappointed, however :
Morland may have finished a picture or two in the
quarters set apart for him at the Garrick's Head and
perhaps a few drawings ; but he never took up his
residence with Mr. Spencer. He frequently visited the
house, but spent most of the time drinking. Nothing
is more probable than that he made pencil drawings
when at the Garrick's Head. " From mere habit," says
Dawe, " he became so expert at these sketches that he
would frequently execute them at a public-house, when
half asleep, to raise a little money."

His wife continued to reside at Paddington, and while
Morland lived at Rolls Buildings he paid her occasional
visits ; but his health was rapidly failing by reason of
his constant outbreaks of intemperance, and unable,
from physical debility and failure of nerve, to ride or
even to walk any distance, he seldom went out except
in a hackney coach — driving about in these vehicles
became his chief amusement.

Apoplectic fits of the kind which alarmed him on
two previous occasions now became more frequent.

He used suddenly to drop down, but after lying some time
senseless he would revive, though in a state of delirium, raving
and talking incoherently. This afforded an opportunity to
debar him at such times from spirits, by which he got better ;

176

His Life and Works

but each fit left him weaker than the preceding. To such a
state of debility was he reduced, that a single glass of liquor
would sometimes intoxicate him : a knock at the door, or
shutting it suddenly would agitate him extremely, and he has
been known to fall off his chair, or be unable to remain in the
house from the most trifling incident . . . the idea of being alone
in darkness, though but for a moment, became insupportable: and
if the light happened to be extinguished, he would creep toward
the fire or the person next to him . . . during his residence at
Donatty's he could never sleep without two lights in his room,
fearing that one might by some accident be put out. (Dawe.)

In this pitiful condition Morland endured the brief
remainder of his life. His dread of being alone
furnished him with additional reason for haunting
public-houses, and as he would not venture out of
doors by himself after dark, his man used to take him
to his favourite resorts. He retained his love of music,
and one of the few extravagances now within his reach
was to engage people to play to him. Collins relates
that about nine o'clock one evening he called by
appointment on Morland at a public-house in Fetter
Lane. The painter did not appear, but there were
awaiting him three street musicians, a harper, fiddler,
and bassoon player who had been engaged for the
evening by " Morland, the great painter," as one of the
three informed the biographer.

Mr. Donatty gave Blagdon the following account of
Morland's mode of life while the painter resided at
Rolls Buildings : —

The first thing he took in the morning was a pint of purl
and gin : half gin and half twopenny ; for, till he had re-

177 23

George Morland

ceived this stimulus his relaxed frame displayed such a nervous
debility that he could not hold the pencil. He ate nothing in
the morning ; but on going upstairs to work another portion
of gin was placed by his side : he was then enabled to paint for
about three hours, when he would generally order a beef steak,
a bottle of wine, a pint of beer, and some gin which was an
indispensable beverage with every meal. He ate but little
at his dinner : but after finishing the quantity of drink just
mentioned, he would work again for some time : and if he was
happy in the company of the friend who employed him, he was
sure to produce a fine picture. All the time he was at work
in the forenoon he never failed to have his glass replenished
with gin every five or ten minutes : and in the afternoon he
was sure to dispatch another bottle of wine, besides that which
he drank at dinner: . . . thus towards evening he was in a
state of inebriety : but no sooner had his employer left him
than he would repair for recreation to any neighbouring public-
house, whence he returned so completely drunk that it was
often necessary to let him remain for the night in the passage
of his residence.

Dawe's statement concerning Morland's requiring
two lights in the room when he went to bed is con-
firmed by Blagdon's informant, who adds that "however
drunk he might be " he insisted on the two rushlights.
Haifa pint of gin and a crust of bread he also required
to be placed by his bedside.

The extract from Blagdon's Memoirs shows that
Morland in these days was not more reliable than he
had been in former times. It is evident that his
temporary employer was obliged to remain literally at
the painter's elbow in order to ensure his working.
Perhaps the merit of the works he painted for Mr.

178

His Life and Works

Donatty ' may in some measure be traced to the super-
vision his host was able to exercise over him.

Morland appears to have quarrelled frequently with
his brother. Meeting Collins at the corner of Dean
Street one morning while he lived at Rolls Buildings,
he complained that Henry, " that scoundrel Klob " as
he called him, had thought proper to retain certain
canvases which belonged to a gentleman for whom he
was working, and he was determined to have his brother
arrested if he did not give them up. Morland's
servant, a man he called Jemmy, appeared with two
large canvases little more than dead coloured while
Collins was conversing with the painter. The circum-
stances under which Collins met Morland on this
occasion must be mentioned. He was crossing the
corner of Dean Street when he heard his name called,

and poor George, as dirty as a scavenger, reeled out of a public-
house at the corner. He immediately laid hold of his friend
(Collins), and talcing him to a hackney coach, the door of which
stood open, he showed a chafing dish, half full of charcoal
burning away, and the seats and bottom strewed all over with
chestnut shells ; the roasting of which, he said, had been a fine
amusement for Jemmy, his man, since six o'clock that
morning. It was then about ten.

Morland, his man, and a friend who was with them
endeavoured to drag Collins into the "smothering

' « Since the sale of the collection of Mr, Graham of Red Lion Square
which was understood to be the best and most extensive, that of Mr'
Donatty is allowed to stand very high, both as to number and value
Some sporting and sea-shore pieces which he possesses are admirable "
(Blagdon.)

179

George Morland

vehicle " by main force but failed, all three being the
worse for liquor.

The quarrel between the brothers was patched up
like others before and afterwards ; and in July 1 804,
three months before Morland's death, we again find him
living with Henry.

A peculiarity of the artist at this period was the
method of dressing he adopted. His portmanteau one
day was cut by thieves from behind the chaise he was
travelling in, and having thus lost all his clothes, he
vowed that in future he would imitate the snail and
carry all his wardrobe on his back. He does not seem
to have strictly adhered to this resolution ; but at all
events his appearance varied from the extreme of
respectability to shabbiness. As soon as his clothes
grew shabby (and as at this period he seldom took the
trouble to undress when he retired,^ and was some-
times so troublesome when intoxicated, that he had to
be left to sleep in the passage when brought home,
his clothes could not have lasted long) he gave them
to his man and bought new ones.

Blagdon's remark that he went to occasional extremes
of cleanliness or filth is explained by this peculiar
system. When in the former state, according to this
authority, he presented the general appearance of a
country gentleman in hunting dress, his favourite attire
being a scarlet coat, ruffed shirt, and leather breeches.
His advent in this guise usually indicated that he had

' Dawe says he " rarely took the trouble of going to bed," but the asser-
tion is no doubt to be interpreted as above.

180

THE WEARY SPORTSMAN
Signed, undated

{Size of on.(fiiial picture 16| x llj inches.)

His Life and Works

recently received a large sum of money : and he would
continue to present a decent appearance for days or
even weeks together. It is characteristic of Dawe that
he should picture Morland in his state of eclipse : —

However dirty he might be, he was seldom ragged. At this
time he generally wore a coat of a mixed colour with long
square skirts, and breeches of velveteen : these, with two or three
waistcoats and a dirty silk handkerchief round his neck, com-
pleted his appearance, which was that of a hackney coachman.

Blagdon admits that he would sometimes go for a
month without changing his shirt.

When he left Rolls Buildings, which he did in the
winter of 1803-4, he went to the house of an old
acquaintance in Gerrard Street, ^ who had provided the
money necessary to enable him to quit the safety of his
sponging-house lodging. This friend's action must
have been inspired by charity, for the painter's health
now was such that the prospect of turning his talents
to account, as Mr. Donatty had done and Mr. Spencer
had endeavoured to do, by providing the unfortunate
man with board and lodging, were much impaired.

While he lived in Gerrard Street it would seem
that he lived a more temperate life : as witness Collins'
remark in the extract given below to effect that Mor-
land had " recommenced " drinking when he saw him
in Dean Street in July 1804. His next move was to
his brother's house. The change was not for the
better as Henry had converted his premises into an

1 Collins withholds the name, referring to the benefactor as " a carver
and gilder."

181

George Morland

hotel and tavern, and thus the chief obstacle to over-
indulgence, his feebleness and consequent inability to
go about the streets alone, became no deterrent. Collins
paid him a visit in the month mentioned, and his
description of the once robust and handsome man is
pitiable enough. He found Morland upstairs,

in the back drawing-room, at work, or rather drinking and
talking over his old disasters. It was with heartfelt concern
the author perceived that his friend had recommenced his
pernicious draughts ; and the havoc it seemed to have made in
his intellects was only equalled by the evident decay of his
constitution. He looked besotted and squalid : cadaverous
hanging cheeks, a pinched nose, contracted nostrils, bleared
and bloodshot eyes, a bloated frame, swelled legs, a palsied hand,
and tremulous voice.

The " palsied hand " was the left, of which he had
lost the use from a paralytic affection : to make matters
worse his sight was failing, and he could only work
with the aid of strong glasses.

Those who employed him could not realise that his
powers and talents were failing : the demand for his
pictures continued — during the years 1803 and 1804
prints from his works were published at the rate of
more than one per month — and pressure was put upon
him to continue painting ; this the unhappy man bitterly
resented. To quote his own words to Collins : —

The greatest trouble I have been cursed with for some
time past is that whether sick or well, my mind easy or
distracted, these ignorant, negro-driving taskmasters expect me
to take a handful of pencils and a few bladders of paint and

182

His Life and Works

make them pictures faster than a man can make shoes. They
think, b — st them all to perdition, that I can strap to like a
paper-hanger and fill their rooms with pictures as fast as he
can cover the walls.

He made some remark about the need of assistance
to do the dead-colouring, background, and sky painting
of his pictures ; and Collins, who had been awaiting
this opportunity, proposed that Morland should take
his own son as his assistant, young Collins receiving
one-fourth of the proceeds of pictures sold. The
painter appearing to be favourably impressed by the
proposition, Collins went a step further, and suggested
that Morland should take up his quarters in his house
where he should have an apartment to himself and
have every comfort respecting board and lodging, and
be under no restraint in any particular but as to the
quantity of gin. This suggestion, Collins says, he
accepted with more readiness than any that had ever
been made ; expressed his admiration for young
Collins' genius ; and pledged himself on forfeiture of a
ten guinea picture to come to Collins' house in a fort-
night from that day.

Whatever opinion may be formed of the dis-
interestedness of this scheme, it cannot be doubted
that Morland would have been better anywhere than
in his brother's hotel. But three days later he changed
his mind, and the plan fell through. Probably Henry
used his influence to dissuade his brother, for he was
now George's principal- — if not his sole — employer,
and was paying him by the day for his work ; which,

183

George Morland

he told Collins early in August, was well worth the
ten pounds he had paid him for one day's painting ;
the usual remuneration he gave being from two guineas
to five or six.

Soon after this the brothers had another quarrel, and
George quitted Henry's house " in some of his airs "
to reside with one of his friends in Gerrard Street. The
difference was adjusted, and George returned for a time,
only to fall out with Henry again over some expensive
drawing paper which the latter had purchased for him,
and George cut up either by accident or by careless-
ness. Again the artist went to Gerrard Street until,
we may suppose, his brother's anger should subside.

Henry was wont to declare after each quarrel that
he had done with his brother for ever : but no doubt
this last breach would have been healed like its pre-
decessors. The painter's end, however, was near. On
or about the 1 9th October, Morland was arrested for a
small public-house debt,^ and conveyed to a sponging-
house kept by a man named Attwell in Eyre Place,
Eyre Street Hill, Hatton Garden. His friends came
to him at once, and urged him to accept the sum
required to procure his release ; this he resolutely
refused, preferring to depend upon his own exertions
for the money required.

Perhaps we can realise the state of mind in which
the unhappy artist refused help at this juncture. He
was in a condition of physical and mental debility ;
obliged as he had been, latterly, to work by the day

I Collins says ^^3 : los. Dawe gives it as ;Cio-
184

His Life and Works

for employers who no doubt did all they could to get
the utmost possible out of him, he might regard offers
of money with suspicion as attempts to fasten upon
him new obligations which he would be compelled to
work off There was, moreover, no particular reason
why he should be in haste to leave the sponging-house •
during the few months preceding he had been worried
by creditors, and while in the custody of a sheriff's
officer he was safe from their importunities.

Refusing all offers of aid therefore, he tried to
work ; but the end was fast approaching ; two or three
days after his arrest he was drawing, or trying to draw
a landscape, when he fell from his chair in a fit.i Brain
fever ensued ; for eight days he lay almost insensible
and on 29th October 1804, utterly worn out in mind
and body, he died.

His death was foUowed a few days later by that of
his wife. Despite their frequent differences, it is
certain that the two were sincerely attached. They
had not lived together since Mrs. Morland left the
house in Lambeth Road to seek more healthful sur-
roundings at Paddington ; but as IMorland ever since
he quitted "the Rules" had had no home, the con-
tinued separation was due to no fault of hers. As we
have seen, Morland was in the habit of visiting her

' Dawe says that his arrest reduced him to a state of desperatior,, in
wh.ch he "drank great quantities of spirits." which, he implfes, brought
about the fatal se.zure ; and that during the eight days of his llness h
ay .'dehnous and convulsed." CoUins' account, derived as it was fro™

'tnt^t^ratlt "^"^^ '^°^""^ -' ''' '"---^ -'^- --

'«5

George Morland

while he lived in Rolls Buildings ; and no doubt he
did so when he resided with his brother and elsewhere.
Dawe states that whenever one of the two was indis-
posed, the other was extremely alarmed and affected ;
and that they shared a presentiment that neither would
long survive the other. This idea was known to their
friends, and an endeavour was made to conceal from
Mrs. Morland the fact that her husband was dead,
although she incessantly declared her conviction that
he had passed away. A servant informed her of the
truth, and upon hearing that Morland was dead, she
fell into convulsive fits, in which she died on 2nd
November, the day of her husband's funeral.'

Morland's remains, which had been conveyed to
the house of his brother-in-law, William Ward, in
Buckingham Place, Fitzroy Square, were buried in
the ground of St. James's Chapel, Hampstead Road.
Those of Mrs. Morland were interred on the 8th
of November ^ in the same grave. No tombstone can
be traced ; but as this graveyard was converted into
a recreation ground many years ago, the stone, if there
ever were one, may well have been broken or defaced
beyond recognition.

A cast of Morland's face had been taken under
William Ward's supervision, and a bust was made
by P. Turnerelli of Greek Street.

' Burial Regfister of St. James's Chapel. '^ IbiJ.

i86

CHAPTER XVI

In tracing the career of George Morland, it has been
thought advisable to omit various anecdotes contained
in the works of the old biographers when the period to
which they refer is not evident ; but as some of these
illustrate traits in the artist's character, our story would
be incomplete were they ignored. Nothing bears more
eloquent testimony to the reputation Morland enjoyed,
than the floods of anecdote to which the press gave
publicity after his death, and the circumstance that
within the two years following his premature death
four biographies or " memoirs " made their appearance.

The columns of contemporary papers have not been
laid under contribution in compiling this sketch of his
career, the biographers asserting that the great majority
of the anecdotes published after Morland's death were
inventions : and inasmuch as those recorded by Dawe,
Hassell, Collins, and Blagdon suffice to illustrate phases
of the painter's character and talent, we may be content
to depend upon these sources of information.

Morland's antipathy to the society of persons of
better social class than his own, and his preference for
companions in humbler walks of life, have been suffi-

187

George Morland

ciendy shown in the foregoing pages ; but stories are
told which show that he was somewhat ashamed of his
intimacy with postboys, pugilists, and similar associates.
Hassell says that on one occasion Mr. J. R. Smith with
Mr. J. Bannister, the actor, called at Morland's house
to see what progress had been made with a picture, and
the painter proposing to accompany his friend in his
morning ride, Mr. Smith replied pointedly that he had
" an appointment with a gentleman who was waiting for
him." Denseness was not one of Morland's failings,
and interpreting the rejection of his proposal as a hint
that he was not a fit companion for Mr. Smith and
his friend, he was greatly piqued, and made no attempt
to conceal his feelings.

Another time Hassell was driving with Morland to
Highgate when the traffic at a turnpike gate brought
their conveyance to a halt ; one of the occupants of
another vehicle at once claimed the attention of the
painter who had been avoiding his gaze. The insist-
ence of the man compelled Morland to greet him, and
also to acknowledge acquaintance with his companion,
a chimney sweep. He was greatly chagrined by the
incident, and was at pains to try and convince Hassell
that the person who had claimed his acquaintance, a
tinman, had forced his company upon him, and that the
sweep was a total stranger ; which explanation Hassell
did not believe. For long afterwards mention of the
word " sweep " in Morland's presence was sufficient to
raise laughter at his expense. Much as he disliked the
society of persons of rank — it is recorded of him that

i88

His Life and Works

he once refused to admit to his house the Earl of Derby,
who wished to see his pictures, — he was very sensitive
to any lack of courtesy he might suffer at their hands.
After his brief " round " with the Duke of Hamilton
in the Charing Cross inn, mentioned on page 98, Mor-
land accepted the Duke's offer to drive him and Packer
home to Warren Place. His Grace, who had taken
the coachman's seat, stopped and asked Morland the
number of his house, and hearing it was three doors
further on abruptly told him to get out, and drove
away. This discourtesy in the presence of Packer,
mortified the painter exceedingly. IVIorland had his
full share of the pride that so frequently accompanies
shyness ; and no doubt apprehension lest he should fail
to inspire respect, or at least receive civil treatment
from strangers, largely explains his social peculiarities.
He preferred the society of those whom he knew
would flatter and defer to him.

His reckless disregard of his promises, written or
spoken, in relation to pictures or money matters has
been sufficiently exhibited : but there are on record,
incidents which seem to indicate that he could feel
shame when failure to redeem a promise put anyone of
humble position to inconvenience. He once induced
Mrs. Reid, keeper of a small inn at Stonebridge, to
send him her sign ("The Coach" or "Waggon and
Horses," Hassell is not sure which) to be repainted.
The old woman at length and with reluctance, for she
knew Morland, sent it to him at Paddington ; the
artist kept it so long that after some months she

189

George Morland

insisted on his returning it as it was. Then it was
found that by some blunder Morland's servants had
cut it up for firewood. After this incident the painter
would never go near the inn again and avoided Stone-
bridge, theretofore a favourite resort for a day's outing
on the pretext of fishing. So averse was he from risk-
ing an interview with Mrs. Reid that on one occasion
he " dragged " Hassell all the way round by Edgware
in preference to taking the direct road to Harrow which
ran past Mrs. Reid's inn. It does not seem to have
occurred to him that he might make his peace by
painting a new sign-board.

Morland's interest in sport went no further than it
served him as a source of ideas for pictures. Hassell
says : —

He once attached himself to a shooting party in which the
writer made one : eternally restless after he had fulfilled his de-
sires or rather his study, it was no entertainment to him beyond
this point. Upon the second morning, therefore, finding him
impatient we presented him with the result of the preceding
day's sport and wished him a good journey to town. From
this short peregrination, he painted four very beautiful pictures.

So when he accompanied friends on angling expedi-
tions to Stonebridge, which he did frequently. The
Brent ran amid picturesque surroundings, and though
Morland took a rod with him he made little use of
it. He always seized the first chance of asking a
friend to " look to his float and call him if there
should be a bite," and rambled away to sketch :

190

His Life and Works

it sometimes happened that the friend who gave an
eye to his float unconsciously sat for his portrait to
the artist.

His love of practical joking has been mentioned.
Morland's idea of a joke was that of a schoolboy, and
an unmannerly schoolboy at that ; some of the pranks
in which he delighted lend point to his biographer's
criticism that he " never was a man " ; for while his
health lasted he never outgrew a boyish love of playing
tricks. He would, when living out of London, ask
friends to dine with him, keep the invitation a secret
from his wife, and go out for the day. Those who
knew their man used to bring provisions with them
when thus invited to dinner ; those who did not went
hungry if Mrs. Morland's larder happened to be
unequal to the tax of unexpected guests. When he
gave a dinner party he would amuse himself by daubing
the handles of the knives with paint that his guests
might soil their fingers. Having ordered his servant
one day to buy some mackerel from a passing woman,
he was told that the fish were so stale they smelt in-
tolerably. Their condition at once suggested a practical
joke : Morland took the mackerel to a public-house
in Francis Street, which he then frequented, and con-
trived, unseen, to stuff them between the seats of the
chairs and the broad webbing which supported them
beneath. Needless to say the room speedily became
uninhabitable, and no complaints were louder than those
of Morland and his friends who were in the secret.
The source of the stench remained undiscovered for

191

George Morland

a week, when a maid, cleaning the chairs, found the
fish. While staying in the Isle of Wight (Coton was
the scene of this exploit according to the Sporting
Magazine) he was at the trouble one evening to haul
up the lines he had seen an old fisherman laying,
remove the baits and furnish the hooks with such
trash as he could find on the beach : old boots, rags,
wigs, and similar rubbish ; having relaid the lines he
came back in the morning to enjoy from a place of
concealment the man's anger at the trick. Having
done so, he came forward and compensated the old
fisherman for the loss of a night's catch. Whatever
his faults, Morland was always as liberal with money
as with promises.

His sense of humour found less reprehensible means
of exercise with his brush. When opportunity occurred
to paint for some village inn a sign representing a lion,
dog, cat, or other animal, the visage was sure to be a
caricature of some intimate friend. It was impossible,
Hassell remarks, for him to resist the impulse of the
moment, and with the gravest face he would paint the
most ludicrous subject.

It is easier to reconcile with his love of practical
joking than his shyness another whim which seems
occasionally to have taken possession of him. When,
soon after his marriage, he began to consort with coach-
men, postboys, and their fellows, he took it into his
head to dress in a style which lent him the appearance
of a smart groom, and looked the part so well that
he was more than once offered a situation as such. A

192

INNOCENCE ALARM'D; OR. THE FLASH IN THE PAN

(Size of original picture 27i x 36 inches.)

His Life and Works

servant of Lord Southamptoii ' one day asked the
painter's chance companion (a stable-keeper) whether
the young man happened to want a place, as he thought
he would suit his master, who was in want of a groom.
Walking on the Hampstead Road, a carriage stopped
and the gentleman within, taking the artist for a servant,
called to him to open the door. Morland did so,
touching his hat ; his demeanour was so pleasing that
the gentleman asked him if he happened to want a
situation ! To be thus mistaken for what he was not,
appealed to his sense of humour ; no doubt it tickled
his vanity as a " horsey " man to find that he could
act the part of a groom so successfully.

One point bearing upon Morland's drinking habits
is to be noticed in this connection. Dawe says he
adopted the "jockey" style of dress when he was
twenty-three, and continued it for about ten years ;
and that if he looked like a jockey he was " yet a smart
one." Now the effects of habitual drunkenness on the
human countenance are wholly incompatible with the
smartness which lends attraction to the appearance
of a groom ; and therefore Morland's visage, on the
showing of his most critical biographer, could have
exhibited no trace of excess until a much later period
of his life.

This is borne out by the other biographers ; the
painter lived a clean and active life until about a year
after his marriage in 1786. It was about 1787 that he

' Lord Southampton was, as his descendant is, Lord of the Manor of
Tottenham in which Morland's dwelling, Warren Place, was situate.

193 25

George Morland

began to acquire the dissipated habits, whose eiFects his
love of outdoor exercise enabled him to throw off for
many years. During this period he did live hard, and
at intervals broke out as a debauchee ; but for months
together he drank little and was as steady as his friends
could wish. His practical surrender to drink did not
take place till 1800 or 1801, when he was a prisoner
at large in the King's Bench. After his release he was
not in a physical state to resume his old active habits,
and the effects of his potations increased.

Only during these last few years of his life is it
just to describe Morland as a hopeless inebriate.
There is no doubt that he was endowed with a magni-
ficent constitution and the " strong head " that often
accompanies the gift of robust health.

Regarding Morland in his domestic capacities, it
cannot be said that he makes a commendable figure
as a son. From the time of his marriage to the last
day of his life, he never, so far as his biographers show
us, attempted to hold any communication with his
parents ; never once when in his frequent difficulties
he had to seek concealment from creditors did he look
for it in his father's house ; if he went to a relative, it
was to his brother or to his mother-in-law. Henry
Robert Morland predeceased his son by seven years.
George's mother survived him, but if he ever saw her
after his father's death the fact is not mentioned. We
infer from Collins' statement that he " had one part of
the melancholy narrative " of the painter's last illness
and death from the lips of Mrs. Morland that she was

194

His Life and Works

with her son when he died ; and if this were the case,
it would seem to be the only time the two came to-
gether from the day of George's marriage. The fault
was not, we must admit, all on the artist's side. His
upbringing, at once strict and injudicious, was not cal-
culated to inspire him with affection for home or
parents ; and no doubt he was keenly alive to the fact
that his father had worked him for his own profit at a
time when he was powerless to rebel. Hence when
he became independent he turned his back on home
and parents once and for all.

His continual difficulties make him appear in a less
favourable light as a husband than he deserves. James
Ward, without any kindly intention towards his brother-
in-law, bears witness to it that Morland did not absent
himself from his wife from deliberate choice. He
wrote : " Let it be clearly understood that there never
was a separation between Morland and his wife beyond
his own removals from her, and those longer or shorter
according to his own irregular temper, and according to
the necessity of avoiding his creditors." These words
were obviously written by James Ward in defence of
his sister — to relieve her from blame in respect of her
frequent separations from her husband. But it will
not have escaped the reader's notice that when circum-
stances permitted the pair to live together they did so ;
and that their separations coincide with the periods of
Morland's concealment from his creditors ; when they
do not— as when Mrs. Morland left Lambeth Road
for Paddington — there was sufficiently good reason for

195

George Morland

it. That Morland was careless of his wife's comfort
and well-being must be admitted ; that they quarrelled
often his biographers allow. It would have been
strange indeed had his wife not endeavoured to
check Morland's career of extravagance and wastry,
and as we have seen, contradiction or control he
would never endure for a moment. There alone was
abundant cause for disagreement. But despite their
frequent bickerings and more serious quarrels there
was always sincere and lasting attachment on either
side.

Of his fidelity to her there has never been any
question ; susceptible as he was to the attractions of
women in his earlier days, once he had made Ann
Ward his wife, his affections never for a moment
strayed. Women, whether of good or evil report,
had absolutely no part in his life. Dawe refers to
his detestation of the crime whose consequences he
exhibited in the " Laetitia " series of pictures ; and in
this regard his life was blameless.

Reviewing this singular man's career dispassionately,
we may be justified of the belief that but one thing
could have saved him from himself. Had George
Morland been vouchsafed a child or children, his
biographers might have had a longer and far more
pleasing task. The unfortunate painter was always at
his best when surrounded by children, and possession
of a family would have gone far to restrain him from
his unwholesome " recreation " in public-houses and
from evil companionship. The pleasures of father-

196

BOY TENDING SHEEH
Signed, undated

(Size 0/ OTi^inal pirtiire 18j X 25 inrhes.)

His Life and Works

hood — and Morland was obviously a man to whom
those pleasures would have been of the keenest — might
have kept him straight, where wife, friends, and self-
interest miserably failed.

His love of children is the redeeming feature of a
character in which there is only too much to condemn.
Unprincipled he was in money matters, and entirely
devoid of gratitude. With rare power of engaging
the affection of his contemporaries, he seems to have
been incapable of returning it. But let us do him
justice. It is said, and with truth, that the man who
loves children and animals cannot be a bad man ; and
tried by this test, Morland, if not a good one, had
much of good in him — greater possibilities of good than
circumstances served to develop. We cannot picture
him surrounded by children in his studio, in the barn
at Enderby, or on some village bench, without realising
this ; we cannot see him, as Collins did in the litde
back parlour of an inn, " with a large pointer by his
side, a guinea-pig in his handkerchief, and a beautiful
American squirrel he had just bought for his wife,"
and allow that Morland was wholly a worthless character
— even though a " basin of rum and milk " does stand
on the table at his side.

Like many other men who lack principle in money
matters, Morland could be generous while he could
not be just, and honourable while he could not be
honest. His biographers find opportunity to praise
his liberality to persons who had no claim upon him
but their needs, while he was deeply in debt ; and as

197

George Morland

shown in this story of his life, while he was indifferent
to the claims of those from whom he borrowed money,
he was very sensible of the obligation that bound him
to meet claims that could not be enforced by law.
Thus when friends went bail for him he was invariably
punctual in justifying their confidence, though the
consequences were fraught with real terrors for him.
This sense of honour is well shown by his conduct in
the trouble between Captain Cunningham and Mr.
Clifton. The former could not have compelled him to
act the part he did ; he was a singular exception among
Morland's countless acquaintances if the artist felt any
affection for him ; yet Morland, conscious that he had
been the cause of the quarrel which gave rise to the
action, came forward to bear the brunt.

Morland's character has suffered in the eyes of
posterity from the love of sensation which was not less
strong a century ago than it is now. He has hardened
down into a callous figure enshrined in an atmosphere
of drink and debt. Both, it cannot be denied, play a
conspicuous part in his life ; but while it is impossible
to offer excuses for the excesses of his later years, it
must be allowed that if he persistently incurred debt
no man has ever had temptation to do so more per-
sistently forced upon him. We might well write his
epitaph in the words of James Ward, — " Ruined by
Success."

198

CHAPTER XVII

It was observed in the introductory chapter to this
book that Morland's art stood, and stands, alone. As
regards formation of his style he owed little to the
influence of foreign masters whose works he copied
during boyhood. We may, however, trace a certain
resemblance between Morland's figures and those of a
contemporary English artist, Francis Wheatley, R.A.
(1741-1801), and Hassell tells us that "at an early
period he had admired and copied the style " of that
painter. Proof of influence is apparent in the hkeness
and spirit of Wheatley's pictures ^ " The Dismissal "
and "The Reconciliation," in the well-known series
" The Cries of London " on the one hand, and the
figures in and spirit of many of Morland's works on the
other ; there is the same freshness and simplicity ; and,
as regards the pair of pictures in the South Kensington
Museum, similarity of theme.

There is nothing to show that Morland was influ-
enced in the true sense of the word by any other
artist save George Stubbs, R.A. who, as already said,
was, " the god of Morland's idolatry." We cannot

' South Kensington Museum.
199

George Morland

doubt that the younger man profited much by study
of Stubbs' pictures of horses. Stubbs, the first artist
to recognise the vital importance of knowledge of
anatomy to the painter, was the pioneer of true equine
portraiture.

Morland realised the immense superiority of Stubbs
as a painter of the horse over his contemporaries
and predecessors, and that superiority finds echo
in the admirable skill wherewith Morland portrayed
horses. The only instance of copying, considerable
research has revealed in Morland's work, is his picture
of "A Mare and Foal," which was obviously copied
from Stubbs' work of the same name. Engravings of
the two pictures are given in Mr. Nettleship's work.^

Morland was averse from close study of the works
of other painters, fearing, as Dawe tells us, lest he should
become an imitator.

Mr. J. T. Nettleship observes that " the mere
existence of Gainsborough's splendid landscape and
animal work must be taken into account as an influence
in the forming of Morland's maturer style." With
the greatest deference to such an authority, it does not
seem necessary to attribute influence to Gainsborough,
at least in so far as animals are concerned. Few of
Gainsborough's horses will bear comparison with
Morland's in modelling and spirit. Morland, as we
have seen, was a horseman, and spent much of his short
life in and about stables and among " horsey " people ;
his knowledge of horseflesh was peculiarly intimate,

' George Morland and the E'voluticn from him of some later Painters, 1898.

200

His Life and Works

and when his debt to George Stubbs has been acknow-
ledged, it seems hardly needful to seek other influence.

Influence in the matter of landscape is, perhaps,
more diflicult to determine, and we shall not attempt to
question Mr. Nettleship's expert opinion that Gains-
borough's splendid work must be taken into account
in appraising the merits of Morland's maturer style.
Apart from this master, however, there is little evidence
of outside influence. Hassell remarks that " Wright of
Derby was on the meridian of estimation " when
Morland began to make his mark ; but there is nothing
to show that Morland was ever attracted by the works
of Joseph Wright (1734-97). Were we dealing with
the paintings of Henry Robert Morland we might trace
something more than influence on the part of Wright,
for Morland senior made a speciality of much the same
artificial light effects as those most intimately associated
with the Derby painter's name. Dawe says that
Morland admired the works of Richard Wilson (1714-
1782) ; but he also admired Hogarth, and there is as
little trace in Morland's painting of Wilson's style as
there is of Hogarth's.

Let it be conceded, then, that Morland owed
something to the works of Wheatley, Stubbs, and
Gainsborough, and we yet have a painter of marked in-
dividuality whose characteristics are apparent in all his
wide range of work. Sincerity and simplicity are the
keynotes of his art. There is nothing subtle about him.
When he had a story to tell on canvas, he told it in the
plain, straightforward language that would be understood

201 26

George Morland

of the homely folk in whose lives and surroundings he
found inspiration.

It has often been urged that his men lacked virility,
but this is only true within limits. When the circum-
stances required, he painted men as rough and coarse-
looking as any to be found in England. It cannot be
said that the sailors in "Jack in the Bilboes," the
butcher and his man in " The Hard Bargain," the men
in " The Wreckers," his gipsies or some of his soldiers
lack masculinity.

It must also be borne in mind that men, in
Morland's day, very generally were clean shaven,
and wore their hair much longer than is done at the
present day. Morland was nothing if not faithful ;
and if his men in many cases — in some of his best-
known works — lack virility of appearance, it is because
they lacked it in reality. Contemporary critics, and
they were numerous and impartial, never discovered
this defect in Morland's men, for the excellent reason
that his men were the men they saw every day of their
lives.

There is a certain sameness about his pictures of
women, more especially his young women ; this is due,
as his early biographers tell us, to the fact that his wife
and her sisters, one of whom was extremely like her,
usually sat to him when he wanted a model. His old
women have more character than the younger, but there is
not in Morland's female figures that strength and grasp,
that power of realisation we see in his animal painting.
Consider almost any one of his works, and the vigour

202

THE WRECKERS
Signed, undated

(Size ofonjiml picture SO X SOJ inches.)

His Life and Works

with which the horses are painted is apt to throw the
women — not rarely also the men — into the shade. Some-
times, too, his women's faces are wanting in expression.
The wife in " The Effects of Youthful Extragavance," as
she stands over her husband, does not wear the expres-
sion of worn anxiety which would be the natural re-
flection of his ; if she wear any expression at all, it is
one of placid content. At the same time there are
many works of Morland's in which the faces of his
women are by no means expressionless ; the wife in
the several pictures of the " Deserter " series, the girl
in the famous " Lsetitia " series, the mother and nurse
in " The First Pledge of Love," and a score of others
bear witness to it that the painter could, when he
chose to take the trouble, make his women animated.
He succeeded best, perhaps, when the occasion required
them to look pleased or contented.

Speaking broadly, Morland was happier in the
portrayal of children than he was in delineating either
men or women. His children, whether boys or girls,
are instinct with life and true to life. Whether he
paints children playing at soldiers, birds'-nesting, steal-
ing apples, or simply idling, they are, with the rarest
exceptions, real children, healthy, chubby, restless,
mischievous, in a word, alive. The reason is not far to
seek. Morland loved children ; his mind was keenly
awake to the artistic possibilities of children in their
artlessness and absence of pose ; their simplicity and
naturalness appealed to him, and he painted children as
he painted horses, out of the fulness of understanding.

203

George Morland

An exception to the rule occurs in " Children
Fishing." Unless the engraver has done him great in-
justice, the boy holding the rod is not a boy at all ; he
might be a little old man of sixty. Such failure to
realise his conception, however, is extremely rare.

His rustics may sometimes be overgrown boys ; his
young women may occasionally be graceful dolls, but his
children disarm hostile criticism by their intrinsic merit.

Concerning his animals, there are not and never
have been, two opinions. No painter, not Stubbs him-
self, ever painted horses with greater penetration and
knowledge than Morland displays when at his best.
The horses in his finest works are finished with excep-
tional skill and minuteness, as witness those in the
" Inside of a Stable " ^ and " The Reckoning " - ; but in
his less highly finished work the most casual observer
cannot fail to recognise his intuitive knowledge and
close observation, his amazing accuracy in depicting
attitude, whether in action or at rest. Could anything
be more perfectly true to life, more instinct with move-
ment than the fidgeting animal in " Rubbing down the
Post-Horse," by no means one of his most carefully
finished pictures ?

Mentally reviewing George Morland's many horse
pictures, two points present themselves ; one, that he
preferred to paint work-horses, often old, generally
rough of* coat and hairy of heel ; the other that he
loved to introduce a grey. The fact that a grey was
for many years his favourite mount may, to some

' National Gallery. '^ South Kensington Museum.

204

His Life and Works

extent, explain the frequency of greys in his pictures,
but it will not explain it altogether. If we examine a
few of the pictures wherein a white or grey horse is
prominent — " Inside of a Stable," " Feeding the Calves,"
" Feeding the Pigs," or any of his numerous stable
interiors, and imagine a bay, black, or chestnut in place
of the grey, how much is lost in the colour-scheme of
the work !

When the setting is dark or obscure, Morland
introduces a grey horse ; when the background is
light or the surroundings warrant it, he paints a bay,
brown, or chestnut. " Rubbing down the Post-Horse "
serves as an example ; against the lime-washed wall a
grey would lose by want of contrast. Sometimes, as
in "La Halte," a grey serves as background to a dark
horse. We see the same intention in the settings of
his pigs and dogs.

Morland never idealised his horses. The pictures
wherein well-bred horses occur are very few, the
painter's preference being, as already said, for the work-
ing horse, — the horse of the same class of life, we may
put it, as the men and women amongst whom Morland
found his favourite models ; and he painted them
exactly as they were. The best bred horse of
Morland's known to the present writers is that in
the " Death of the Fox," in the Elsenham collection.
His intimate knowledge of horses appears in every
work we examine ; nothing could be more eloquent of
this than, for example, the perfect pony character of
the pony in " Inside of a Stable."

205

George Morland

As with his horses, so with his asses. No artist has
ever surpassed Morland in the skill and success with
which he portrayed the ass ; in anatomy and modelling
his asses are as good as his horses ; the texture of the
rough, unkempt coat is always perfect, and he invests
his asses unfailingly with the air of resignation that
distinguishes the species. It is in his grasp of animal
character that the secret of much of Morland's success
lay ; hence his best donkeys are those he represents at
rest.

There can, of course, be no comparison between
the picture known as " Morland's Ass," a brown ass
standing in a stable, and the donkeys in "An Ass
Race." In the former the whole interest centres in the
animal, and in the latter the donkeys are merely figures
in a scheme ; but whenever the ass is at all prominent,
it is painted with Morland's almost uncanny insight.

Of his cattle there is less to be said. It does not
appear that Morland was particularly interested in kine ;
probably he regarded them much in the same light as
he did sport, merely as artistic " properties," useful in
their way ; but nevertheless, his cows are invariably
well modelled and accurately drawn whether in move-
ment or repose.

The cow he has depicted facing the cur in " Cow and
Calf worried by a Dog " is as perfect in its way as any
of Morland's horses and, as in the case of his horses,
his cows are always the cows of the farmer's yard ; they
are not prize animals, they are just such cattle as he
saw any day and every day during his residence

206

THE DEATH OF THE FOX
Signed, undated

(Sfae oforlgincd picture 661 x 025 incites.)

His Life and Works

opposite the inn at Paddington. Glancing over his
pictures in which cows and calves occur, it crosses the
mind that something of Morland's love of youthfulness
is apparent in his painting of calves ; it may be mere
fancy, but his calves are unfailingly calf-like, innocent,
trusting, weak, and helpless ; and we cannot help feel-
ing that Morland was fonder of calves than he was of
full-grown cattle, and painted them with something of
the sympathetic interest he bestowed upon children.
This idea receives some support from the comparative
infrequency with which he introduced cows into his
pictures ; they are rarities, considering the large number
of rural scenes in which they might very properly have
been portrayed ; and on the other hand the occurrence
of calves in his interiors is comparatively frequent.

Nor did Morland care about sheep. He seldom
painted sheep, and, it must be confessed, took little
pains with them when he did. The texture of the
fleece is well conveyed, but the fleece, too often, fails
to conceal defects of modelling. Morland was not
interested in sheep, and curiously enough it is quite
the exception to find a lamb in his pictures. In the
very large collection of engravings in the British
Museum only two include the figures of a lamb ; one
is the " Study of Sheep " (etching by J. Harris), the
other is in " The Shepherds " (engraving by W. Ward).

Morland's preference for delineating animals in rest-
ful attitudes may partly account for the rarity with which
he painted such restless creatures as lambs, and further
his indifference to sheep as models helps to explain

207

George Morland

their absence. Calves can be portrayed without the
accompaniment of cows, and Morland was fond of
painting calves. Lambs practically compel introduc-
tion of their dams, and as Morland did not care for
painting sheep, he did not paint lambs.

Goats occasionally occur in his works, but they were
not favourites with him.

His dogs are rarely otherwise than excellent, whether
they be the nondescript companions of the rustic or
well-bred pointers. Morland loved dogs, and he
introduces them into pictures dealing with widely
different subjects with great frequency and success.
Whatever the breed or stamp, his dogs show the same
nice observation and careful handling as his horses.
Whether the dog is at rest or in movement, it is a
portrait and a faithful portrait ; the animal has its own
individuality, its own personal character ; and exceptions
to the rule are few.

Morland's portrait of the Newfoundland, " Friend,"
the property of Mr. William Phillips, who owed his life
to this dog, is perhaps his finest dog-picture, but this
is the only portrait of a dog avowedly painted as such
that can be found. In modelling, pose, expression,
vitality, and texture of coat, the portrait of " Friend "
is as beautiful a piece of work as any animal painter of
any age has ever produced.

The pig is probably the animal with which Morland's
name is most closely identified in popular esteem.
Dawe says, " He took so much delight in painting
them, that if he promised a picture, the subject was

208

His Life and Works

generally pigs." He painted more pictures of pigs
than of any other animal, with an exception in favour
of horses, and the variety of circumstances in which
he portrayed them is extraordinary. The salient
characteristics of swine are always apparent ; their
gluttony and laziness invariably make the motive of
his pig pictures. He had studied pigs as closely
as he had studied horses, and painted them no less
successfully. Morland owes his popular reputation
as a " pig-painter " less to the number he painted than
to the fact that he revealed the possibilities of the pig
in art as no painter had done before.

He had copied Gainsborough's pictures of pigs in
his youthful days, but he improved vasdy upon those
of Gainsborough.

Among smaller animals his rabbits and guinea-pigs
are peculiarly excellent. Rabbits particularly, he painted
with the fidelity that comes from intimacy. These
little creatures seemed to have appealed to Morland,
and no artist has ever approached him in the marvellous
success with which he conveyed the characteristics of
the tame rabbit. Guinea - pigs he painted less fre-
quently, but the same remarks apply.

There is little to be said of the other animals and
birds he introduces into his pictures. His occasional
cats and monkeys, his more frequent fowls, occur as
incidents or accessories in his works. Foxes, hares,
and various game birds merely furnish the text of his
sporting scenes.

Of his human figures it may fairly be said that the

209 27

George Morland

best are those painted in a restful attitude. It is
not suggested that his men represented in action are
defective in any respect, but reviewing the great
number of his pictures, as we may do for the purpose
of this particular judgment, in the collection of prints
at the British Museum, all that recur to the mind as
conspicuously pleasing examples of his figure-drawing
are those of men and women seated or otherwise
inactive.

210

STORM COMING ON
{Size of original picture 28 X 3t> inches.)

CHAPTER XVIII

For information concerning Morland's methods we
cannot do better than refer to George Dawe, himself a
Royal Academician and an artist of some repute in
his day. Dawe's admiration for Morland was not un-
qualified, and his comments are not always as just as
those we expect of a dispassionate critic. The truth
is that Dawe, whose sympathies were all with classical
subjects, could not appreciate Morland, of whom he
says: "he contributed his full share of influence to
promote not only a loose style of painting but also a
taste for vulgar subjects ; his example, however, cannot
be expected to produce a permanent effect, as he does
not possess sufficient merit to entitle him to rank
as a great master."

Time has allotted to Morland and to Dawe each
his place in the scale ; and there is irony in the fact
that George Dawe, R.A., is now forgotten as an artist
and known only as the biographer of the painter who
" promoted a taste for vulgar subjects " — the verdict
of an essentially commonplace mind.

In his censorious manner, however, Dawe throws
much light on Morland's development and methods.

211

George Morland

He grants his originality, remarking that this was
perhaps due to his neglect of the " powers and pro-
ductions of Art, which obliged him to depend only on
himself and Nature " ; as though this were a defect !
George Morland possessed no prints of any kind, and
often declared he would not cross the road to see
the finest assemblage of paintings ever exhibited. In
a word, he ignored all opportunities of art education,
an attitude incomprehensible to Dawe.

Morland's self-reliance and anxiety to avoid becom-
ing an imitator made him what he was — a pioneer.
That this was commendable or that the fine arts could
legitimately find scope in " vulgar " subjects, are points
that never presented themselves to the biographer's
mind. Dawe followed a beaten track, while Morland
struck out a path for himself; and Dawe shakes his
head over a proceeding so strange and unaccountable.

Apropos of Morland's avowed indifference of the
works of other artists and his fear of becoming an
unconscious imitator, Dawe observes that he " did not
reflect that he was indebted for much of the ability he
possessed to his study of the Dutch and other masters
when young." We doubt much the existence of this
indebtedness, for, as already observed, Morland's style
shows no trace of the Influence of the foreign painters
whose works he copied when a boy.

Morland was In the habit, Dawe teUs us, of advising
study of Nature ; he would urge students to place
their easels " in a field before some tree and copy it
exactly as they saw it." This was his own method ;

212

His Life and Works

when he wanted a tree, he would turn to his sketch-
book for something which he had drawn from Nature
to serve such a purpose.

Morland's method of producing a picture was his
own. He appears never to have been at pains to
compose a work before he began to paint ; he had the
whole scheme and composition clearly in his mind
before he set to work, and carried it out in his own
bold, rapid fashion. "He never made a complete
sketch for the plan of his pictures or for the arrange-
ment of the parts, and this in a great measure was the
cause of his numerous faults in composition, perspective
and effect." It is impossible to agree with Dawe that
faults of composition are common in Morland's works ;
on the contrary the grouping is rarely otherwise than
pleasing. Almost any painting we examine is well
balanced and agreeably composed without suspicion
of effort or artificiality, though the grouping was
frequently arranged with the definite purpose of con-
cealing some shortcoming or defect.

"He generally began upon the canvas with the
chalk or brush at once, sometimes even without know-
mg what he was going to paint, inventing as he pro-
ceeded, and he would paint a picture in the time that
many would spend in seeking for a subject. Having
sketched his composition in a loose manner, if anything
displeased him he altered it, and immediately began
to paint. If he made a sketch of a picture it was
never anything but the slightest indication possible,
the work of a few minutes."

213

George Morland

Simplicity was the characteristic of Morland's mode
of execution. He carried this to an extreme, for he
never took the sHghtest trouble to inform himself
concerning the discoveries of artists' colourmen or
improvements in painting requisites. At the same
time he was always careful to use the best colours, etc.,
and he possessed more knowledge of the chemicals of
colours than most painters, having derived this from
his father who, as mentioned on a former page, dealt
in artists' materials.

We may perhaps venture to doubt whether Morland
on the whole lost much by ignoring new inventions
and improvements. Landseer was greatly addicted to
experiments with colours offered him for sale,^ and
his recklessness in using pigments of whose composi-
tion he knew nothing, was fraught with evil results
to the pictures on which he tried them. The care
Morland exercised in this particular is evidenced in
the condition of his works to-day ; the hues are as
bright and fresh as they could have been when he
laid them on the canvas.

Dawe pays Morland a higher compliment than he
knew when he says " his mode of preparing his pictures
was hasty and irregular and not the result of any fixed
principles ; but in whatsoever way he worked he could
produce something interesting, when the same method
with almost any other person would have led only to
everything that is faulty."

" He had the discernment to perceive that it is not

' Animal Painters of England. By Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart., 2 vols. 1899.

214

His Life and Works

labour but touch that gives to painting the appearance
of finish ; but instead of laying a foundation by correct-
ness of drawing he substituted touch for truth, and in
his latter works he has made his execution stand in place
of everything else. Morland seemed to possess a fuU
command of execution ; his hand could perform what-
ever his mind dictated . . . latterly in attending to
execution he neglected general effect."

Throughout Dawe's critique of Morland's methods,
save in respect of care in selecting colours and oils, we
detect the writer's opinion that most of the defects in
his subjects' work were due to the wish to spare him-
self unnecessary trouble. This, in a measure, may be
true. We know that during some periods of his career
Morland worked at high pressure, spurred by need of
money or by the urgency of the dealers ; he painted
with extraordinary facility and speed, and these gifts
are hardly compatible with scrupulous care in finish.
We also know that when he wanted to complete a
picture he would change his design in order to avoid
work which would occupy more time than he could
bestow upon it— his alteration and completion of the
picture for Colonel Stuart mentioned on page 88 and
the feat of painting described on page loi recur to
mind in this connection.

This power of rapid execution of course was not
peculiar to Morland. Other artists have exhibited it
in much the same degree, and we find an appropriate
parallel in Landseer. One Sunday in August 1831,
when staying with Mr. William Wells at Holme

215

George Morland

Wood, near Peterborough, while his host and
family were at church the great painter began and
finished a portrait of Mr. Wells' favourite spaniel,
Trim, with a rabbit in its mouth ; this portrait
measuring 28 inches by 34 inches was completed in
two hours and a half.^ Like Morland, Sir Edwin
Landseer, once he had the plan of a picture clearly in
his mind, did the brush-work with the speed and
certainty of touch which only genius can command.

There is one feature of Morland's work which
demands notice ; he rarely portrayed an animal in such
a position towards the spectator that he had to fore-
shorten, and if it were unavoidable he concealed the
deficiency of his work by throwing it into shade.
Just as when he was dissatisfied with his drawing of
a man's figure he would cover up the deficiencies that
offended his eye by putting the man in a smock frock.

Morland's rural landscapes on the whole are
thought by some to be more satisfactory than his sea-
pieces, though the latter frequendy possess a strength
and vigour the former lack. He did not often give
distance in his rural pieces ; but exception must be
taken to Mr. Nettleship's dictum that " if you have
seen Morland representing an open-air subject you
have seen aU." In this an appreciative but discriminat-
ing critic does him scant justice..

It is too much to say that to see one is to have
seen all ; compare one with another, " The Rustic
Conversation," "Rabbiting," "The Waggoner's Halt

1 Animal Painters of England. By Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart.
216

INTERIOR OF STABLE : PLAYING CARDS
(Size o/m^iginal picture I9h X 29 inches.)

His Life and Works

outside the Bell Inn," and " Summer," as examples of
peaceful rural scenes ; then compare one with another,
"The Wreckers," "The Ferry Boat," "Fishermen
Waiting for the Evening Breeze," to mark the variety
in his seascapes.

One generalisation may be admissible ; Morland
preferred to show calm, clear weather in his land-
scapes, and storm with cloudy skies in his sea-pieces ;
there are exceptions, but on the whole the rule holds
good. The peace of the country appealed to him,
and the grandeur of an angry sea beating against a
rock-bound shore also appealed to him.

His interiors have one feature in common : namely,
the mode of introducing the light ; but this is only what
their character compels, and Morland had no equal in
suggesting the subdued light of stable or barn.

In some respects stable interiors are his best works.
Intimate as he was by reason of his " horsey " tastes
and ways of life with the economy of the stable
and shed, he is always peculiarly happy, not only in
the animals he represents therein, but in the minor
accessories ; the stable lantern, broom and pitchfork,
the saddles, harness and other matters are always placed
exactly where they would be found in such a stable, yet
always with the happiest artistic effect.

Though a touch of bright colour is seldom wanting
in Morland's works — it was one of his principles that
" a portion of pure red should be introduced some-
where in a picture " — his schemes of colouring are
usually subdued rather than brilliant. This was in-

217 28

George Morland

evitable in a very large proportion of his works ;
pictures of peasants, gipsies, or fishermen afford little
scope for the colourist. Morland was essentially a
truthful painter ; he would not sacrifice accuracy for
the sake of effect, and, sombre hues prevailing in the
attire and surroundings of the people he painted in his
rural scenes, the scheme of colour in a typical Morland
is necessarily quiet in tone, redeemed by a touch of
colour ; a red cloak or jacket, brightly hued petticoat
or ribbon.

When we come to examine Morland's pictures of
social life, however, we are justified in asking whether he
was a colourist ; such pictures as the " Laetitia " series
and kindred works afforded him opportunity for
brilliant, or at least bright colouring had he cared to
use it ; but we do not find him availing himself of
the resources of his colour box ; he shows decided
preference for dressing his girls in white, and obtains
the touch of colour he requires by adding a bright sash.
But if he were not a brilliant colourist, he had the gift
which some brilliant colourists do not always display,
that of creating an harmonious scheme. The colours
in any picture by Morland always harmonise.

It has been said that there is little atmosphere in his
pictures ; it is impossible to agree with this judgment.
Whether we regard his rural landscapes or his sea-pieces,
his summer scenes or those of winter, sunshine or
storm, atmosphere is never wanting.

The particulars Dawe has given us of Morland's
methods of using brush and colours are of great

2l8

His Life and Works

interest, but the fact remains that we cannot accept
him as a critic. He sums up his great contemporary
in these words : it is worth reproducing them for the
sake of comparing Dawe's verdict with that of
posterity : —

Morland had merit enough to satisfy common amateurs ;
and even men of reputed judgment in the art, dazzled by the
unpremeditated force of character and the air of facility, which
everywhere predominate in his works, bestowed upon the
artist praise much too indiscriminate. His defects, seen
through the glass of novelty, were considered as beauties ; his
want of variety and refinement were called simplicity ; his
carelessness was mistaken for freedom ; and his errors in
drawing were admired as the characteristic irregularities of
genius. Morland saw and took advantage of this, and he has
often refused to correct faults, saying " they will pass as the
proofs of a fiery genius."

Morland was right and his critic was wrong ; his
defects are condoned as " proofs of a fiery genius,"
and his genius appears in just those qualities which
Dawe singled out as faults. The force of character
which struck out a line of its own, the simplicity and
the bold freedom of the painter's methods, are the
proofs of genius which posterity has fully recognised.

So certain was Dawe of the correctness of his
estimate that he placed on record his conviction that
though Morland's works rose considerably in value
after his death, " they cannot (excepting his choicest
productions) be expected to continue increasing in
value."

219

George Morland

And he makes the observation, more shrewd and
discriminating than most of his remarks, that " price
is rather the consequence of high reputation than real
desert."

Dawe made an exception in favour of Morland's
" choicest productions," but a sounder contemporary
critic would have scorned the prediction as absurd had
any admirer of Morland foretold that a century after
the painter's death the six pictures representing " The
Story of Lastitia" would bring 5600 gs. in the sale-
room.' The difference between Morland's best work,
which was done during the years 1790-93 inclusive,
and his less meritorious work is certainly wide. His
finest pictures show a degree of care, an attention to
detail, a finish, which are lacking in the pictures he
produced when the pressure of dealers and creditors
compelled haste. Bold effects achieved at the expendi-
ture of as little labour as possible were then his aim.

Morland at his best, says Mr. Nettleship, " had
supreme power of observation, an exquisite perception,
and a fine executive gift, and his great skill was that
of his ability to select the vital constituents of a scene
and to render them In fitting terms."

As regards Morland's output : there is no doubt
concerning his amazing industry and the quantity of
pictures and drawings he produced. His total out-

' Times of 9th July 1904. The first of the series, "Domestic Happi-
ness," was for a long period separated from the other five which, when
George Dawe wrote (1807), were in possession of Mr. P.Vincent of Wardour
Street. Inclusion of the missing work, completing the series, of course
greatly enhances its value.

220

His Life and Works

put has been computed at four thousand works,
but we share Dawe's opinion that this is much
exaggerated ; perhaps the biographer comes near the
mark when he suggests that it must be an overstate-
ment by one third.

As Mr. Nettleship has pointed out, four thousand
pictures and drawings means an average weekly
output ot nearly four works per week during the
twenty years which practically represent Morland's
working life ; and when we consider the circumstances
under which he lived, his labours incessantly interrupted
by country excursions, flights from creditors, and
latterly by illness, we recognise that the estimate of
four thousand pictures must be excessive. If it
include every pencil sketch of tree, bough, limb, hand,
etc., made for future guidance in painting, perhaps
it may be allowed to stand, but thus and only thus can
it be accepted.

Morland's industry and facility of production were
sufficiently remarkable, and the number of engravings
published annually during the periods 1788-1807 is
the best proof that can be offered both of the wealth
of his production and of the popularity his works
enjoyed.

221

CHAPTER XIX

MoRLAND owed so much of the popularity he deserved
to the engravers who made his pictures known to the
public, that a few pages must be devoted to the men
who thus contributed to his fame.

The mezzotint process is that which renders
Morland's work the greatest justice, and a large pro-
portion of the best engravings from his pictures are
mezzotints. Foremost among the engravers whose
names we associate with Morland stands his brother-in-
law. William Ward executed the first engraving of a
work by Morland ever published, namely, " The
Angler's Repast," in 1780. William Ward was born
in 1766, and was therefore only fourteen years of age
when he produced this work. He and his brother
James were pupils of John Raphael Smith, and William's
artistic connection with Morland's work continued for
at least ten years after the painter's death.

In all, William Ward produced about seventy mezzo-
tint engravings ; the collection in the British Museum
contains forty-five examples of these, including "An Ass
Race," " Juvenile Navigators," " The Hard Bargain,"
" The First of September," Morland's finest work,

222

George Morland

" Inside of a Stable " (now in the National Gallery),
" The Fruits of Early Industry and Economy " with
its companion " The Effects of Youthful Extravagance
and Idleness," "Gypsies," "Rabbits," "Jack in the
Bilboes," and "Mr. Phillips' Newfoundland Dog
Friend."

We do not find that William Ward engraved any
of Morland's characteristic seascapes ; but the list
includes examples of his social, domestic, rural, and
child pictures. He also engraved half-a-dozen pictures
in stipple. William Ward was one of the best en-
gravers of his time ; he executed plates after Correggio,
Fuseli, and Rubens ; he became an Associate Engraver
of the Royal Academy, and was appointed mezzotint
engraver to the King, the Prince Regent, and the
Duke of York. He died in 1826.

James Ward's engravings after IVIorland were very
few ; there are, in the Museum collection, two mezzo-
tints by him of figure subjects. He is credited with
half-a-dozen engravings at most. He is better known
as an animal painter than as an engraver.

At an early period of his life it had been his ambition
to become apprenticed to Morland, but his brother-in-
law was not disposed to accede to his desire : it is stated
that Morland's refusal was due to his recognition of
James Ward's talents and his fear lest he should become
a dangerous rival ; and there is probably truth in the
assertion, bearing in mind Morland's objection to let
artists see him at work.

Morland could not entirely exclude the younger

223

George Morland

brother from his studio while he lived with William
Ward, hence James came under the influence of the
great painter whether the latter liked it or not, and
copied some of his paintings, learning the secret of
his touch ; and when James Ward exhibited his first
pictures at the Royal Academy, he was hailed as a
pupil of Morland. As the latter had rejected his
advances to become his apprentice, James Ward did
not care to allow Morland credit for influencing his
own style : as before said, he had no affection for
his brother-in-law, and in his own words he found
that he " had a fresh foundation to lay and had to begin
at the bottom of the hill." He therefore entered as a
student John Brooks' School of Anatomy in Blenheim
Street,* and endeavoured successfully to form a style of
his own. This, when he reached the age of twenty-
eight years. He was not, however, above taking
advantage of any resemblance that existed between his
work and that of his brother-in-law.

Miss Frankau states that pictures painted by James
Ward were sent to Ireland with Morland's name upon
them ; and that some little time after this " in a public
sale-room some of these pictures were sold as Morland's,
and that without any comment or demur from James
Ward and his family."

James Ward became an Associate in 1807, and
Royal Academician in 181 1 : he was a painter of
undoubted ability and of great industry. The attitude
he adopted in the quarrel with the Directors of the

' Animal Painters of England. By Sir Walter Gilbey, z vols. 1899.

224

LANDSCAPE WITH GIPSIES
(Size of original picture 16 x 22^ iriches.)

His Life and Works

British Institution over his great allegorical canvas,
painted to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo, shows
him to have been a somewhat difficult man to deal with.

Mention must be made of his gift to the British
Museum of the working proofs from his various
plates : these form a very valuable series of illustrations
of the stages of mezzotint engraving. James Ward con-
tinued painting and exhibiting until he was eighty-
seven : he died in 1859 in his 91st year.

John Raphael Smith has double claim to notice,
since he not only engraved, but published many of
Morland's works. Born in 1752, the son of Thomas
Smith of Derby, he began life as a linen-draper's
apprentice : while thus employed he practised the art
of engraving in his leisure hours, and produced his
first plate when seventeen years of age. Coming up to
London, he made rapid progress in the calling of his
choice, and was entrusted with the task of executing
mezzotint engravings from the works of the foremost
painters of the day.

Some of John Raphael Smith's plates from the
paintings of Reynolds and Romney are regarded as
masterpieces of mezzotint : and the same may be said
of the engravings he made from designs of his own.
He had great business capacity, and starting as an art
publisher was soon on the high road to fortune, so ex-
tensive was the connection he established among the
first painters of the time. There can be no doubt that
he exploited Morland to his own advantage. The
thirty-six pictures mentioned on page 67 were exhibited

225 29

George Morland

by him in King Street as the " Morland Gallery " ;
and he is said to have admitted that this was the best
speculation he ever made. Smith's artistic tastes were
strong ; and while at the zenith of his fame as a mezzo-
tint engraver and the height of his success as a publisher,
he began to neglect engraving in order to devote his
attention to painting. Above all things he desired to
make his name as a painter : he had a measure of
talent and drew successful crayon portraits with great
rapidity : he also painted fancy subjects in a style
which suggests the influence of Morland and Wheatley.

The influence of Morland is not surprising when we
consider that Smith engraved about twenty character-
istic works ^ of the artist and had intimate connection
with him as his publisher. He exhibited freely from
1773 to 1805 at the Royal Academy, the Incorporated
Society of Artists, and the Free Society. Smith was
appointed Mezzotint Engraver to the Prince of Wales.
He was a shrewd, humorous man of convivial tastes,
much given to hospitality : it was at his table that
William CoUins first met Morland.

Samuel William Reynolds, born 1773, was the son
of a West India planter. He was sent at an early age
to England to be educated and, evincing artistic talent,

' Among other works by Morland he twice engraved the " Laetitia "
series once in 1789, and again in 181 1. The latter set affords a striking
example of the liberties taken by engravers with originals. The plates of
1789 follow the artist's work faithfully : those of 181 1 sacrifice much of
the grace and beauty of the originals in order to show the woman in the
attire fashionable at the time. In the last picture Lastitia is portrayed with-
out the mob-cap and wide hat she wears in Morland's painting.

226

His Life and Works

studied at the Royal Academy Schools and under
William Hodges, R.A. He became a pupil of John
Raphael Smith, and had attained a high degree of skill
as a mezzotint engraver when he was twenty-four years
old. He engraved a number of Morland's works, and
many of the paintings of Sir Joshua Reynolds (relation-
ship with whom he claimed), Rubens, Rembrandt,
Hoppner, and James Northcote : he was also employed
by Turner to do engravings for his Liber Studiorum.
He was a very rapid and masterly workman, and is
believed to have been the first to employ etching to
strengthen mezzotint, which he did with unrivalled
success. He also painted in oil and water-colours,
producing some very powerful and original landscapes \
these works found peculiar acceptance in France and
Germany, to which countries most of them were sent :
they are little known in Britain. He exhibited at the
Paris Salon in 1810 and 18 12.

Samuel William Reynolds was appointed drawing
master to the Royal Princesses, and perhaps this cir-
cumstance may explain the fact that he was offered
the honour of knighthood, which he did not see fit to
accept. He was an intimate friend of Sheridan and
Edmund Kean, and, it is recorded, often helped the latter
to " make up " for the stage. He taught the art of
mezzotint engraving, the most successful of his pupils
being Samuel Cousins : David and John Lucas also
learned their craft from him. Reynolds died In 1835.
Thomas Rowlandson, born in London 1752, was a
friend of Morland with whom he had much in common.

227

George Morland

He received his artistic education at Dr. Barrows'
Academy in Soho Square and at the Royal Academy
Schools ; and while there attracted notice by the
caricatures he drew of his companions and masters.
At the age of sixteen he went to Paris to live with the
widow of his uncle ; and having studied there for a
time, returned to London and the Academy Schools.

Rowlandson exhibited at the Academy in 1775, and
about 1777 began to devote himself to portrait paint-
ing. He had no mean talent for this : his sketch of
Morland standing with his back to the fire shows his
ability ; but, as in the case of Morland, portraiture was
not his true metier and, though he succeeded, he
abandoned this department of art in 1781, and resumed
exercise of his early taste for caricature.

Always careless and inclined to be dissipated, he
squandered money freely : his French aunt left him
£']QOO and some valuable property, but he ran through
this and other legacies with a light heart, confident in
his ability to support himself by drawing.

Rowlandson worked with remarkable rapidity, often
turning out two caricatures a day. He took up the
engraver's art somewhat late in life ; and executed
a great number of etchings and aquatints for Acker-
mann, illustrating several books for that publisher.
He etched a few of Morland's works.

Joshua Kirby Baldrey, a clever etcher who produced
many plates from Morland's works, was born in 1754 :
he practised in London and Cambridge, and first
exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1793. His finest

228

His Life and Works

works are those after Salvator Rosa and Sir Joshua
Reynolds : he is best known for his drawing of the
east windows of King's College Chapel at Cambridge,
which he engraved and finished highly in colours.

George Keating, an Irishman born in 1762, learned
his craft under William Dickinson, the mezzotint
engraver ; he executed some fine engravings after
Reynolds, Romney, Gainsborough, and West, and was
very successful with his mezzotints of Morland's subject
pictures.

Joseph Grozer, whose name occurs in our story of
Morland's life, was born about the year 1755. ^^
enjoyed high reputation as a mezzotint engraver, and also
worked in stipple : he executed plates after Reynolds,
Romney, Lawrence, W. R. Bigg, and others, and made
several engravings from Morland's works. Some of
these he published himself Grozer is equally successful
in his reproductions of Morland's paintings, whether he
deals with subject pictures, landscape, animals, or with
sporting scenes. The date of his death is unknown,
but it is thought to have been about 1798.

Philip Dawe, the personal friend of Morland and
father of the biographer, was the son of a city merchant,
and, it is said, studied under Hogarth. He exhibited
humorous subjects at the Free Society of Artists, and
was represented at the first exhibition of the Royal
Academy in 1763. He was, as has been said,
apprenticed to Henry Robert Morland, some of whose
works he engraved, and was the intimate friend of
George Morland in his earlier days. Philip Dawe was

229

George Morland

a clever mezzotint engraver, and produced plates after
works by Reynolds, Romney, and Gainsborough. His
name does not occur often in the list of engravings
from Morland's works.

James Fitder was born in London in 1758. He
studied at the Royal Academy schools, and became
Associate Engraver in 1800. He excelled in line work,
and produced several admirable plates from pictures by
Morland. He is probably best known by his en-
gravings from de Loutherbourg's paintings " Lord
Howe's Victory " and " The Battle of the Nile," which
are considered his finest productions. He engraved
many English and foreign pictures, and did much work
as an illustrator of books. In the latter class of art
his plates in Forster's British Gallery deserve special
mention. Fittler died in 1835.

John Dean was a pupil of the famous mezzotint en-
graver, Valentine Green : his mezzotints after Morland's
figure subjects are very fine examples of the art, but
Dean's best achievements are his engravings of paintings
by Reynolds, Romney, Gainsborough, Murillo, Rubens,
and Jacob Jordaens. He died in 1798.

Thomas Williamson made few engravings from
Morland's pictures during the artist's hfetime, but
he was frequently employed upon them in the two
years following Morland's death, and is credited with
fourteen clever etchings and aquatints from his works.
Williamson was famous for the extraordinary fineness
and delicacy of the engraving he could produce, but
his skill in this direction did not find scope in dealing

230

THE DOOR OF A VILLAGE INN
{Size of original picture 39 x 49^ inch-es.)

His Life and Works

with the bold, broad handling of Morland. Nevertheless
several of his engravings are very fine. Of his personal
history nothing appears to be known.

John Young, born in 1755, engraved at least half-
a-dozen of Morland's works in mezzotint. He was
among the best craftsmen of his day, and was appointed
engraver to the Prince of Wales in 1789. Young was
keeper of the British Institution from 18 13 to 1825,
and one of the promoters of the Artists' Benevolent
Fund. He died in 1825.

John Scott, born 1774, one of the most able en-
gravers both in line and mezzotint of his time, executed
at least two plates from Morland's works. Having
regard to the remarkable skill displayed by Scott in
reproducing pictures of animal life, it is somewhat
curious that his name does not more frequently occur.

Among the foreign engravers whose names deserve
notice in connection with Morland's works are —

Thomas Vivares, who flourished during the last
decades of the eighteenth century. He etched over
a score of pictures, principally animal subjects on a
small scale : many of Vivares' etchings are very
beautiful pieces of work.

A. Suntach, a French engraver, made half-a-dozen
plates after Morland, principally sporting pictures : his
productions deserve mention as providing proof of the
popularity Morland's works enjoyed in France at the
end of the eighteenth century. Morland's are almost
the only English pictures engraved by Suntach, of
whose career nothing is known.

231

George Morland

Thomas Gaugain, born at Abbeville in 1748, came to
England in his youth and studied under Houston.
He executed a few stipple engravings from works by
Morland ; he also produced plates after Reynolds,
Cosway, and Northcote. His engraving of a portrait
of Morland was made in 1804, the year of the artist's
death.

It is impossible to determine with certainty the
number of plates executed by any given engraver, be-
cause, as will be seen from Appendix III., a large number
were published without the name of the artist responsible
for the plate ; but we may safely place the name of
William Ward at the head of the long list of those who
thus contributed to make Morland's pictures known to
the world, as indeed we may place him in point of
merit. John Raphael Smith approaches Ward very
closely In the latter respect, though in the matter of
quantity he Is far behind him. No fewer than sixty-
seven engravers, including all the best men of their
time, produced plates after Morland's pictures.

Among publishers of his works, J. R. Smith Is most
prominent. Mr. John Harris published a large
number, as also did Messrs. D. Orme and Co. of
Bond Street, whose exhibition of the painter's works
when Morland's fame was at its zenith has been
mentioned. W. Dickinson published many ; and It Is
significant to observe in the Chronological Catalogue
given in Appendix II. the number of engravers who
were also publishers of their prints after Morland ;
sure Indication of the profits which might be looked

232

His Life and Works

for by production of a print that appealed to the
popular taste.

Engravings after Morland, particularly those by
William Ward and John Raphael Smith, fetch high
prices when offered at auction. " A Party Angling "
(W. Ward) realised 95 guineas at the Bulteel Sale in
1904; "The Coquette at Her Toilette" and "Domestic
Happiness " (W. Ward, coloured mezzotints) brought
76 guineas the pair at another sale. "A Visit to the
Child at Nurse " and "A Visit to the Boarding School "
(W. Ward, coloured mezzotints) brought 120 guineas ;
" Delia in Town " and " Delia in the Country " (J. R.
Smith, coloured) brought 178 guineas, "Variety" and
" Constancy " (W. Ward, coloured) £,66 ; " Juvenile
Navigators " and " Children Bird's-nesting " (W. Ward,
coloured mezzotints) £()o ; " The Squire's Door " and
" The Farmer's Door " (B. Duttereau, coloured chalk)
90 guineas ; " St. James' Park " and "A Tea Garden "
(F. W. Soiron, coloured chalk) 136 guineas; "The
Farmer's Stable" (W. Ward, mezzotint) £1,-1 ; "The
First of September" (i) Morning, (2) Evening
(W. Ward, mezzotint coloured), 35 guineas ; "Giles,
the Farmer's Boy " (W. Ward, mezzotint coloured),
50 guineas. It is curious to reflect that the price given
for a mezzotint by W. Ward or J. R. Smith at the
present day often far exceeds that received by the
painter for the original work ; but Morland's pictures
stand by no means alone in this respect.

233 30

CHAPTER XX

Messrs. Christies have been kind enough to supply
the following lists of pictures by Morland which have
passed through their hands since the year 1901. The
value of the painter's works has increased greatly during
recent years ; indeed it would not be too much to say
that there has been a " boom " in Morland's pictures
due to quickened appreciation of their merits.

It is impossible to look over the lists without being
struck by the wide diversity in the prices paid ; thus
among the canvases sold in 1902 are two, practically
of equal size, " Woodcock Shooting " and the " Carrier's
Stable," sold respectively for fifty and eleven hundred
guineas ; again among the sales of 1905 we find that
"Boys Skating," painted in 1791, that is to say, during
the artist's best period, sold for only eighty guineas,
while " Higglers Preparing for Market," practically
identical in size, brought two thousand guineas.

It is hardly necessary to remark that the size of any
picture has very little bearing upon its value, but it is
noteworthy that nearly all those pictures by Morland
which have brought a thousand guineas or more at
recent sales have been above the average size of his

234

MORNING; OR, THE HIGGLERS PREPARING FOR MARKET
Signed. 1791

(Size of original picture '2"\ X 3l> inches.)

George Morland

paintings ; the explanation being that these were works
over which he took most pains and do him best justice.

The popularity acquired by certain works is reflected
in the value set upon it in some cases ; thus the
famous "Laetitia" series of six pictures, which were
painted before the artist had reached the zenith of his
career, brought 5600 guineas when offered for sale in
1904 ; while " Dancing Dogs," engravings from which,
as mentioned in an earlier chapter, attained such
remarkable popularity, brought no less than 4000
guineas in 1905.

Dawe's remark concerning the future value of
Morland's pictures necessarily recurs to mind in this
connection, and we find some justification for it. The
prices paid nowadays for the painter's finest works
are out of all proportion to those commanded by his
less meritorious achievements ; but in noticing this we
must always bear in mind two points : first, the
enormous number of pictures produced by Morland,
and secondly, the circumstances under which a large
proportion of them were painted. It would be un-
reasonable to look for the same care and finish in the
" pot boiler " painted under pressure, and the canvas
produced at leisure in the artist's own time while he
was in the mood to put his best work into it. The
gulf between any painter's best and his next best may
be very wide indeed ; and this undoubtedly is the case
with Morland.

There is no discoverable relation between the
subject of a picture and the price paid for it. Having

235

George Morland

regard to the character of work with which Morland's
name is most nearly identified — rural scenes — we
might expect that a " typical " Morland, other things
being equal, should command a higher price than one
belonging less exclusively to his special field of art ;
but this is not the case. The sums paid for several
" Stable Interiors " vary as widely, one from another,
as do those paid for landscapes, for gipsy pieces, or
subject pictures ; the price in each case is determined
by merit and by merit alone, unless there enter into
the matter such considerations as those which lent
peculiar value to the celebrated " Laetitia " series.

Works of George Morland sold at Christies'.

1901

In.

In.

Landscape, with gipsies

64 by

9

^■•5

10

0

Stable, with dog, puppies, and donkey

+0

»»

30

126

0

0

G. Morland — Portrait of the Artist,

holding a Palette

50

>»

40

157

10

0

Sandy Road through a forest

9h

»

IZ

57

15

0

Coast Scene, with fisherman and boat

9\

)i

12

54

•3

0

1902

Interior of a Stable, white horse, and

two peasants ....

'4

i»

Hh

"5

10

0

Country Butcher, white horse .

38

»i

50

94

10

0

Cottage, figures, and animals

14

,,

18

68

5

0

Woodcock Shooting.

18

n

24

52

10

0

Coast Scene, fisherman and boats

21

??

30

105

0

0

Fishermen on Coast ....

19

>»

^5i

78

15

0

Poll of Plymouth in a Boat

10

>i

12

60

18

0

236

lO

cottage . . • • • ' )

His Life and Works

In. In.

The Apple Girl . . . • 5° by 40 / 136
Edge of a Wood, peasants watering

horses 7| " 9i >57 10 o

Farm Scene, peasants watering horses 33 ,,47 52 10 o

Two Shepherds, sheep, and dogs . 29 „ 24 99 : 5 o
Carrier's Stable, horse, pony, two

peasants, and woman 19 "^5 115500

The Bull Inn '9 " ^5 861 o o

The Shepherd's Meal . . . 30 „ 25 966 o o

Landscape, with huntsman and hounds 9^ „ 11^ 115 10 o

The Thatcher Hi " ^95 210 o o

Fishermen on Coast . . . . 19 „ ^Sh 5^ 1° o

Breaking the Ice . . 24 „ 29 441 o o
Interior of a Stable, with two horses,

peasants, and dog . . . 25 „ 30 126 o o
The Rendezvous ; and The Com-
panion (pair) . . . . 10^ „ 8| no 5 o
Watermill, at the edge of a wood,

with peasants . . • -19^" -Si ^4' ^° °

i9°3

Peasants, horses, and pigs before a

barn 27-36 262 10 o

Feasant woman near a pump, man

and dog 30 " 25 231 o o

Woody Landscape, figures before a

14 89 5 o

The Public-House Door . . . 22 „ 28 105 o o
Farmyard, with woodman, horse, and

cows 28 „ 36 105 o o

Barn door, with figures and animals . 50 „ 50 8 o

The Thatcher 24^,, 29^ 157 1° °

Gipsy Family, donkey, church, etc. . 27 „ 36 325 o o

Gipsy encampment in wood . . 23 „ 36 472 10 o

237

George Morland

1904

The Soldier's Departure ; and the

Soldier's Return (pair)
Gipsy Encampment .
The Traveller's Repast .
Louisa (oval) ....
The Traveller's Halt
Shepherd Reposing .
Woody Road, with gipsies and a farmer

on a horse
Wreckers on the Coast
The Stable Door
Cymon and Iphigenia
The Slate Quarry (1793) .
Selling the Pet Lamb
A Country Inn, with horseman .
Interior of a Stable, with peasant

horse, and dog ...
Peasants and donkeys by a shed

Winter (panel) .
Interior of an Alehouse, with sports

men (panel) ...
A Boar Hunt ....
Woody Landscape, with huntsmen
Woody Landscape, with gipsies
The Story of Laetitia (set of six)
The Beggars ....

In.

In.

12 by 10 £iii6 10 o

11^ „ 14 115 10 o

•9J » ^Sh 346 10 o

•5i " 12^ 3+6 10 o

h\ " "A '36 10 o

i5i „ 20 215 10 o

16 „ 2o| 131 5 o

39 „ 54 609 o o

27 „ 36 378 o o

9A „ iii 199 10 o

•9i .. 25i '°5 o °

22 ,, 18 157 10 o

"i " i+i 73 1° o

i8i „ 23^ 199 10 o

I'i » Hi

84

0

0

9i " •>!

141

15

0

8 „ 10

63

0

0

•9 " 25i

56

'4

0

iij „ 15

5*

10

0

lyi >. i3i

5880

0

0

24 „ 29

105

0

0

1905

The Sportsman's Return .
Children, Dog, and Sheep
Landscape, with gipsy encampment
Boys Skating (1791)
A Meet of the Berkeley Hounds

238

^42 " ^9h 420 o °

17^ „ 12^ 126 o o

27 „ 29 73 10 o

27J „ 36 84 o o

40 „ 50 136 10 o

SETTERS
Signed, undated

(Size of original picture llj k 14^ iivlies.)

His Life and Works

In.

In.

Landscape with peasants and horses a

an inn (panel) . . . .

6^ by

8J

/57

15

0

The Lime-Kilns (1792) .

^1\

»»

35i

210

0

0

Morning ; or Higglers Preparing fo

Market ....

^1\

»i

36

2100

0

0

The Country Stable (1791)

21

»1

27

1050

0

0

Wood Scene ....

•5

»»

'3f

840

0

0

Woody Landscape .

i3i

)1

i7i

6og

0

0

Winter Landscape .

z8

,,

36

262

lO

0

Winter Scene (1790)

27i

„

36

504

0

0

The Lucky Sportsman (panel) .

Hi

,,

9l

441

0

0

The Unlucky Sportsman (panel)

"1

fi

9i

420

0

0

Two Donkeys and a Pig .

12

)»

'5

.36

10

0

Dancing Dogs ....

28^

»i

24

4200

0

0

Scene in Westmorland (1792) .

. 40

J»

56

504

0

0

A Farmyard ....

30

>»

25

273

0

0

Wreckers at Work after a Gale (1791

) +0

l»

55

777

0

0

1906

Stable Interior, with peasants anc

1

horses ....

. 28

»»

36

99

15

0

Rocky Coast Scene .

■ ^lk

»»

35i

525

0

0

Winter Landscape .

■ Mi

J>

29J

819

0

0

Boys Bathing ....

. 28

11

36

1260

0

0

Rocky Coast Scene .

• 33i

11

43i

283

10

0

Coast Scene ....

■ ^1\

,j

36

157

10

0

View in Alum Bay (1799)

^7i

11

35i

84

0

0

Deserter Pardoned .

21

11

17

1417

10

0

A Donkey ; Winter (panel)

• 6f

11

9

57

•5

0

Watermill and Cottage among trees

■ 27

•»i

35|

68

5

0

1907

Happy Cottagers

• 39

>1

42

2940

0

0

The Gipsy's Tent .

• 33

11

4H

945

0

0

Gipsies (1792) ....

• ^1\

11

36

840

0

0

239

George Morland

Paying the Horseler
View near a Seaport
The Interior of a Stable
Going Out
The Check .
Interior of a Kitchen
Portrait of H. Stone
Landscape, with a gipsy at a fire
A Gipsy Encampment

In. In.

27 by 35|

^504

0

0

Hi .. 29I

105

0

0

•9i " 25I

105

0

0

•9i " 25^

99

15

0

'9l " 25^

252

0

0

9i ., '2

50

8

0

29 " 24

50

8

0

II ,,13

60

18

0

i9i " 25i

78

15

0

240

APPENDICES

31

APPENDIX I

The Society of Artists had its beginning in the combination
of a few painters, chiefly foreigners, to procure living models
for purposes of study, about the year 1734 or 1735. They
held regular meetings at a house in Greyhound Couit, Arundel
Street. Some English artists, Hogarth among them, recognised
the utility of the enterprise, and, the movement gaining w^ide
acceptance, an attempt was made in 1753 to establish an
" Academy of Painting, Sculpture, etc." This endeavour failed,
and for some years the project remained in abeyance. The
idea of holding an exhibition of paintings arose from the public
interest aroused by the artistic decorations with which many
of the principal painters of the day voluntarily adorned the
rooms of the P^oundling Hospital ; and under the auspices of
the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and
Commerce, the first exhibition of paintings was opened on
2 1st April 1760. The conditions imposed by the Society
for Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce,
in return for the use of its premises, however, gave rise to
differences of opinion, and in 1761 the Society of Artists
hired "the great room in Spring Gardens" where they held
an independent exhibition. Some painters, most of them
young men, were unwilling to lose the patronage of, and
prizes offered by, the Society for Encouragement of Arts,
Manufactures, and Commerce, and continued to exhibit in

243

George Morland

their room in the Strand until 1764, when the privilege of
thus using it was withdrawn owing to the decrease in the
number of exhibitors.

Those painters who had refused to share the fortunes of the
Society of Artists in Spring Gardens, finding themselves, as it
were, without a home, formed the Free Society of Artists ;
and for ten years — until 1774 — held exhibitions of their own,
twice in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, and afterwards in
Mr. Christie's new auction room. The exhibition, which
remained open for a month each spring, interfered with Mr.
Christie's business, and the Free Society was obliged to seek
new quarters in St. Albans Street, where it held one final
exhibition.

In the meantime the Society of Artists had profited so
much by its successful annual exhibitions in Spring Gardens
that a Royal Charter was sought and obtained on 26th January
1765. The promising future which appeared to await the
Chartered Society was marred by dissension among the
members. The charter was badly drawn, and artists who
had neither talent nor good conduct to recommend them
gained admittance. These men combined together to oust
from control of affairs the eminent artists who had accepted
office as Directors, and, their machinations succeeding, the
more reputable members followed the example of the out-voted
Directors (Joshua Wilton, Edward Penny, Richard Wilson,
Benjamin West, William Chambers, G. M. Moser, Paul
Sandby, and F. M. Newton), and withdrew altogether.

These gentlemen approached the King with a carefully
prepared scheme for the creation of a new body ; and the
Royal Academy of Great Britain received his Majesty's sanction
in December 1768. Exhibitions were held for some years
in rooms opposite Market Lane, Pall Mall j but in 1780
accommodation was provided for the Royal and Antiquarian
Societies and Royal Academy in Somerset Buildings, as Somerset

244

His Life and Works

House was then called, and there the exhibitions were held for
a long period of years.

The Chartered Society continued to exhibit at Spring
Gardens until 1771, when they decided to build an Exhibition
room for themselves. The purchase of a site and the erection
of the building in the Strand nearly exhausted their finances,
and from this time the Society began to decline. The number
of exhibitors steadily decreased, the new building had to be
sold, and the exhibitions, now held wherever a room could
be hired, became irregular and poor. The last, held in 1791,
betrayed the condition into which the Society had fallen, the
exhibition including such objects as pieces of needle-work,
designs in human hair and cut paper, and similar productions.

245

APPENDIX II

CHRONOLOGICAL CATALOGUE OF ENGRAVINGS,!
ETCHINGS, ETC., AFTER GEORGE MORLAND,
SHOWING THE YEARS OF THEIR PUBLICATION,
ETC. (ALL WERE PUBLISHED IN LONDON.)

Abbreviations.

M. = Mezzotint.

C. = Chalk, or stipple.

A. = Aquatint.

L. = Line engraving.

Col. = Coloured copies published.

B.M. = In British Museum Collection as detailed

in pp. 125-14.3.
A brace connecting engravings signifies that they

form a pair or series.

1780

Engraver. Publisher.

The Angler's Repast, B.M., M.

{re-issued \-]%()) . . . W.Ward. J.R.Smith.

1783
Children Nutting, M. . . . E. Daves. J. R. Smith.

' These lists are based upon those given by Mr. Ralph Richardson in his work
George Morland^ Painter^ London. Numerous additions have been made to the
British Museum collection since that work was originally published in 1895 and these
are here included,

246

George Morland

1785

Engraver.
How Sweet's the Love that meets

Return, B.M., C. . . . T. Gaugain.

The Lass of Livingstone, B.M., C. „

Love and Constancy Rewarded, A. P. Dawe.
The Gentle Shepherd, C. .

1786

Tom Jones' First Interview with
Molly Seagrim, M. .

1787

Harley and Old Edwards [from
"■ Man of Feeling"), M. .

Valentine's Day, B.M., co/. M.

Domestic Happiness, co/. M.

The Coquette at her Toilette,
co/. M

The Happy Family, B.M. .

The Delightful Story, M. .

John Pettit.
J. Dean.
W. Ward.

J. Dean.
W. Ward.

1788

A visit to the child at Nurse,
co/. M. {for companion see first
entry 1789) ....
• The Power of Justice, B.M.,

M

The Triumph of Benevolence,

B.M., M

Sportsman's Hall, M. .
The Widow, B.M., M.
Blind Man's Buff, co/. M. .
Children playing at Soldiers,
B.M., M. ' .

247

W. Ward.

J. Dean.

W. Ward.
J. Dean.
W. Ward.

G. Keating.

Publisher.

T. Gaugain.

)>
W. Hinton.
T. Merle.

Wm. Ward. Wm. Holland.

W Holland.

J. Dean.

W. Dickinson.

J. R. Smith.
J. Dean.

W. Holland.
J. Dean.
J. R. Smith.

George Morland

The First Pledge of Love, C.
Suspense, M. . . .

{Delia in the Country, B.M
C, col.
Delia in Town, B.M., C, col.
Anxiety ; or, The Ship at Sea

B.M., M. .
Mutual Joy ; or, The Ship in
Harbour, B.M., M.
The Fair Seducer, C. .
/ Variety, B.M., C, cot.
\ Constancy, B.M., C, col.
The Pledge of Love, B.M., col. M
Children Nutting, col. M.
Children Fishing, col. M.
Children gathering Black
berries, col. M.
The Strangers at Home, B.M.

{Spring, C.
Summer, C.
Autumn, C.
Winter, C.
The Idle Laundress, C.
J Indulgence, C.
\ Discipline, C.
The Agreeable Surprise, M.
On the Wings of Love, M.
Seduction, B.M., M. .
Credulous Innocence, B.M., M.
Morning Reflection, L.

Engraver.
W. Ward.

Publisher.

T. Prattent.

J. R. Smith. J. R. Smith.

P. Dawe.

E. J. Dumee.
W. Ward.

E. Dayes.
P. Dawe.

W. Nutter.
Wm. Ward.

W. Blake.
J. Prattent.

John Young.
G. Graham.

1789

A Visit to the Boarding School,
col. M. {for companion see first
entry 1788) ....

248

W. Dickinson.

J. R. Smith.
W, Dickinson.

E. M. Diemar.
T. Prattent.

J. R. Smith.
J. Brydon.

C. Bowles.
R. Sayer.

E. Jackson.

W. Ward. J. R. Smith.

His Life and Works

Juvenile Navigators, B.M., col. M.
/ A Party Angling, col. M. .
\ The Angler's Repast, col. M. .
Youth diverting Age, M.
A Mad Bull, B.M., A.
An Ass Race, B.M., col. M.
Children Birds'-nesting, B.M.,

col. M

Louisa [two companion plates),

B.M., C

The Pleasures of Retirement,

B.M., M

Guinea-pigs, B.M., C, col.

Mr. Phillips's Dog Friend, M. .

Encr^ver.

W. Ward.
G. Keating.
W. Ward.
J. Grozer.
R. Dodd.
W. Ward.

T. Gaugain.

Pl'BLI&HER.

J. R. Smith.

W. Dickinson.
P. Cornman.

J. R. Smith.

W. Ward.

T. Gaugain. T. Gaugain.

W. Ward.

J. Dean.

W. Ward.

The L.STITIA Series, viz. :

Plate I. Domestic Happiness, C.
„ 2. The Elopement, C.
„ 3. The Virtuous Parent, C.
„ 4. Dressing for the Mas-
querade, C. .
„ 5. The Tavern-door, C.
„ 6. The Fair Penitent, C.

The Tomb, B.M., C, col. .
Refreshment, B.M., A.

The Fruits of Early Industry

and CEconomy, B.M., M.
The Effects of Youthful Ex-
travagance and Idleness,

B.M., M

The List'ning Lover, B.M. .
Farmer's visit to his Married

Daughter in Town, C. col.
The visit returned in the

Country, C W. Nutter.

249

J. R. Smith. J. R. Smith.

J. Dean.
P. Cornman.

T. Simpson.

T. Rowlandson.
W. Bond.

W. Dickinson.
32

George Morland

1790

A Rural Feast, B.M., M. .
The Kite entangled, M.

(Jack in the Bilboes, col. M.
The Contented Waterman,
col. M

The Squire's Door, B.M., C,

col. ....
The Farmer's Door, B.M.,
C, col. ....

f St. James's Park, C, col. .
\ A Tea-garden, B.M., C, col.
Temptation, B.M., M.
Dancing Dogs, B.M., C, col.

Engraver.

J. Dean.
W. Ward.

Publisher.

J. Dean.
J. R. Smith.
P. Cornman.

B. Duterreau. J. R. Smith.

F. D. Soiron. T. Gaugain.

W. Humphrey. W.Dickinson.
T. Gaugain. T. Gaugain.

Shooting Series — etched by T. Rowlandson ; aquatint by S.
Aiken ; published by J. Harris and T. Merle :

1. Pheasant-shooting.

2. Partridge-shooting.

Morning; or. Thoughts on

Amusements for the Evening.
Affluence reduced, M.

The Soldier's Farewell, C, col.

The Soldier's Return, B.M.,
col. .
Pedlars, B.M., L.
Travellers reposing, B.M., L
Sliding, B.M., L.
The Bell, L.
Virtue in Danger, B.M., L.

The Miseries of Idleness,
B.M., col. M.

The Comforts of Industry.
B.M., col. M.

3. Duck-shooting.

4. Snipe-shooting, B.M.

H. Hudson.
G. Graham.

J. Fittler.

M. Colnaghi

and Co.
J. R. Smith.
T. Simpson.

J. Fittler.

P. Cornman.
J. Fittler.
P. Cornman.

H. Hudson. J. R. Smith.

250

His Life and Works

Engraver. Publisher.

La Chasse de la Becassine

(Snipe), B.M., L. . . .A. Suntach.

■ Boys robbing an Orchard,

B.M., col. M. . . . E. Scott.
The Angry Farmer, B.M.,

col. M. ' . . . .

1791

Cottagers, B.M., M. . . . W. Ward. T. Simpson.

Travellers, B.M., M. . . .

The Recruit, or Deserter, Series :
Plate I. Trepanning a Recruit,

B.M., M. . . . G. Keating. J. R. Smith.
„ 2. Recruit deserted,

B.M., M. . . . „

„ 3. Deserter taking leave of

his Wife, B.M. M.
„ 4. Deserter pardoned,

B.M., M. . . . „

/ African Hospitality, M. . . J. R. Smith. „

I Slave Trade, M. . . .

A Christmas Gambol, M. . . „ „

The Benevolent Lady, C. . . E. J. Dumee. T. Prattent.

I" Changing Quarters, C. . .J. Hogg. T. Simpson.

I The Billeted Soldier, C. . .

Girl and Calves, M. . . . W. Ward. Collins & Morgan ;

Moore & Kirton.
Nurse and Children in the

Fields, M G. Keating. J. R. Smith.

The Sportsman Enamour'd ; or.

The Wife in Danger, B.M., M. Robert Saver.

Gallant Behaviour of Tom Jones

to Sophia Western, B.M., C. . E. Scott. J. S. Birchall.

Tom Jones taking Molly Seagrim

from the Constable, B.M., C. . „ „

251

George Morland

Engraver. Publisher.

La Chasse du Canard (Duck),

B.M., L A. Suntach.

La Chasse de la Becasse (Wood-
cock), B.M., L. . . .

La Chasse du Li^vre (Hare),
B.M., L

179Z

The Woodcutter, M. . . W. Ward.

The Carrier's Stable, M. „ Thos.Macklin.

■ The Country Girl at Home,

M M. C. Prestel. E. M. Diemar.

The Country Girl in London,

M

The Country Stable, M. . . W.Ward. D.Orme&Cc,

E. Walker, &
J. F. Tomkins.
The Barn-door, M. . . . „ T. Simpson ; Dar-

ling & Thompson.
The Sportsman's Return, M. . „ Thos.Macklin.

The Shepherd's Boy, M. . . „ D.Orme&Co.,

E. Walker, &
J. F. Tomkins.
The Farmer's Stable, B.M., M. .

(Original in National Gallery, London.)
Gipsies, B.M., M. . . . Wm. Ward. T. Simpson.

Evening : Sportsmen refreshing,

A. ..... S.Alken. J.Vivares&Son

Coursing, A. (Etched by G.

Morland) .... J. Read.

Children feeding Goats, C. . P. W. Tomkins. D. Orme & Co.

and E. Walker.
The Amorous Ploughman, col. T.Jones and Is.

M. . . . -J- Jenner. Jenner.

Gipsy Courtship, col. M. . . „ „

252

His Life and Works

Engraver. Publisher.

Rubbing down the Post-horse,

B.M.
Duck-shooting, B.M. . . . T. Rowlandson.

Studies of following, etched by J. Baldrey ; B.M. :

Pigs, Sheep, etc.
Men, Donkey, etc.
Horses, Sheep, etc.
Cart, Wheelbarrow, etc.

Men, Children, etc.

Dog, Ass, etc.
Cart-horses.

Studies of following, the etchings published by J. Harris ;
B.M. :

Men.

Horses, etc.
Sheep, etc.

Man at Watering-trough, a
woman seated near.

1793

Feeding the Pigs, M. . . J. R. Smith.

Return from Market, B.M., M.
The Happy Cottagers, B.M., M. . J. Grozer.
The Gipsies' Tent, B.M., M.
/ Smugglers, B.M., M. .J. Ward.

\ Fishermen, B.M., M.
Burning Weeds, M.
Cows, M. ...

"Original Sketches from Nature'

Title-page, B.M. .
Woman and Child, Goat, etc.
Two Country Boys
Two Boys, Girl's Head, etc.
Boy at Pump ...
Cart passing Wooded Scenery,

B.M

A Carrier's Stable, B.M. . . W. Ward.

253

J. R. Smith.

1)

B. B. Evans.

J. R. Smith.

B. Tabart.
E.Bell. E. Bell & J. Dixie.

Etching pub. by T. Simpson.

D. Orme.
T. Simpson.

George Morland

Studies of following, the etchings published by J. Harris ; B.M. :

Horses, etc.
Children, etc.
Harrowing a Field.
Greyhounds, etc.

Fisherwomen, etc.
Men, etc.
Children, etc.
Two Men.

Engraver.

W. Ward.
J. R. Smith.
J. Dean.

•79+

The Effects of Youthful Extra-
vagance and Idleness, B.M., M.

Fighting Dogs, B.M., M.

The Happy Family, M.

The First of September : Morn-
ing, col. M. . . . W. Ward.
The First of September : Even-
ing, B.M., col. M. . . „

A Man asleep, B.M.

Studies of Horses' Heads, etc.,
B.M.

Foxhunters and Dogs leaving the
Inn, B.M. .

Foxhunters and Dogs in a Wood,
B.M. .

Full Cry, B.M.

Fox about to be Killed, B.M.

Boy and Pigs, B.M. .

Shepherds, B.M.

Country Lads at a Gate, B.M.

Belinda, or the Billet Doux, col.

Publisher.

T. Simpson.
J. R. Smith.

T. Simpson

and
W. Ward.

Etching by J. Wright.

Etching published by D. Orme.
Burrows. J. Read.

Studies of following, the etchings published by J. Harris ; B.M.

Pigs, etc.
Group of Goats.
Rabbits eating a Carrot.
Boy and Girl.
Sheep.

Men.

Men and Horse.

Dogs.

Church and Milkman.

254

His Life and Works

Engraver. Publisher.

Youth diverting Age, B.M., M. . J. Grozer.
Rubbing down the Post-horse,

B.M., M J. R. Smith.

Children feeding Goats, B.M.

1795
' Morning ; or. The Benevolent

Sportsman, B.M., M. . -J. Grozer. J. Grozer.

Evening ; or. The Sportsman's

Return, B.M., M. . . „ „

The Lucky Sportsman, B.M., C. . F. D. Soiron. B. Tabert.
The Farm-yard, B.M., M. . . W. Ward. J. R. Smith.

The Farmer's Stable, B.M., M. .

The Rustic Ballad, M. . . S.W. Reynolds. J. Read.

Hunting : Full Cry, B.M.
Women going up Ladder, B.M.
Rustic Scene : Cattle, etc., B.M.

Huntsmen and Dogs, B.M. . Etching by J. Wright,

Foxhunters and Dogs at Blue-
bell Door, B.M. . , . „

Studies of following, the etchings published by J. Harris ;
B.M. :

Men and Girl.
Sloop in a Creek.
Boat Ashore.

Friendship, B.M.

Gathering Wood, B.M. . R. M. Meadows.

{

Gathering Fruit, B.M.

1796

The Fleecy Charge, M. . . G. Shepheard. T. Macklin.

Mutual Confidence ; or. The

Sentimental Friends, M. . E. Bell. J. Grozer.

A Bear Hunt, B.M., M. . . S.W.Reynolds. S.W.Reynolds.

255

George Morland

The Dram, B.M., M.
The Storm, B.M., M.
The Turnpike, L. .
Delicate Embarrassment ;

The Rival Friends, M.
The Kennel, M.
Woodland, B.M.
Ruined Tower, B.M.
Ruined Church, B.M.
The Lovers' Retreat, B.M., M
The Bell, B.M., L.
The Turnpike, B.M., L. .
Morning ; or, The Higglers
Preparing for Market, B.M.,
C, col. . . . .

Evening ; or. The Post-Boy's
. Return, B.M., C, col.

Engraver,

W. Ward.
J. Fittler.

Publisher.

J. R. Smith.
I. Fittler.

E. Bell. J. Grozer.

S. W. Reynolds. S.W. Reynolds.

Etching published by J. Harris.

J. Fittler.

D. Orme.

D. Orme.

1797

Playing at Dominoes, M.

J. R. Reynolds. T. Ladd and
Wm. Atkins.

Playingwritha Monkey, B.M., M.

»9

»1

Inside of a Country Alehouse,

B.M., M

W. Ward.

W. Ward.

• The Labourer's Luncheon,

B.M., C

C. Josi.

J. R. Smith.

The Peasant's Repast, B.M.,

. C

The Corn-Bin, col. M. .

>>
j. R. Smith.

If

A Litter of Foxes (Animals by C.

Loraine Smith, Landscape by

G. Morland), M.

J. Grozer.

J. Grozer.

Girl and Pigs, M. .

W. Ward.

Collins & Morgan;
Moore & Kirton.

256

His Life and Works

Engraver. Publisher,

Man, Woman, and Boy on Road,

B.M Etching by T. Vivares.

Tree, B.M

The Horse-Feeder, B.M., M. J. R. Smith.

(Jack in the Bilboes, B.M. R. Clamp. \ „ ,

Tu n . . A \xr . \ 'f- W. Ward.

1 he Contented Waterman, > -^

B.M „ J '790.

1798

Breaking the Ice, B.M., M. . J. R, Smith, jun. J. R. Smith.
Milkmaid and Cowherd, B.M.,

M J. R. Smith.

A Land Storm, B.M., M. . S. W. Reynolds.

'799
The Fisherman's Hut, B.M., M. J. R. Smith. j. R. Smith.

Selling Fish, B.M., M. . .

Gathering Wood, C. . . R. M, Meadows. ,,

The Horse-Feeder, co/. M. . J. R. Smith.
Watering the Cart-horse, B.M.,

M. ,

Rubbingdown the Post-horse, M. „ „

Old and Young Man and Young

Woman, B.M. . . . Etching published by D. Orme.

Setters, B.M., co/. M. . . S. W. Reynolds.

800

The Fisherman's Dog, B.M., M
The Poacher, M. .
The Last Litter, B.M., M.
The Hard Bargain, B.M., M.
Woodland Scene, B.M. .
River Scene, „

Ruined Church, „
Tree and Cottage, „

S. W. Reynolds. S. W. Reynolds.

W.JefFryes&Co.

W.Ward. J. L.Cartwright.

Etching pub. by J. P. Thompson.

257 33

George Morland

Ruined Tower, B.M.

Cattle crossing a Bridge, B.M.

Two Pointers,

Kennel of Dogs,

Woman washing.

Study of Cat,

Two Dogs in Kennel,

Woman and Child at a Door,

B.M

Ass, B.M.

Man and Woman in Wood, B.M

Two Dogs, „

Dog, „

Dog with Bone, „

Cattle crossing Bridge, „

The Millers, B.M., M. .

Fishermen, B.M., M.

Inside a Country Alehouse,

B.M., col. M. . . .

Hunting Scenes :

Going Out, col. M.

Going into Cover, „

The Check, „

The Death, „

Engraver. Publisher.

Etching pub. by J. P. Thompson.

H 1) »>

Etching by T. Vivares.

S. W. Reynolds.
John Young.

W. Ward.

E. Bell.

The Shepherd, M. .

f Selling Peas, M. .

\ Selling Cherries, M.

( Alehouse -door, B.M., M.

1 Alehouse Kitchen, B.M., M.
Alehouse Politicians, B.M., M.
The Mail-coach, M.
The Publichouse-door, col. M. .

W. Barnard.
E. Bell.

11

R. S. Syer.

W. Ward.

S. W. Reynolds.

W. Ward.

W. Barnard.
T. Ladd.

J. R. Smith.

Wards and Co.
R. Ackerman.
J. R. Smith.

258

His Life and Works

Returning from Labour, col. M.
The Rabbit Warren, B.M., A.
Sportsmen Refreshing, B.M., A.
Stable Amusement, B.M., M. .
Two Boys fishing, B.M. .
Three Portraits of Countrymen,

B.M

Two Portraits of Stablemen,

B.M. . .
Feeding the Pigs, B.M., M.

Engraver.

T. Burke.

S. Aiken.

Publisher.
H. Macklin.
J. R. Smith.

W. Ward.

Etching pub. by J. P. Thompson.

J. R. Smith.

[802

Sailors' Conversation, B.M., col.

M

The Country Butcher, B.M., M.
■ The Flowing Bowl ; or. Sailors

returned, M. .
The Brown Jug ; or, Wag-
goner's Farewell, M.
r Morland's 'Summer,' B.M.,
\ col. M.

i Morland's "Winter," col. M.
Girl and Pigs, B.M., M. .
Girl and Calves, B.M., M.
Travellers, B.M., M.
Dogs, B.M., col.

W. Ward.
T. Gosse.

W. Barnard.

W. Barnard.
W. Ward.

John Young.
G. Shepheard.

J. R. Smith.

W. Barnard.

W. J. Sargard.

Shepherds reposing, B.M., C.
Shepherd's Meal, B.M., M.
A Conversation, B.M., M.
Cottage Family, M.
Peasant and Pigs, B.M., M.
A Visit to the Donkeys, M.

803

W. Bond.
J. R. Smith.

W. Ward.
259

H. Macklin.
I. R. Smith.

H. Macklin.

George Morland

Peasant Family, C, col.

Giles, the Farmer's Boy, B.M.,

col. M

Woodcutters at Dinner, B.M. .
Girl, Boy, and Sheep, B.M., M.
Villagers, B.M., M.
The Weary Sportsman, B.M. .
Industrious Cottager, B.M.
The Idle Laundress, B.M.
Innocence alarm'd, B.M. ,<•()/. M.

Engraver.
J. Picrson.

Publisher.
J. Pierson.

W. Ward. H. Macklin.

Thos. Williamson.

J. R. Smith.

John Young.

W. Bond.

W. Blake.

J. R. Smith, jun. H. Macklin.

T. Gaugain.
E. Bell.

J. Stephens.
E. Orme.

1804

George Morland (died 1804), C. .
r The Rustic Hovel, M. .
I The Cottage Sty, M.

Morland's Ass, M. . . .

Lazy Shepherds : " Go, mind
them!" B.M

The Young Dealer : " Well, what
will you give .? " B.M.

First Love : " Well, I shall have
my mother after me," B.M.

Ass and Pigs, with Boy, B.M.

Conversation, B.M.

Duck-shooting, I. and II., B.M.

Woodcock and Pheasant Shoot-
ing, B.M.

The Setters, B.M.

Boys bathing, B.M., col.

Interior of a Stable, M.

1805

George Morland, C. . . H. Wares. E. Orme.

The Weary Sportsman, C. . . W. Bond. H. Macklin.

Fishermen going out, B.M., M. . S.W.Reynolds. J. R. Smith.

260

Malgo.

Thos. Williamson.

Etching by T. Vivares.
Etching pub. by D. Orme.

E. Scott.
John Young.

His Life and Works

Partridge-shooting, M.
The Attentive Shepherd, col. M. .
Shepherd Asleep, companion
picture, 180;

r Morland's Cottager, C, col.
-! Morland's Woodman, C, co/.,

I B.M

The Frightened Horse, col. M.
Pedlars, C, col. ....
Paying the Horseler, B.M.,
col. M. ....

Frost-piece, B.M., C. .
Travellers reposing, B.M.
Rustic Cares : " Chuck, chuck,

chuck," B.M.
Tired Gypsies, B.M. .
Summer's Evening, B.M.
Winter's Morning, B.M.
George Morland, B.M.

Pointer and Hare, B.M., L.
The Farm-yard, B.M., L. .
Winter Scene, B.M.

Engraver.

E. Jones.
R. Brook.

Publisher.
J.Cary.
H. Macklin.

T. Williamson.^ T. Williamson
!- and

„ j John Barrow.

E. Bell. E. Orme.

G. Shepheard. J. Pierson.

S.W.Reynolds. H. Macklin.
Jas. Cundee.
Thos. Williamson.

Etching by T. Vivares from the

Drawing by G. Morland.
J. Scott.

1806

George Morland, M. . . , J. R. Smith. J. R. Smith.

Morland's Emblematical Palette,

B.M S.W.Reynolds. J. Linnell.

The Turnpike-gate, M.B., M. . W. Ward

Pigs, C R. M. Meadows. W. T. Strutt.

i Rabbits, B.M., M. .
I Guinea-pigs, B.M., M. .
The Warrener, B.M., M. .
Fishermen on Shore, B.M., M.
Setters, B.M., M.

W. Ward. J. Linnell.

W. Hilton.
W. Ward.

Henry Morland.
J. R. Smith.
J. Linnell.

261

George Morland

Boy and Pigs, M. . . .

The Thatcher, B.M., M . .
Coast Scene, B.M.
Studies of Dogs, B.M.
Woodcutters, B.M.
Cottagers in Winter, B.M. .
Men in Cart, Child, etc., B.M. .
Donkey and Boy, B.M.
The Contented Waterman,

B.M., M

The Shepherds, B.M., M. .

1807

The Pigsty, M

Guinea-pigs, M.

Girl with Bottle and Glass, B.M.

Dog following a Man, B.M.

Donkey and Girl, B.M.

Boy and Pigs, B.M., M.

Rabbits eating, B.M., M. .

Guinea-pigs eating, B.M., M.

Engraver. Publisher.

W. T. Annis. H. Macklin.
Wra. Ward. G. Morland.

Thos. Williamson.

Etching published by D. Orme.

Wm. Ward.

J. R. Smith. T. Falser.
Etching published by D. Orme.

J. R. Smith.

1808

Rest from Labour, B.M., C. . T. Burke.

Puss alarmed, M. ... P. Dawc.

R. Lambe.

1810

The Country Butcher, M. . . W. Barnard. J. Higham.

Puss, B.M., M. ... T. Hodgett. H. Morland.

1811

The Cottage Fireside, M. . . W. Barnard. Thos. Falser.

(Fishermen preparing to go
out, A. . . — Jakes. J. Deeley.

The Fishermen returning, A. . „ „

262

His Life and Works

Engraver. Pubmsher.

Snipe-shooting, B.M.

The Lstitia Series of 1789

republished, B.M. . . . J. R. Smith.

Two Donkeys and Pig in old

Stable, B.M., M. . . . W. Ward.

1812
Tottenham Court Road Turn-
pike and St. James's Chapel,
B.M.

1813
The Angry Boy and Tired Dog,

B.M., C G. Graham. T. Falser.

The Young Nurse and Quiet

Child, B.M., C. . . .
Vocal Music, B.M., C. . .J. Baldrey.

1814
Bathing Horses, B.M., M. . W. Ward. R. Lambe.

J African Hospitality, B.M., M. J. R. Smith. \ Originally fub-

\ Slave Trade, B.M., M.
Coursing, B.M., C.

Gathering Fruit, C.

Morland's Land-storm, C.

Hunting Scene, B.M.

j lis he d 1 791.

1816

. R.M. Meadows. T. Falser.

T. Williamson. T. Falser.

1824

1889

h-
. F. D. Soiron. I of March 23,

263

r Supplement of
A Tea-garden {originally pub- J 77.? Graphic

Hiked 1790), C, col. .

APPENDIX III

ENGRAVINGS AFTER PAINTINGS, OR SKETCHES, BY
GEORGE MORLAND, IN THE PRINT-ROOM OF
THE BRITISH MUSEUM, 1907

Prints and Etchings on Screen in Print-Room

1. Selling Fish. {Engraved iy }. R. Smith.)

2. The Fisherman's Hut. (Touched proofs^

3. The Country Butcher. {E?igraved by Thos. Gosse ; proof.)

4. First of September. {Engraved by W. Ward, A.R.A.)

5. A Carrier's Stable. {Engraved by W. Ward, pub/isbed 1793 by

T. Simpson ; proof.)

6. Alehouse Politicians. (W. Ward; touched proof .)

7. A View in Leicestershire. {Engraved by James Ward, R.A.)

Miscellaneous Etchings and Aquatints

Place and Date of
S"°J="- Publication.

1. Snipe-shooting . ..... London, 181 1.

2. A Mad Bull London, 1789.

3. Country Scene : horses, sheep, etc. . . No title or date.

4. „ church and cottages . „

5. Coast Scene {sma//) ..... London, 1806.

6. Le Halte. Inn-door. {Engraved by Ra)on) Paris, no date.

7. The Old Gamekeeper {small) . . No place or date.

8. The Country Stable {mall) ... „

264

George Morland

Subject.

Place and Date of
Publication.
9. Tottenham Court Road Turnpike and St.

James's Chapel (jOT«//) . . . . London, 1812.

10. The Visit. Mother, with little son, visiting

daughter at ladies' school . . . No date.

1 1. At the door of the Dolphin ... „

Soft Ground Etchings, Miscellaneous ; Anonymous

I

Asses

No place or date

of publication.

2.

Pointer Dog pointing

■

3-

Horses and Sheep ....

It

+•

{on green paper)

T>

5-

A Man asleep .....

London, 1794.

6.

„ „ in a different attitude

))

7-

Country Boy and Dog {coloured)

. No date.

8.

Women, Children, and Dog {uncoloured)

»»

9-

Studies of Dogs ....

n

10.

„ Game ....

?»

II.

Rustic Boys and Dog

No place or date.

12.

Country Scene : cart

»,

13-

Donkey ......

>»

14.

Angler under Tree {small)

»»

15-

Hunting— "Full Cry" (/OT^//) .

•795-

16.

Man and Donkey {small) .

No date.

17-

Woman going up Ladder {small)

1795-

18.

Studies of Goat and Calves

No date.

'9-

„ Heads of Cattle

11

20.
21.

?7 It ») • • ■
Studies of Horses Heads, etc. .

•794-

22.

Studies of Dogs {draiun 1 791) .

London, 1806.

23.

Lion's Cubs ......

No place or date.

2+.
25-

Man on Horseback, and Woman, Boy, and

Dog in a Storm . . . . .

Ruined Church . . . . .

11

265

34

George Morland

Subject.

26. Guinea-pigs and their Hutch

27. Rustic Scene : cattle, etc. {smull)

28. A Sheep .

29. Two Little Girls {small)

30. Rustic Scene, with cart

31. Two Sheep

32. Dogs fighting .

33. Two Portraits of a Man, seated, one holding

a pipe, another a gun .

34. Rustic scene : two figures and dog

35. Rubbing down the Post-horse .

Place and Date of
Publication.

No place or date.

1795-
No date.

1792.

Aquatints by S. Alken

1. Sportsmen refreshing .....

2. The Rabbit Warren : men with greyhounds

London, 1 80 1.

Etchings and Aquatints by T. Rowlandson

1. The List'ning Lover (two copies) . . London, 1789.

2. Snipe-shooting : men and dogs in winter . London, 1790.

3. Duck-shooting : men and dogs in boat . London, 1792.

(Nos. 2 and 3 are companion pictures.)

Etchings and Aquatints by Thomas Williamson

1. Business: cart and two horses . . . No date.

2. Pleasure : donkey-cart .... „

3. Woodcutters: two boys and dog (/;/<> /ir/»/') London, 1806.

4. Woodcutters at Dinner : one boy looks

down ; otherwise same as No. 3 . . London, 1803.

5. Morland's Woodman : boy with dog in

winter {Jine print) .... London, 1805.

6. Cottagers in Winter : man, girl, and dog in

winter (Jine) ..... London, 1 806.

7. Travellers reposing : gipsies and two asses . London, 1805.

266

His Life and Works

Subject.
8. Rustic Cares — "Chuck, chuck, chuck":

man followed by three pigs .
g. Tired Gypsies ......

10. Summer's Evening : Angler watched by

man and girl .....

11. Winter's Morning: boys sliding, woman

and child looking on .

12. Lazy Shepherds — "Go, mind them ! "

13. The Young Dealer — "Well, what will you

give .' " two men looking at pigs

14. First Love — "Well, I shall have my mother

after me": man and woman at well
{sketched 1801)

Place and Date of
Publication.

Londo

London, 1804.

Etchings Published by John P. Thompson

1. Woodland Scene (two copies) .

2. River Scene ....

3. Ruined Church

4. Tree and Cottage

5. Ruined Tower .

6. Cattle crossing a Bridge

(Nos. I to 6 are small prints.]

7. Two Boys fishing

8. Three Portraits of Countrymen .

9. Two Portraits of Stablemen

Etchings by T. Vivares

1. Man feeding Pigs {small) .

2. Two Pointers {small)

3. Kennel of Dogs (jOTij//)

4. Woman washing {small)

5. Study of Cat {small)

6. Two Dogs in Kennel {small)

7. Woman and Child at a Door {small)

8. Ass {small) ....

267

London, 1 800.

London, 1801.

No date.
London, i8oo.

George Morland

Subject.

Place and Date of
Publication.

9. Man and Woman in Wood {small; sketched

1795) ....... London, 1800.

10. Man, Woman, and Boy on Road {small) . London, 1797.

11. Two Dogs {small) ..... London, 1800.

12. Dog {small) ...... ,,

13. Tree {small) ...... London, 1797.

14. A Cottage Interior ; family at dinner No date.

15. Dog with Bone : another dog behind . London, 1800.

16. Cattle crossing Bridge (two copies) . . ,,

17. Pigs eating Turnips ..... No date.

18. Ass and Pigs, with Boy .... London, 1804.

19. George Morland, from the drawing by

himself ...... London, 1805.

[The painter is seated smoking and drinking under a tree at
the door of the Bluebell Inn. His palette is at his side, a
dog at his feet, a pig in the foreground.]

20. Two Boys with Dog seated under Tree . No date.

21. Cart passing Cottage .... „

22. Two Men hunting : hounds in full cry . ,,

Etchings by J. Wright

1. Huntsmen and Dogs

2. Full Cry ......

3. Fox about to be Killed

4. Fox-hunters and Dogs at Bluebell Door

5. Fox-hunters and Dogs leaving the Inn

6. Fox-hunters in a Wood

7. Boy and Pigs {drawn 1 792)

8. Shepherds {drawn 1793) .

Etchings Published by T. Simpson

1. "Original Sketches from Nature" Title

page : artist sketching cow and calf

2. Woman and Child, Goat, etc. .

3. Two Country Boys ....

268

London, 1795.
London, 1794.

London, 1795.
London, 1794.

London, 1793.

His Life and Works

Subject,

4. Two Boys, Girl's Head, etc.

5. Boy at Pump .

Ft ACE AND Date of
Publication.

London, 1793.

Etchings Published by D. Orme

3-
+•

"Sketches by G. Morland" Title-page:
artist sketching pigs (two copies ; small)

Girl with Bottle and Glass {study for '^o. 10 ;
small) .......

Group conversing [study for No. 8 ; small)

Dog following a Man {small)

5. Men in Cart, Child, etc. {small)

6. Donkey and Girl {small) ....

7. Donkey and Boy {small) ....

8. Conversation : No. 3 Group, and Donkey

{drawn 1792) .....

9. Cart passing Wooded Scenery .

10. Old and Young Man and Young Woman

{drawn 1 792) .....

11. Country Lads at a Gate ....

Etchings by J. Baldrey
Studies of Pigs, Sheep, etc.

Men, Donkey, etc. .

Horses, Sheep, etc. .

Cart, Wheelbarrow, etc.

Men, Children, etc. .

Men

Dog, Ass, etc. .

Cart-horses

No date.

London,

1807.

London,

1806.

London,

1807.

London,

1806.

London,

1807.

London,

1806.

London,

1804.

London,

1793-

London,

1799.

London,

1794-

London,

1792.

Etchings Published by J. Harris

1. River Scene {small) ..... No date.

2. Woodland Scene {small) .... „

3. „ „ . . . . London, 1796.

4. Ruined Tower {small) .... „

269

George Morland

Subject.

Place and Date of
Publication.

5-
6.

Cottage, Tree, etc. {small)

Ruined Church {small) ....

No date.
London,

1796.

[All above in red ink. There is a collection

in black

ink.]

7-

" Sketches by G. Morland " Title-page :

artist under tree sketching horses .

No date

8.

Studies of Men

London,

1792.

9-

Man at Watering-trough : a woman seated

lO.

near {drawn 1 791)
Studies of Horses, etc

11

II.

12.

„ Sheep, etc. ....
„ Horses, etc

London,

1793-

•3-

„ Children, etc. ....

i>

H-

Harrowing a Field .....

ji

'5-

Studies of Greyhounds, etc.

)»

i6.

„ Fisherwomen, etc.

London,

1795-

17-
1 8.

„ Men, etc. ....
„ Children, etc. {a coloured and un-

London,

'793-

19-

coloured copy)
Studies of Men, etc.

.

1793-
London,

1793-

20.

„ Two Men

.

n

21.

22.

Figs, etc. .
Group of Goats

.

London,

1794.

23-

Rabbits eating a Carrot (/

coloured and un-

24.

25-
26.

27-

coloured copy)
Study of Boy and Girl
„ Sheep
„ Men .
„ Men and Horse

.

>»
>»

28.
29-

Studies of Dogs
Mill-wheel and Anglers

.

30.

Church and Milkman

»?

31-

32-

Studies of Sheep

„ Men and Girl

■

London,

•795-

33-
34-

Sloop in a Creek
Boat Ashore

.

15

270

His Life and Works

MEZZOTINTS AFTER PAINTINGS BY MORLAND

Engravings by G. Keating
Subject.

Place and Date of
Publication.

1. "Children playing at Soldiers " {ftie)

2. "Trepanning a Recruit," I. (_/?»^)

3. " Recruit deserted " (Jjne)

4. "Deserter taking leave of his Wife," III

ifne)

5. " Deserter pardon'd," IV. (/»<•)

6. " The Cottager's Wealth " : woman feeding

pigs in a stable (Jine) ....

7. "Nurse and Children in the Fields," com-

panion to " Kite entangled." ( Published
by J. R. Smith)

Engravings by J. Jenner

1. " The Amorous Ploughman " .

2. "Gipsy Courtship," companion picture

(coloured') ......

Engravings by J. Grozer

1. " Youth diverting Age " (^fw) .

2. " Morning ; or. The Benevolent Sports-

man " : giving alms to gipsies {fine)

3. " Evening ; or. The Sportsman's Return " :

holding up a pheasant {Jiiie) .

4. "The Happy Cottagers " (_/fw) .

5. "The Gipsies' Tent" (/w) .

Engravings by J. Dean

1. "Valentine's Day": girl, lad, and old

woman {coloured and uncoloured ; fine)

2. "The Happy Family" (/ff?) .

271

London, 1788.
London, 179 1.

No date.

London, 1791.

1792.

London, 1794.
London, 1795.

London, 1793.

London, 1787.

George Morland

Subject.

3. "The Widow" (Jne) ....

4. "Justice; or, The Merciless BailifF" {Jine)

5. "The Triumph of Benevolence " : a debtor

released (Jine) .....

6. "A Rural Feast" : a family at dinner {fne)

Place and Date of
Publication.

London, 1788.

London, i 790.

Engravings by S. W. Reynolds

" A Bear Hunt " ijne)

" Stormy Shore [small)

" Setters " [coloured and uncoloured)

" The Fisherman's Dog " .

"Morland's Emblematical Palette'

" Fishermen going out " [Jine) .

"The Millers"

"Paying the Horseler " [fine) .

„ „ [coloured)

" A Land Storm " [fine) .
"The Rustic Ballad"

Carrier's Cart passing Cottages ; foxhound
in foreground .....

London,

1796

No date.

London,

•799

London,

1800

London,

1806

London,

1805

London,

1800

London,

1805

London,

1798

No date.

Engravings by J. R. Smith, Mezzotinto Engraver to
H.R.H. THE Prince of Wales

I.

" Watering the Cart-horse " [fine)

. London,

'799

2.

"Rubbing down the Post-horse" (two

copies ; fine) ....

London,

1794

3-

Boy and Pigs [fine) ....

London,

1807

4-

Rabbits eating [fine)

?»

5-

Guinea-pigs eating [fine) .

„

6.

Girl, Boy, and Sheep [fine)

London,

1803

7-

" Peasant and Pigs " [fine)

„

8.

" The Fisherman's Hut " [fine)

London,

'799

9-

" The Horse-Feeder " [fine) .
272

London,

'797-

His Life and Works

Subject. P"« *"" t>*TE cf

Publication.

10. "A Conversation": boy, dog, donkey,

and pigs (/»^) London, 1803.

11. "Feeding the Pigs" (/7/^) . . . London, 180 1.

12. "Fighting Dogs" (/;/^) .... London, 1794.

13. "Shepherd's Meal" (/»^) . . . London, 1803.

14. "Slave Trade": slaves being shipped off

U>''t) London, 1814.

15. "African Hospitality": negroes rescuing

shipwrecked whites .... „

16. "Return from Market": cart with girls

at Bluebell door (/w) . . London, 1793.

17. "Milkmaid and Cowherd " : also cattle and

pigs {fne) London, 1798.

E.NGRAVINGS BY J. R. SmITH, JunIOR

1. "Innocence Alarm'd " : sportsmen with

gun and dogs in cottage (//?^) . . London, 1803.

2. "Breaking the Ice": man, woman, and

child drawing water from frozen pool ;

donkey near them {fne) . . . London, 1 798.

Engravings by James Ward

1. "Fishermen": coast scene (two copies;

f'le) London, 1793.

2. "Smugglers" : landing casks from a boat

{f^e) „

Engravings by William Ward

1. "An Ass Race" (two copies; c(,loured) . London, 1789.

2. "Stable Amusement": men making dogs

fight {fne) London, 1801.

3. "Juvenile Navigators": children sailing

a toy ship (/»^) London, 1789.

273 35

George Morland

Place ano Date of
S"»J'"- Publication.

4. " Sailors' Conversation " : at door of inn,

four sailors and girl (two copies ; fine) . London, 1802.

5. "Bathing Horses": three horses entering

sea {fine) ...... London, 1 8 14.

6. " Giles, the Farmer's Boy " : boy entering

cattle-shed in winter (fine) . . . London, 1803.

7. "The Last Litter": man, girl, and pigs

(two copies ; _;f//^) .... London, 1800.

8. "The Hard Bargain": man buying calf;

bulldog (fine) ..... „

9. "The Dram": girl pouring out dram at

inn-door (fine) ..... London, 1796.

10. "The First of September, Evening":

sportsmen at inn-door with dogs and hare

(fine) ....... London, 1794.

11. "The Farmer's Stable": old white horse,

goats, etc. (fine) ..... London, 1795.

12. "The Contented Waterman": group at

cottage-door ; pig {file) . . . London, 1806.

13. "The Shepherds": carpenter, sheep, etc.

{fine) ....... „

14. "The Farm-yard": man watering pig;

horses and dog {fine) .... London, 1795.

15. "Cottagers": group at cottage-door, said

to be Morland, his wife, and others ;

pigs {fine) ...... London, 1791.

16. " The Storm " : man on horseback, woman,

and boy {fine) ..... London, 1 796.

17. "Setters": three dogs (yf^^) . . . London, 1806.

18. " The Anglers' Repast " : ladies and gentle-

men lunching on riverside ; negro foot-
man {fine) ...... No date.

19. "Travellers": rustics eating in wood (/wf) London, 1791.

20. "The Warrener " : old man with dead

rabbits ; cottage-door {fine) . . London, 1 806.

274

His Life and Works

Subject.

21. "The Farmer's Stable" (/w) .

[ Morland's chef- cTceuvre in National
Gallery, London.]

22. " Children Bird-nesting " (_/f»f)

23. "The Fruits of Early Industry and

CEconomy " : merchant counting money ;
lady and children [Jine)

24. "The Effects of Youthful Extravagance

and Idleness": man, two women, and
boy, in penury (a larger copy published in

1794 ;>0- • ■ • • •

25. "Alehouse Politicians": shepherd arguing

with post-boys ; above fireplace, a scroll,
"Pay this Day; I'll treat to-morrow " (yf;/^)

26. " Gipsies " : man and dog asleep ; woman,

boy, and girl (Jine) . . . .

27. "The Turnpike-gate": man on white

horse paying toll ; bull-dog {fine)

28. " Rabbits " (fine)

29. " Girl and Pigs " (fine) . . . .

30. " Girl and Calves " {fine) ....

31. "The Pledge of Love": lady regarding

love-token {fine) . . . . .

32. "Inside of a Country Alehouse" : sports-

man and dogs ; coachman holding hare
{fine)

33. "The Pleasures of Retirement": two

young ladies reclining {small)

34. " The Thatcher " : man thatching cottage

horses and pig (two copies ; fine) .

35. " Guinea-pigs " (yfw^)

36. "Refreshment" ....

37. The Delightful Story

38. Jack in the Bilboes ....

39. Two Donkeys and Pig in Stable

275

Place and Date of
Publication.

London, 1792.

London, 1789.

London, 1801.
London, 1792.
London, 1806.

London, 1802.

11

London, 1788.

London, 1797.

London, 1789.

London, 1806.

London, 1789.
London, 1787.

))
London, 1 8 1 1 .

George Morland

Subject.

40. A Carrier's Stable ....

41. Mr. Phillips' Dog "Friend"

42. The Shepherd's Boy

43. Man with Basket : girl outside cottage

pigs

44. The Country Stable ....

45. Sportsman's Hall ....

Place and Date or
Publication.

London, 1792.

London, 1789.

London, 1792.

No date.
London, 1792.
London, 1788.

Mezzotints by John Young, Engraver to the Prince of Wales.

1. "Seduction"; girl reading letter; man

bribing a woman {Jine) . . . . London, 1788.

2. " Travellers " : man and woman have

crossed a bridge {Jine) .... London, 1802.

3. " Credulous Innocence " : woman tempting

a girl ; man outside (Jine) . . . London, 1788.

4. "Fishermen": coast scene — fishermen,

boats, dogs (Jne) ..... London, 1 800.

5. " Rustic Ease " : man lying at cottage-door

(Jne) ....... London, no date.

6. " Villagers " : woman, child, and dog cross-

ing bridge (Jne) London, 1803.

7. Interior of a Stable ..... London, 1804.

Miscellaneous Mezzotints

" The Lover's Retreat " .
Young Man leaving Home
"Affluence Reduced": woman and gir

talking at cottage-door (Jne)
Dog drinking at Cottage-door .
"The Sportsman Enamour'd ; or. The Wife

in Danger"
" The Banks of the Dee "
"Anxiety ; or. The .Ship at Sea"

276

London, 1796.
No place or date.

London, 1790.
No place or date.

London, 1791.
No place or date.

His Life and Works

8.
9-

10.

1 1.

12.

13-
13a.

14.
J5-

16.

17-

18.

'9-

20.

Place and Date of
Publication.

London, 1788.

horse

two

a family in

23-
24,

25

Subject.

"Mutual Joy ; or, The Ship in Harbour"
"Alehouse Kitchen": post-boy standing

looking at fire and smoking {Jine) .
"Alehouse-door": two rustics conversing

{fne)

" The Frighten'd Horse "...
" Fishermen in Distress " {coloured)
"The Country Butcher" : man and

at door ; bulldog (Jine)
" The Country Butcher " [coloured)

men, one on horse, rear stable, sheep,

pigs

"Puss" {coloured) .

"The Miseries of Idleness"

poverty {fine) . . ■ ■ ■

" The Comforts of Industry " : a happy

family circle {fine) ....
"Temptation": an officer offering his

purse to a girl selling spice -nuts, etc.

(fine) •

"Fishermen on Shore" : two men toasting

a fisher lass as she passes {fine)
" Morland's Summer " {coloured)
"■ Mother and Children " {Jine) .
"The Corn-bin" : horses about to be fed ;

two men getting corn out of box in

stable {fine). {Engraved by J. R. Smith.)
"Playing with a Monkey": monkey is

seated on fireside ; children and dog {Jine)
"Love and Constancy Rewarded." {Engraved by P. Dawe,

published by W. Hinton, London, 1785.)
"Harley and Old Edwards, etc., at the Grave of Young Edwards."

{Engraved by John Pettit.)
"My Grandmother Knitting" {coloured). {Engraved by
Meadows.)

277

London, 1801

No place or date.

London, 1802.

London, 1810.

London, 1 790.

London, 1790.

London, 1806.
London, 1802.
No place or date.

London, 1797.
London, 1797.

George Morland

26

27
28

29

30

3'

32

33

' My Grandfather Smoking " (coloured). {Engraved by

Meadows.)
'The Rustic Hovels." {Engraved by E. ^Ehh, published by E.

Orme, 1804.)
'The Cottage Stye." {Engraved by E. '&ELh, published by E.

Orme, 1804.)
'The Mowers" {coloured). {Engraved by E. BelI).
'The Attentive Shepherd" (companion picture). {Engraved

by R. 'QfiooviE, published by Mrs. Macklin, 1805.)
' Shepherd Asleep." {Engraved by R. Brooke, published by

Mrs. Macklin, 1805.)
' The Flowing Bowl ; or, Sailors Returned." {Engraved by

W. Barnard, 1802.)
'The Brown Jug; or, Waggoner's Farewell." {Engraved by

W. Barnard, 1802.)

STIPPLE AND LINE ENGRAVINGS AFTER MORLAND

Stipple Engravings ; Miscellaneous Engravers

Subject.

1. "Duck-shooting," I. . .

2. „ II.

3. Lady by Waterfall {small)

4. " Vocal Music " {small) .

5. "Coursing" ....

6. "Woodcock and Pheasant Shooting"

7. " The Benevolent Lady " {Jine) .

8. Girl and Boy talking

9. Recruiting ....

10. Fish for Sale {Jine) .

1 1. A Girl with Hat in Lap {small)

1 2. Penitent returning {coloured)

13. Young Gentleman paying Money {coloured)

14. " Children feeding Goats"

278

Place and Date of
Publication.

London, 1804.

IT
No place or date.
London, 181 3.
London, 1814.
London, 1804.
No place or date.

Lond

on, 1794.

His Life and Works

Place and Date of
Subject, n

■• Publication.

15. " The Setters " (/OTij//) .... London, 1804.

16. "The Child of Nature " . . . . No place or date.

17. "Friendship" ...... London, 1795.

18. "The Disconsolate and her Parrot" (portrait

of Mrs. Morland). (Engraver,!^. NvoEtiT.)

19. Soldier and Children drinking Milk {_fine) No place or date.

20. "Rest from Labour" .... London, 1808.
2 I . A Tea-garden (fine) ..... London, 1 790.

22. "Contemplation." (Engraved iy Coliket.) Paris, No date.

23. "Belinda; or. The Billet Doux " {coloured). {Engraved by

Y>w.v.ovi%, published by J. Read, 1794.)

24. "Peasant Family" {coloured). {Engraved and published by J.

Peirson, 1803.)

25. "Two Girls washing Clothes in Stream {from the "Gentle

Shepherd"), 1785.

Line Engravings
(i) By J. Scott

1. "Pointer and Hare" {small) . . . London, 1805.

2. " The Farm-yard " (j;77<i//) ... „

(2) By A. Gabrielli

1. " Dressing for the Masquerade" {small) . No place or date.

2. " The Tavern-Door " {small) ...

(3) By A. Suntach

1. "La Chasse de la Becassine" (Snipe) {/ne) Published 1790.

2. "La Chasse du Canard" (Duck) . . Published 1791.

3. "La Chasse de la Becasse" (Woodcock) „

4. " La Chasse du Lievre " (Hare) . . ,,

5. 6, and 7. The Deserter's Discovery, De-

parture, and Pardon, ut supra . . No place or date.

279

George Morland

(4) By J. FiTTLER

Subject.

"Travellers reposing"
"Sliding"
" Virtue in Danger "
" Pedlars "
"The Bell" .
" The Turnpike"
The Gipsy Encampment
{Nos. I to 6 are all small.)

(5) Miscellaneous
"Frost-piece" . . . . .
" Hunting Scene, by Morland "

{A woodcut after this picture formed an
illustration to an edition of Wordsworth's
Poems.)
The Market Girl ....

4. Winter Scene .....

5. Old White Horse ....

6. " Goldfinch ; or, The Road to Ruin "

7. Door of the Swan Inn {by Davenport)

8. " Changing Quarters "

Engravings by W. Bond

1. "The Weary Sportsman" : man and three

dogs (fine) ......

2. " Shepherds reposing " (_yf;/^)

3. " The Farmer's Visit to his Married

Daughter in Town " (stipple)

Engravings by W. Nutter

1. "A Woman selling Fish" (fne)

2. "The Strangers at Home": Roger court-

ing Kitty {fne) .....

3. "TheVisit returned in the Country " (j/z^/Zif)

280

3

Place and Date or
Publication.

London, 1790.

London, 1790.
London, 1796.

London, 1805.
London, 1824.

London, no date.
London, 1805.
No place or date.
London, no date.
No place or date.

London, 1803.
London, 1789.

No place or date.

London, 1788.
London, 1789.

His Life and Works

Engravings by G. Graham

Place and Date or
Subject. Publication.

1 ." The Angry Boy and Tired Dog " . . London, 1813.

2. "The Young Nurse and Quiet Child" . „

3. " The Soldier's Return " : an officer return-

ing to his family London, 1790.

4. "Morning Reflection" (j//>//i?). {Publisher,

E. Jackson.) London, 1788.

Engravings by E. Scott

1. " Boys robbing an Orchard " (Jine ; coloured) London, 1790.

2. "The Angry Farmer": the boys caught

[Companion pictures] (Jine ; coloured) . „

3. " Young Bacchus (coloured). Published in

Florence No date.

4. "Boys bathing" (fs/oar^ij') . . ■ London, 1804.

5. " Gallant Behaviour of Tom Jones to Sophia

Western" (stipple) .... London, 1 791.

6. "Tom Jones taking Molly Seagrim from

the Constable " {stipple) ... „

Engravings by J. R. Smith

1. " Delia in Town " London, 1788.

2. "Delia in the Country" (two copies;

.^ne) ....... n

3-8. Six plates representing Lstitia, who eloped,

was deserted, and returned penitent {Jne) London, 1 8 11 .

Engravings by Levilly

I ." The Squire's Door " (/»0 . . . No place or date.

2. "La Porte de la Ferme " {/ne) . . „

3. " Guinea-pigs " (/w) .... „

281 36

George Morland

Engravings by D. Orme

Place and Date of
S^BJ";". Publication.

1. "Morning ; or, The Higglers preparing for

Market" (_/f«^) No place or date.

2. "Evening; or, The Post-boy's Return"

[Companion pictures] {Jirie) ... „

Engravings by C. Catton, Junior

1. "Snipe-shooting" (^»^) .... No place or date.

2. " Partridge-shooting " (jf»^) ... „

[Both are coloured, and companions.]

Engravings by W. Blake

1. " Industrious Cottager " (_/?»f) . . . London, 1803.

2. "The Idle Laundress : boy robbing clothes-

line " {Jine) „

[Small companion pictures.]

Engravings by F. Bartolozzi

1. " Constancy " Ofof) ..... No place or date.

2. " Boys bathing" „

Engravings by C. Josi

1. "The Labourer's Luncheon " (/»^) . . London, 1797.

2. " The Peasant's Repast " (/»<■) ... „

Engravings by Mlle. Rollet

1. "A Tea-garden " (7?w; coloured) . . No place or date.

2. " Traite dcs Negrcs " (The Slave Trade) .

Published at Paris during First Republic No date.

3. "L'Africain Hospitaller" (African Hospi-

tality). Published at Paris during First

Republic ...... No date.

282

His Life and Works

Engravings by W. Nicholls

_ Place and Date of

S"»J'^^- Publication.

1 . " Morning ; or. The Benevolent Sportsman "

2. "Evening; or, The Sportsman's Return"

{etching and stipple). No publisher . No date.

Engravings by R. M. Meadows

1. " Gathering Wood " (7?«?) . . London, 1795.

2. "Gathering Fruit" : boy and girl (Jine) . „

[Companion pictures.]

Engravings by B. Duterreau

1. " The Farmer's Door " (two copies ; 7^/;^) . London, 1790.

2. "The Squire's Door" (Jine) ... „

Engravings by G. Shepheard

1. "Dogs" (Jine; coloured) .... London, 1802.

2. An uncoloured copy.

Engraving by Soiron
I. " The Lucky Sportsman " (/////!/«■) . . London, 1795.

Engravings by R. Clamp

I. "Jack in the Bilboes": the Press-gang

{small ; Jine) London, 1797.

2 "The Contented Waterman" {small ; Jine) „

" My cot was snug, well fill'd my keg, my Grunter in the sty."

Stipple Engravings by T. Gaugain

1. " How Sweet's the Love that meets return"

{fine) . London, 1785.

2. "The Lass of Livingstone " {fine) . . „

3. "Louisa": two companion plates (^fw^) London, 1789.

4. " Dancing Dogs " (^;?^) .... London, 1790.

5. " Guinea-pigs " (y?w) .... London, 1789.

283

George Morland

Stipple Engravings by J. Dean

_ Place and Date of

Subject. «

' Publication.

1. "The Tomb" London, 1789.

2. The same, coloured

Stipple Engravings by W. Ward

1. "Spring" 1788.

2. "Summer," one of a series of children

(oval) — Four Seasons .

3. A Child under a Tree (Ji/ie)

4. "The First Pledge of Love " {/ne) . . No place or date.

5. " Variety " (/»*>) London, 1788.

6. " Constancy " {_^ne) ....

Note. — The words quoted form the title as it is printed on the
engraving. Where words are not quoted, there is no printed title.

284

APPENDIX IV

WORKS EXHIBITED IN THE ROYAL ACADEMY

[thirty-nine in number]

Date. Master George Morland

1773. Sketches.

Master George Morland

1778. Two landscapes {stained drawings).

George Morland, Junr., 4 Millbank Row

1779. A drawing with a Poker.

George Morland, Junr., 14 Stephen Street ^

1 780. Landscape {a drawing).

1787. Hovel with Asses.

1784. A Fog in September (Vicar of Wakefield, vol. i, chap. viii.).

1785. Sketch (No. 132) ; Sketch (No. 134) ; Maria Lavinia and

the Chelsea Pensionbi (see Adventures of a Hackney Coach,
vol. i) ; Sketch (No. 166) ; Sketch (No. 169) ; Sketch
(No. 178) ; Sketch (No. 179).

1786. "The Flowery Banks of the Shannon."

G. Morland, 9 Warren Place, Hampstead Road

1788. Execrable human traffick ; or, The Affectionate Slaves.

' AHdress of Henry Robert Morland.
285

George Morland

George Morland, 20 Winchester Road, Edgware Road
Date.
1 79 1. Inside of a Stable.

G. Morland, 5 Gerrard Street, Soho '

1794. Bargaining for Sheep; Interior of a Stable; A Farmer's
Shop.

G. Morland, 28 Gerrard Street -

1797. Landscape and Figures; Thirsty Millers; Landscape and
Figures ; Pigs ; Sea Beach ; Landscape and Figures ;
Sand Cart.

Geo. Morland, 28 Red Lion Square '

1799. Landscape and Figures ; Landscape and Figures ; Christmas
Week.

Geo. Morland, 19 Rolls Buildings, Fetter Lane*

1804. Saving the Remains of a Wreck; The Fish Market; A
Landscape, with hounds in full chase.
Mem. — Several of his early exhibits are marked in the
Catalogues " for Sale."

Exhibited at the Free Society of Artists

1775. Sketches coloured in chalk (2 works).

1776. Stained drawings : — A Conference ; A Conference ; A

Corn Loft ; A Cow Farm ; A Washerwoman ; A Farm
house in a Wood. (6 works.)
1782. Landscape, shower of rain on a heath ; Landscape (in the
manner of Vangoyen) ; Boy's Head ; Girl's Head (in the
manner of Piazette) ; Thatched Cottage ; Cornfield with

^ Address of owner of pictures.

'^ Address of owner of pictures.

^ Address of owner of pictures, Mr. John Graham.

* Address of owner of pictures, Mr. Dunatty,

286

His Life and Works

Date.

Windmill ; Landscape with Farm-house ; Sunset, cattle
and figures ; Burst of Lightning with Wind and Rain ;
Moonlight, gypsies by a fire ; Fog in September ; Land-
scape with Watermill ; A Windmill ; Winter piece
(drawing) ; Landscapes (in black lead, 3) ; Peasants
dancing in a Barn ; Dancing Peasants ; Chalk Cliffs with
Man and Horse ; Paper Mill with Gypsies resting ;
Girl tending Pigs ; Stained drawings (3) ; Travellers
resting on Summer Afternoon. (26 works.)

Exhibited at the SociETy of Artists

1777. Six sketches in black lead ; A stained drawing. (7 works.)
1783. A Hot Mist; Forest Gale on a Rocky Shore; Fog in
September ; Moonlight ; Stained drawings. (6 works.)

1790. Landscape with Gypsies; Landscape with Children Bird-

nesting ; An Ass Race ; A Mad Bull ; Sow and Pigs ;
Calf and Sheep ; Landscape and Figures ; Fording a
Brook ; European Shipwreck on Coast of Africa ; A
Storm ; Encampment of Gypsies ; The Cottage Door ;
A Shipwreck ; Snow pieces (2) ; Returning from Market ;
Gypsies dressing Dinner. (17 works.)

1 79 1. Storm and Shipwreck and Land Storm (companion works).

Shooting. (3 works.)

PLATES OF GEORGE MORLAND IN THE SPORTING
MAGAZINE [ten in number]

1795. Punt Fishing on the Thames (vol. 6). Two gentlemen

and lady fishing, boy with landing-net.
1803. A Spaniel (vol. 22). Etc/ ing by E. 'Qell.

The old Gamekeeper (vol. 22). Gun in hand on a pony.

Engraved by E. Bell.
Farm Yard (vol. 23). Etching by E. Bell. A horse and
two pigs in a farm-yard.
287

George Morland

Date.

1804. Perch Fishing Party in a Punt (vol. 24). On the Nore

near Peterborough. Two gentlemen and lady fishing,

boy with landing-net, little girl and black boy at the

stern.
The Gallant Sportsman (vol. 23). Etching by E. Bell.

A sportsman and girl, a pony behind a tree in the

middle distance.
A Cock Pheasant (vol. 25). Engraving. The bird in

full plumage ; behind is a wood, and to the right a

landscape.

1805. The Earth-Stopper (vol. 26). Etching. A pony standing

on the left, the old earth-stopper standing spade in right
hand in the act of opening the fox-earth, a lantern on
the ground midway between the pony and the old man.
A Farm House (vol. 26). Engraving. A winter scene,
the house, out-buildings, and an old tree covered with
snow ; in the foreground, horses and a pig.

1806. Evening; or, the Sportsman's Return (vol. 29). Engraving

by W. NicHOL. Gamekeeper leading pony with reins
over arm, a pointer, setter, and two spaniels on the right ;
he holds gun by the muzzle ; with left hand a pheasant
high before his wife, who has a child on her knee, seated on
chair at cottage door ; at her side boy in chair, a child
kneeling, twisting straw ; another boy stands, hands
behind, gazing at the pheasant ; cottage overshadowed
by large tree ; on left thatched outhouse ; hills in
distance. (This picture is particularly well composed.)

THE FISHERMAN'S COTTAGE
Signed G. M.

{Size of original picture 13i x 9i inches.)

Index

Angerstein, Mr., 20

Baldrey, Joshua Kirbj, 2z8
Ball, Mr., 15S
Bannister, J., 188
Bellamy, Bob, 170
Bigg, William Redmore, 69
Blagdon, Francis William, 3
Brooks, 70
Brown, David, 92

Calonne, Mons de, 116

Cattel, Mr., 91

Christies, Messrs., 234

Cochin, Mr. Serjeant, 146

Cole, George, 1 5 1

Collins, William, 7, 78
William, junior, 174
William Wilkie, 174

Crane, 109

Cunningham, Captain, 168

Dawe, George, i . 2 1 1

Philip, I, 6, 22, 229
Dean, John, 230
Derby, Earl of, 189
Dickinson, W., 232
Don, Colonel George, 154
Donatty, Mr., 163, 177

Ferguson, Mrs., 135
Fittler, James, 230
Frankau, Miss, 224

Garle, Hubert, 83
Gaugain, Thomas, 232

Graham, John, 163, 172
Gress, John Alexander, 27
Grosvenor, Lord, 36
Groves Dr. Joseph, 152
Grozer, Joseph, 135, 229

Hamilton, Duke of, 98
Hand, Thomas, 113
Harris, John, 160, 163, 232
Hassell, J., 2, 99
Hill, Mrs., 38
Hogarth, 2oi
Hunter, John, 145

Irwin, 66

Jenny, 42
Jones, Mr., 162

Keating, George, 229

Landseer, Sir Edwin, 11, loi, 2i6

Levi, 1 1 2

Lynn, Dr. William, 149

Merle, Mr., 144
Morland, Ann, 61

Henry, 90

Henry Robert, 3

Maria, 60

Sir Samuel, I

Nettleship, J. T., 200

Orme, Daniel, 119
D., and Co., 232

289

37

George Morland

Packer, Bob, 98
Phillips, William, io8
Pilkington, Matthew, 3
Plumbley, Mr., 151

Rathbone, John, 107
Redgrave, S., 5
Reid, Mrs., 189
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 8, 19

Samuel William, 226
Richardson, Ralph, 89
Robinson, J. R., 98
Romney, George, 27
Rowlandson, Thomas, 227
Rusworth, Edward, J. P., 156

Scott, John, 231

Sherborne, Mr., 42

Smith, Claude Lorrain, 106

John Raphael, 67, 222, 225, 232
Southampton, Lord, 193
Spencer, Mr., 163, 175
Stuart, Colonel Charles, 87
Stubbs, George, R.A., 18, 199

Suntach, A., 231
Sympson, George,

Tupman, 113
Turnerelli, P., 186

129

Vivares, Thomas, 231

Wales, Prince of, 89
Ward, Ann, 59

James, 10, 59, 223

Joe, 97

William, 10, 58, 60, 222
Wedd, Robert, 2, 83
Wells, William, 215
West, Benjamin, 12
Westminster, Duke of, 36
Wheatley, Francis, R.A., 199
Williams, Mrs., 103
Williamson, G. C, 36, 63

Thomas, 230
Winter and Key, 143
Wright, Joseph, 201

Young, John, 232

THE END

Printed ty R. & R. Clark, Limited, Edinburgh.

f

? Veterinary Medidne
■tsrinary Medicine at
rersity