Thomas Musgrave Joy (1812-1866)
| Artist Name | Thomas Musgrave Joy (1812-1866) |
|---|---|
| Title | The Boating Party |
| Description | This superb British Victorian conversation piece figurative oil painting is attributed to Thomas Musgrave Joy, artist to Queen Victoria. Painted circa 1845 the composition is 7 people and a dog in a boat with a landscape beyond. A man and child are fishing at the front of the boat and a lady is sat under a green parasol with a book in her lap. A couple are cosied up on the left and another lady is the only person with her back to us. Meanwhile the oarsman is lighting his pipe and has a bottle beside him! A little dog stands looking at the viewer and indeed the same little dog also features in Joy's paintings On Brighton Beach and Off to School. There are definitely light hearted touches to the painting and some lovely details of facial expressions. The reflections in the water are nice and the simple landscape beyond makes a good backdrop to all the detail and vibrant colours in the boat. This is a charming Victorian painting with plenty of detail to enjoy and discuss. Unsigned. |
| Provenance | Berkshire estate. |
| Medium | Oil on Canvas |
| Size | 36 x 28 inches |
| Frame | Housed in an ornate frame, 43 inches by 35 inches, in good condition. |
| Condition | Good condition. |
| Biography | Thomas Musgrave Joy (9 July 1812 – 7 April 1866) was a British portraitist. Joy was born on 9 July 1812 in Boughton Hall in Boughton Monchelsea where his father was the squire. His parents, Thomas and Susanah, were not keen on his choice of career but he was allowed to leave Kent to study with Samuel Drummond in London. By 1831 he was exhibiting at the Royal Academy. The McManus Galleries in Dundee today exhibit Joy's substantial commissions to paint Grace Darling and her father William, who had become Victorian heroes after rescuing sailors from the distressed Forfarshire paddle steamer. Joy also painted a re-creation of the wreck for his patron Lord Panmure and this is also in the same galleries in Dundee. Panmure was generous with this good-looking artist, encouraging him to visit the continent and paying for John Phillip to become his student briefly in 1836. Joy married Eliza Rohde Spratt in 1839 and two years later received a Royal Commission that recognised him as an established artist. The newly married couple lived at No. 8 Fitzroy Street in the London parish of St Pancras. He painted the Queen's dogs as well as the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and the Princess Royal. These paintings are in the Royal Collection. Joy was in demand as a portrait painter and he created paintings of General Sir Charles James Napier who had achieved victories in what is now called Pakistan. A large group painting exhibited in 1864 records the most important people at Tattersalls before a race. Joy's habits of overwork are said to have led to a bout of bronchitis that resulted in his death in 1866. In the same year his eighteen-year-old eldest daughter, Mary Eliza, exhibited her first painting at the Royal Academy. Joy died in Pimlico at 32 St Georges Square. Joy had exhibited regularly throughout his career at the Society of British Artists and at the British Institution. Besides the paintings in Dundee he also has a number in public collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum. |
| Price | £12000 |
