WATTS, George Frederic

1817 - 1904

George Frederic Watts was born at Marylebone, London on 23 February 1817, and baptised at St Mary's Church, Marylebone Road, London on 30 March 1817, son of George Watts, a piano-maker, and his second wife Harriet née Smith, who married at Marylebone on 10 March 1816, George's first wife was Mary Richardson, whom he married at Marylebone on 23 June 1793. Young George was educated at home and showed early artistic promise, learning sculpture from the age of 10 with William Behnes (1795-1864) in Dean Street, Soho and at the age of 18 was a student at the Royal Academy Schools and he first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1837. With patronage from Alexander Constantine Ionides (1810-1890) he also began painting portraits. In 1843 Watts won the premium first prize of £300 for his drawing 'Caracticus' in the competition to design murals for the new Houses of Parliament at Westminster and Watts used this prize money to travel to Europe, taking in the art scene in Paris before travelling south through France and Italy. His journey ended in Florence where he intended to study fresco painting and its techniques and was one of the founders of the Society of Painters in Tempera. He exhibited four works at the Suffolk Fine Arts Association at Ipswich in 1850 including an oil 'Repentance of Judas', a chalk drawing and a watercolour with another work exhibited at Ipswich by a G. G. Watts which is probably an error for G. F., an oil 'Aurora'. George was elected an Academician at the Royal Academy in 1867 and was one of the original members of the new Order of Merit (OM) in 1902. He married firstly St Barnabus, Pimlico on 20 February 1864, 16-year-old Ellen Terry (1847–1928), the actress, but they separated in January 1865 when he made her an annual allowance of £300 and she returned to live with her father but when he discovered that she was living with Edwin William Godwin (1833–1886), an architect, Watts petitioned for divorce in 1877. In 1886, at the age of 69, Watts remarried, 36-year-old Mary Seton Fraser Tytler (25 November 1849–6 September 1938), a Scottish designer and potter and they built a house at Guildford, Surrey. George Frederic Watts was of 'Limnerslease', near Guildford when he died at Little Holland House, Kensington, London on 1 July 1904, his estate was valued at over £84,000.

Royal Academy Exhibits
from 33 Upper Norton Street, Fitzroy Square, London
1837 258 Portrait of a Young Lady
         328 A Wounded Heron
         510 Portrait of a Young Lady
from 41 Robert Street, Hampstead Road
1840 7 Portrait of G Whichels, Esq.
         408 Isabella e Lorenzo
1841 221 Portrait of Miss Brunton
1842 407 Portrait of Madame Joniels
         1229 Gujideries, Arvigarus, Imogen and Belarius
from 48 Cambridge Street, Edgeware Road
1848 307 Portrait of Lady Holland
         582 Portrait of M. Guizot
from 30 Charles Street, Berkeley Square
1849 107 Life's Illusions
         900 Subject from Isaiah
1850 257 Miss Virginia Pattle
         408 The Good Samaritan
         940 Mrs Jackson
         941 Adeline
1851 1098 Mrs. J. Ruskin - drawing
         1125 Colonel Rawlinson, C.B. - drawing
         1144 Henry Taylor - drawing
         1167 Thomas Wright, of Manchester - drawing
1852 480 Henry Taylor
         1001 Lord John Russell - drawing
         1003 Francis Alberto Rollo Russell - drawing
from Little Holland House, Kensington
1859 438 Isabell
1860 83 Mrs C Bentinck and her daughter
         347 His Grace the Duke of Argyll
1861 343 Miss Alice Prinsep
         348 The Window Seat
1862 124 Lady Margaret Beaumont and daughter
         141 Galahael
         364 Bianca
1863 270 Virginia
         523 Ariadne
1864 305 Choosing
         437 A design for a Sculpture 'Time and Oblivion'
1865 11 Esau
         251 W. Bowman, Esq., F.R.S.
         300 Design for a larger picture
1866 23 Thetis
1867 82 The Hon. Mrs Seymour Egerton
         207 The Dean of Westminster
         419 May
         619 A Lamplight Study: Herr Joachim
1868 30 Landscape: Evening
         290 The Meeting of Jacob and Esau
         323 The wife of Pygmalion
         685 A. Panizzi, Esq.
         1053 Clytie - marble bust unfinished
1869 25 The return of the Dove
         125 The Red Cross Knight and Una
         327 A Portrait
         700 Orpheus and Eurydice - drawing
1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1885, 1886, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904

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Works by This Artist