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Frances Mary Vickers, nee Douglas
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Frances had been the only child of the London surgeon
Joseph Douglas. When she was 17 (1858), she went to Paris to study art
at the Institute Fournier, and stayed for two years. She apparently
returned to London by the summer of 1859 and was married to Thomas
Vickers by the end of the following year. After their marriage the
couple travelled over the years on vacations to places such as Paris and
Florence taking their children with them.
She kept at her
drawing, though mostly as a hobby, documenting family life in pen and
ink sketches, writing little notes in perfect penmanship of what it was
at the margins, as well as landscape scenes in watercolours. In James
Hamilton's book "The Misses Vickers, The Centenary of the Painting" he
documented some of her drawings and paintings. She seems to have
encouraged her daughters in drawing and painting, giving them the same
sort of education that she had. At least "Mildred" took it up, and by
1920 she was a better artist than her mother.
When Frances
travelled to Paris for the Salon of 1883 for the purpose of selecting an
appropriate artist for the family, she would have a fairly decent
understanding of the city and its art scene. She must have been taken by
the acclaimed painting of the Four Daughters of Edward Darley Boit done
by a young American artist. All of Paris was abuzz by this painting, and
her own three daughters deserved no less an artist.
When Sargent
did finally come for the commission, he would stay over a period of
three weeks -- according to Frances' diary. It's quite probable that he
tutored Frances along with the three daughters in their own art (given
the mother's background) as part of his fee -- or he might have just
done it informally, taking them out painting as he had done with his own
family and friends. James Hamilton, in his book (published in 1884) said
he searched for other Sargent paintings which might have emerged from
Sheffield but none have to that date. But clearly, Frances' later
watercolours such as "Waterfall in Spate," n.d. is much more along the
lines of Sargent's method.
Sargent warmed to the hospitality of
the Vickers and they to him over the course of his stay. He seems to
have kept in friendly contact with the family over his life since he
would paint the eldest son Douglas Vickers as late as 1914.
It
was a common theme that ran throughout John's various commissions. He
would often approach a portrait with more than just a little
trepidation. There were always self doubts as to whether he could pull
it off, and he was always self abasing towards the task that loomed
seemingly unattainable in front of him. When he wrote to Vernon Lee
about the "three ugly young women at Sheffield" (and there is no
evidence that he ever actually met them prior, according to Hamilton) it
was his way of expressing that inner fear that always bit at his heels.
But he pressed on, and as if through pure will and determination
he could -- and would win -- not only in his struggler against the
canvas and paint, but win the hearts of those that he painted. There are
countless examples of John dreading a commission, then travelling to
their home, staying weeks (living out of a suitcase like a gypsy) and
once having done the damned thing, leaving, not only the painting, but
new life-long friends that just adored him. It wasn't always the case,
but it happened more often than not.
Life at Bolsover Hill
(which was their home at Sheffield) seems to have had its' moments of
playfulness. Frances's mother, who was widowed, also lived with them. So
if you consider the six kids, the two adults, and the widowed
grandmother: Emma Douglas, it all made for quite a family. For example,
papers from the Vickers Family Trust revealed a theater program the
family printed in 1880 called "Theatre Royal, Bolsover Hill." This
particular program proclaimed "Tuesday and Wednesday 13th and 14th
January" as the dates for a particular show and even listed a "season"
of three playlets written by the daughters and performed by the
"Distinguished Company." Frances had been the only child of the London
surgeon Joseph Douglas. When she was 17 (1858), she went to Paris to
study art at the Institute Fournier, and stayed for two years. She
apparently returned to London by the summer of 1859 and was married to
Thomas Vickers by the end of the following year. After their marriage
the couple travelled over the years on vacations to places such as Paris
and Florence taking their children with them.
She kept at her
drawing, though mostly as a hobby, documenting family life in pen and
ink sketches, writing little notes in perfect penmanship of what it was
at the margins, as well as landscape scenes in watercolours. In James
Hamilton's book "The Misses Vickers, The Centenary of the Painting" he
documented some of her drawings and paintings. She seems to have
encouraged her daughters in drawing and painting, giving them the same
sort of education that she had. At least "Mildred" took it up, and by
1920 she was a better artist than her mother.
When Frances
travelled to Paris for the Salon of 1883 for the purpose of selecting an
appropriate artist for the family, she would have a fairly decent
understanding of the city and its art scene. She must have been taken by
the acclaimed painting of the Four Daughters of Edward Darley Boit done
by a young American artist. All of Paris was abuzz by this painting, and
her own three daughters deserved no less an artist.
When Sargent
did finally come for the commission, he would stay over a period of
three weeks -- according to Frances' diary. It's quite probable that he
tutored Frances along with the three daughters in their own art (given
the mother's background) as part of his fee -- or he might have just
done it informally, taking them out painting as he had done with his own
family and friends. James Hamilton, in his book (published in 1884) said
he searched for other Sargent paintings which might have emerged from
Sheffield but none have to that date. But clearly, Frances' later
watercolours such as "Waterfall in Spate," n.d. is much more along the
lines of Sargent's method.
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Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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