Settling into my cool and comfy room in the Francis Hotel, Queen Square, I mapped out my agenda for the days ahead of me. I have visited Bath many times, but at last I was alone, and could indulge myself with visits limited only by my own energy. Very selfish and highly recommended!
What is now the Holburne Museum was, in the early 19th century, the Sydney Hotel catering to Bath visitors and a center for numerous entertainments in the Sydney Gardens.
The above view shows the back of the Sydney Hotel, c. 1804, a venue for dining concerts and balls, in Sydney Gardens, which opened about 1795. Fireworks, balloon ascensions, acrobats, and other entertainments were held frequently. The grounds included a labyrinth, bridle paths, canals, and gardens.
From a 1st floor gallery, the view down Great Pulteney Street to the bridge over the Avon.;
The man for whom the museum is named is Sir William Holburne (c.1793-1874). painted by Charles Jagger, 1827. Near the painting is Holburne's Trafalgar medal, earned in the battle in 1805, when he served on HMS Orion, hardly more than a child. In later years, he inherited a baronetage and lived with his sisters in Cavendish Crescent, Bath, where they exhibited their art collection and added to it over the years. It is the nucleus of the Holburne Museum collection.
Sir William Holburne's aunt Catherine Holburne Cussans (1753-1834) was painted by John Hoppner about 1790. Some of her own collections are included in the holdings of the museum.
A fine selection of paintings from the Georgian Era can be found in the main galleries. The fortepiano, c. 1795, is by Johann Schantz (1762-1828) of Vienna, one of only four to have survived from the workshop of the Schantz Brothers favored by Haydn among many others. It is used freuently for concerts by ensembles ad soloists performing 18th century works.
George Stubbs (1724-1806) painted Robert Carter Thelwall and His Family in 1776. The Rev. Mr. Thelwall, with his wife Charlotte and their daughter before his church, St. Andrews in Lincolnshire.
Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1799) painted Lady in a Blue Cloak about 1765. As the label states, "He painted silks, lace, and trimmings with a skill that made them as much a feature of his portraits as the sitter's likeness."
Gainsborough also painted Louisa Skrine, Lady Clarges (1760-1809), at age eighteen for her husband Sir Thomas Clarges in the year after their marriage. The single-action harp in front of the picture was created by Sebastin Erard in 1802 and sold to a lady in Dublin for £75 12s.
This sketch of Arthur Atherly (1772-1844) ) by Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) was created as a study for the finished portrait now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (below). The sitter was nineteen and the artist was just three years older.
Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1791
Arthur Atherley as an Etonian
© Los Angeles County Museum of Art
In keeping with its Georgian roots, the Holburne also exhibits fine silver from the period. Exquisite workmanship characterized the art of this time, from the smallest miniature to the largest mural.
A selection of miniatures, all of unidentified subjects, were created in the period 1785 to 1800. From the top down, all watercolour on ivory, the artists are Richard Cosway (1742-1821), George Engleheart (1752-1829), Nathaniel Plimer (1757-1822), and John Boge (1746-1803).
The snuff boxes were carried by gentlemen (and ladies such as Queen Charlotte, who was known to be a frequent user). The top one is French, c. 1770, and the bottom one is Italian, c. 1825.
Often found on the reverse of miniatures of deceased loved ones, hairwork was a specialty of some artists, using locks clipped from a beloved. What might seem morbid to us today was raised to the heights of fashionable mourning in the Regency and Victorian periods.
A "Bourdaloue with dragon mounts" is a lady's chamberpot with later additions of bronze gilt feet and a liner. Inside it says, "Aux Plaisirs des Dames" or 'For the lady's pleasure.' The label assures us that Sir William Hamilton did not suspect the vessel's original purpose when he bought it. Do you believe that? Hmmmm. The decoration on the outside is based on a painting by Jean-Antoine Watteau, famed French artist,
Browsing the Holburne Museum at my leisure was a delightful treat on a warm sunny afternoon. More wanderings in Bath are to come.
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