Edward Holmes (d.1857)
Mary Dowling, Mrs William Penny
Category
Art / Miniatures
Date
Unknown
Materials
Watercolour on ivory
Measurements
110 x 83 mm
Order this imageCollection
Lanhydrock, Cornwall
NT 882256
Summary
Portrait miniature, watercolour on ivory, Edward Holmes (d.1857) by Mary Dowling, Mrs William Penny (?Cheltenham 1818 - ? London 1910). Half length portrait of a man in wig and wearing black, in a folding dark red leather travelling case with velvet lining. Gilt metal mount. Attached to the lining is a newspaper cutting relating the death of Mr. Edward Holmes, M.A., on which the the date May 31st 1857 has been written in ink.
Full description
Portrait miniature, watercolour painting on ivory, Edward Holmes (d.1857) by Mary Dowling, Mrs William Penny (?Cheltenham 1818 - ? London 1910).Edward Holmes, was a London barrister who married Elizabeth Dowling (d.1921), sister of the miniaturist Mary Dowling. He was the son of Timothy Richard Holmes, solicitor (1785-1840), of Bury St Edmunds, and grandson of the Rev. Edward Holmes, Master of Scorton Grammar School and of his second wife Miss Dickinson. He was admitted to the Middle Temple on 17 April 1834 and called to the Bar on 24 November 1837. He was also regarded as one of the leading collectors in the country of prints and drawings, famous enough to have had his own collector’s mark (Lugt 870), and to be recognised by the Art Treasures Committee of the great Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition of 1857, which appointed him Director of the Watercolours and Engravings Gallery at the exhibition. With George Scharf, he arranged the sections on watercolours and prints and wrote the catalogue of prints. It was reported in The Times that Edward, having just recovered from an attack of jaundice, came to Manchester and proceeded to hang the watercolours and prints at the exhibition. However, he over-exerted himself; by the time of the opening of the exhibition he had caught a cold, and on the very day of the opening he died. Let The Times of 1 June 1857 conclude the story: ‘He leaves a widow who did all in her power to lighten his labours at the Exhibition. Mr Holmes was involved in expensive litigation some years previous to his death, by which he incurred heavy pecuniary liabilities. The generous devotion of his wife induced her to sacrifice the whole of a handsome fortune to relieve him from these liabilities; and that she has been left totally unprovided for through his death is a matter for deep sympathy and regret.’ What was the cause of the crippling litigation affecting Elizabeth and Edward Holmes? Was it related to Holmes v Baddeley and others, 1844? Maybe someone reading this will investigate the case law and complete this sad tale. Derek Holdaway,
Provenance
from the bequest of Miss Kathleen Penny, Croydon, 2004, who was daughter of Arthur Pawle Penny, son of Mary, and nephew of Elizabeth Holmes, Mary's sister. Elizabeth married Edward Holmes who was the grandson of the Rev. Edward Holmes who married Miss Dickinson, c.1784, daughter of the Rev. Timothy Dickinson, brother of Caleb, grandfather of Mary Dickinson who married Thomas Charles, 2nd Lord Robartes and 6th Viscount Clifden. See family tree on file. The artist Mary Dowling, Mrs. William Penny, was the sister of Elizabeth Holmes, nee Dowling. Edward Holmes was the curator of engravings of the Manchester Exhibition and died suddenly at the exhibition. See the newspaper cutting with the miniature.
Marks and inscriptions
(on inset of slip frame) WW
Makers and roles
Mary Dowling, Mrs William Penny, artist