Francis Danby, A.R.A.

In the 1988-9 exhibitions in both London and Bristol, two portraits of the artist's sons were exhibited, this and another, now held in an American private collection.¹ It was suggested that they may both date to circa 1828 when four of Danby's sons were at school in Yorkshire and he is known to have visited them.

Danby had at least ten children, seven by his wife and three by Ellen Evans. Five of his wife's children were boys, and all of Ellen's. The eldest son was Francis James, born in March 1815; next came James in 1817 and then John in 1818. The fourth son was Thomas who was perhaps born in 1821, while William Gibbons Danby is likely to have appeared in August 1827. Given the similarities of these children’s ages, scholars have not considered it possible to identify with any certainty the children portrayed. It has been noted, however, that both exhibited portraits were made with great confidence and intensity.

1. F. Greenacre, in exh. cat., op. cit., 1988, nos. 103 and 104