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Yelloly family watercolor albums
Title
Yelloly family watercolor albums.
Production
England, 1827-1839.
Physical Description
3 volumes ; 18 x 25 cm, and smaller.
Biographical / Historical Note
During the years that the present watercolor albums were compiled, the Yelloly family lived at Woodton Hall, near Norwich, Norfolk. Sarah Tyssen Yelloly (1785-1854) and her husband, John, had ten children; four survived to adulthood. She taught them all to draw (she herself was taught by the noted watercolorist Copley Fielding). John Yelloly (1774-1842), Fellow of the Royal Society, was author of "Observations on the arrangements connected with the relief of the sick poor" (1837). The family moved to Cavendish Hall, Suffolk, in 1840.
Summary
Volume 1 comprises watercolors by Sarah Tyssen Yelloly. It bears a dedication leaf at front: "To my dear daughter Sarah, these monkey pictures are given, by her affectionate mother, January 1, 1827, in remembrance of many pleasant evenings during which they were executed." The album includes about 40 watercolors, the majority of which depict rural domestic buildings.
Volume 2 consists of 36 watercolors and 2 graphite sketches, by Jane Davison Yelloly (1808-1838), executed between 1831 and 1838. It includes a great variety of scenes, including views in London, Norwich, and Brighton. The Yelloly family visited Brighton in 1833, possibly for the health of Sophia Mary, who had tuberculosis. Jane herself died of smallpox in 1838. Her drawings include a depiction of the bathing machines in use at the time; these could be wheeled into the sea, permitting the modest female bather to enter the water without being seen from the shore.
Volume 3 is much smaller than the first two (measuring 14 x 11 cm), and comprises 54 watercolors by Sophia Mary Yelloly (1811-1840), painted in 1839. All of the drawings depict local tradesmen and villagers. Notes on the verso of some of the watercolors record that they were painted for young daughter Harriet. Many of the watercolors appear to have been painted on trips to Hastings, but there are also local characters: "Harris, raking the fields"; "Mrs Smith"; "Boy"; "Vegetable woman"; "Miss Atkins Woodton." Other trades depicted include bakers, peddlers, cattlemen, farm workers, fishermen, and washerwomen. The watercolors are mainly mounted two to a page, although some are painted on special cards with lattice cut borders; six such cards are now loose and have been removed to a separate folder (accompanying volume 3). By the fall of 1839, Sophia Maria was quite ill with tuberculosis, so she and her family went to Devonshire for the milder weather. These drawings would have been among the last she was able to make from direct observation.
Format
Images
Language
English
Added to Catalog
April 24, 2013
Subjects
Genre/Form
Landscape drawings.
Views.
Sketchbooks.
Watercolors.
Graphite drawings.
Bookmark As
Citation
