Mrs Pointer and the Drummond Family

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Rosa Myra Drummond

Artist and wife of Brighton Photographer Harry Pointer

 

Rosa Myra Drummond (1816-1888) - artist & portrait painter and wife of the Brighton photographer Harry Pointer

Rosa Myra Drummond (often referred to as Myra Drummond ) was born in London in December 1816 and baptised at St Anne's Church, Soho on 20th June 1817. Rosa was the daughter of Samuel Drummond (1766-1844), a portrait and history painter, and his third wife Ann Holanby (born c1786). Between 1833 and 1849, under the name of Miss Myra Drummond, Rosa regularly exhibited her artwork in London galleries. [ A portrait of "Miss Myra Drummond (artist)" was shown at the British Institute in 1840 by the Scottish painter Miss Margaret Gillies (1803-1887) ]. During this period, Miss Myra Drummond shared a studio and lived with Miss Ellen Drummond (born c1795, London), one of her half-sisters. Myra Drummond, like other members of the Drummond family of artists, specialised in portraits of actors and actresses. In 1839, Miss Drummond achieved some recognition for her full-length  portrait of the famous actress Helena Saville Faucit (1817-1898). [See illustration below]. Although she was a talented artist, in the 1840s Myra Drummond was finding it difficult to make a living from her art work, especially after the death of her father in 1844.

Miss Camilla Dufour Toulmin (1812-1895), an author and poet who went on to marry an American-born wine merchant Newton Crosland (1819-1899), became friendly with Rosa Myra Drummond and in her memoir  "Landmarks of a Literary Life", she left a "pen portrait" of the artist, who was then aged around 30.

"Myra Drummond sat with her back to the window in the waning light ...and the indistinct view of her face did not impress me greatly. In fact, I at first thought her a little commonplace looking. Moreover, she was rather an observer than a talker, as painters often are and for a time she joined but little in the conversation. But at dinner I sat opposite to her, and soon saw how the pale and rather sallow face lighted up, and the bright eyes beamed with intelligence. I noticed, too, that though slightly deformed, she was not ungraceful ; and that, though not a great talker, all she said was worth hearing. Before the evening was over I found myself admiring her greatly, and hoping that we might become friends."

From "Landmarks of a Literary Life, 1820-1892", by Mrs Newton Crosland (Camilla Dufour Toulmin), page 200

As a portraitist, Rosa Myra Drummond, appears to have devoted much of her time drawing and painting likenesses of personalities from the theatrical world. In 1835, it is recorded that Miss Rosa Myra Drummond exhibited a "Portrait of an actress" at the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in London. In 1838, Miss Myra Drummond exhibited a painting at the Royal Adademy entitled "Portrait of Mr Charles Kean in the Character of Hamlet." Charles John Kean (1811-1868), a theatre manager and actor, had just made a successful appearance in the lead role of William Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Drury Lane Theatre. Rosa Myra Drummond's chalk study of the head of Charles John Kean has survived and can be seen at the National Portrait Gallery. Two years later, in 1840, Miss Drummond exhibited a portrait of the famous tenor William Harrison in the role of Captain Macheath, the main character in John Gay's musical play "The Beggar's Opera". Early in 1839, Myra Drummond had her greatest success with a full-length portrait of  the well-known actress Helena Faucit (1817-1898) dressed for the role of 'Pauline Deschappelles' in Edward Bulwer-Lytton's romantic drama "Lady of Lyons". Mrs Newton Crosland remarked that Myra Drummond's portrait of Helena Faucit was a "beautiful picture, that through the engravings of it, was well known at the time ... and must, indeed, be familiar to many people still."

[BELOW] A portrait of the actress Helena Faucit as Pauline in the play the "Lady of Lyons", painted by the artist Miss Rosa Myra Drummond (1839)

[ABOVE] A portrait of the famous English actress Helena Saville Faucit (1817-1898) from a painting by Miss (Rosa) Myra Drummond. Helena Faucit posed for this full-length portrait in January 1839. The actress is shown in the theatrical role of 'Pauline Deschappelles' in The Lady of Lyons, a romantic drama by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. The above illustration is taken from  is a photogravure of  (Rosa) Myra Drummond's original painting. The original portrait is now in the Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum.
Helena Faucit the actress mentions in her diary the portrait sittings for Miss Rosa Myra Drummond  :

"Tuesday, 15th (January 1839) - Went with Mrs Braysher to Miss Drummond this morning. She proposes taking a full-length portrait of me as Pauline (in "The Lady of Lyons"). This will put my patience to the test, I think, as well as hers ; but it is not half so bad for the artists as the sitter, for they are naturally anxious and interested in their work, and their time passes quickly.

 Friday, I8th. (January 1839)  - Gave Miss Drummond a sitting of, I am sure, at least two hours. Patience, what a virtue art thou! But I must not begin to talk of patience yet awhile.

Wednesday, 23rd (January 1839)  - Acted Pauline to-night ... Miss Drummond came to my dressing-room after the play to sketch my dress. There is an earnest truthfulness about her that I like very much. She is not at all a common person, and I think very clever in her art. I do hope she will succeed, poor thing, she seems so anxious to do so."

Despite her success with her portrait of the actress Helena Faucit, by the mid-1840s Rosa Myra Drummond was finding it difficult to sell her paintings. The novelist Mrs Newton Crosland (Camilla Dufour Toulmin) commented that Myra Drummond was "a young artist who certainly deserved a wider popularity than she ever attained". There is some evidence that Miss Drummond derived a modest income by painting small portraits and miniatures. A recently discovered oil painting by Rosa Myra Drummond, depicting a "a cleric, seated, with a book, three quarter length", carried on the reverse, a contemporary label headed 'Miss Drummond's list of charges for portraits & miniatures'. Some time around 1848, Mrs Newton Crosland visited Miss Drummond at "her studio on a first floor, in one of the streets off the Tottenham Court Road". Mrs Crosland, who was married to a prosperous wine merchant, was concerned about Miss Drummond's poor living conditions :

"I suspect - though I do not positively know - that the apartment, with all the usual litter of easels, unframed and half finished works ... was the young artist's living room as well as her studio. She did not conceal from me her poverty, which, indeed, was 'writ large' everywhere, but I think she had the sort of pride which would have made her reticent on  the subject with any wealthy acquaintances ... if ever there was a case where a powerful patron was needed, it was in that of the rather reserved Myra Drummond, who was too proud to be her own trumpeter, or to make advances in society ...I remember her repeating to me an axiom of her father's, which I have never forgotten, 'Keep true to your art, and it will be true to you".

From "Landmarks of a Literary Life",  by Mrs Newton Crosland (Camilla Dufour Toulmin), pages 202-203

Rosa Myra Drummond never found a wealthy or powerful patron, but she did find a young man who was willing to provide assistance and support in her artistic endeavours. Mrs Newton Crosland could not hide her dismay when she discovered that Miss Drummond had taken up with a twenty-five year old soldier serving with the 1st Life Guards Regiment. Corporal Harry Pointer, a tall, strongly built son of a Berkshire farm labourer, had posed for Miss Drummond after she had sought a young man with muscular legs to serve as a model for a Roman soldier she was painting. Mrs Newton Crosland remarked that Corporal Harry Pointer "served for other subjects besides the Roman soldier" and "had been of the greatest service to her". Mrs Crosland added : "In hours off duty he also carried Myra Drummond's paintings to the picture dealer for sale , with instructions, I am afraid, to take almost anything that was offered for them".

Rosa Myra Drummond married Corporal Henry Pointer at St Andrew's Church, Clewer, near Windsor, on 11th August 1849. On the marriage certificate, Rosa signed her name as "Rose Myra Drummond" and, although she does not state her profession on the certificate, she proudly declared that she was the daughter of Samuel Drummond, Artist and "Member of Royal Academy". The marriage was witnessed by Miss Ellen Drummond, presumably Rosa's sister  who shared a studio and living quarters with the young artist in the early 1840s.

 After her marriage, Mrs Pointer found a new apartment in the Regents Park area of London, but her artistic career was interrupted by the arrival of two children in quick succession. A boy named Harry Pointer junior was born in London during the 3rd Quarter of 1851 and a second child, Myra Pointer, less than a year later during the 2nd Quarter of 1852. Harry Pointer continued to serve as a soldier in the Life Guards Regiment based at the Hyde Park barracks in Knightsbridge. Mrs Pointer earned a little money from portrait painting during the early years of her marriage and, according to Mrs Newton Crosland, she received "some portrait-painting commissions" from "one of the officers in her husband's regiment". It appears the officer had known Mrs Pointer's father, the artist Samuel Drummond (1765-1844). Mrs Pointer also completed some larger history paintings during this period, exhibiting a work entitled  "Roman Drovers" at the British Institution in 1856.

Some time before April 1861, Harry Pointer left the army and together with his wife and two children moved down to the Sussex seaside town of Brighton. The Pointers eventually found a house in Bloomsbury Place, a street that ran down to the seafront at Marine Parade in the eastern Kemp Town area of Brighton. Harry Pointer, a veteran soldier, set himself up as an "Instructor in Military Drill", while Mrs Pointer worked as a portrait painter from 15 Bloomsbury Place. During her years as an artist in Brighton, Mrs Pointer was primarily a portrait painter, but in 1868, under the name of Myra Drummond Pointer, she exhibited at the Society of Lady Artists a painting entitled "Elaine", which was based on an Arthurian legend.  Mrs Rosa Myra Pointer was recorded as an artist and portrait painter in Brighton street and trade directories for a period of nearly twenty years, from 1861 until 1880.

Rosa Myra Pointer, died in Brighton during the 3rd Quarter of 1888. When her death was registered, Mrs Pointer's age was given as 62, but if the official record of her birth and baptism is correct, Rosa Myra Pointer would have been seventy-one years of age when she passed away. Mrs Pointer's daughter Myra Pointer (born 1852, Regents Park, London), described as an 'Artist' and "Painter in Oils" in the 1881 census, worked as an artist and photographer in Brighton during her mature years. A study of a dog's head drawn by Myra Pointer, signed and dated 1886, was sold at Sotheby's auction house in January 2001.
 
 
 

[ABOVE] A portrait of the artist Samuel Drummond (1766-1844), the father of Rosa Myra Drummond, the artist and portrait painter who married Harry Pointer in 1849.

[ABOVE] Extracts from The Royal Academy Exhibition catalogues giving details of works exhibited by (Rosa) Myra Drummond in 1838 and 1840. One of the paintings shown by Miss Myra Drummond at the 1838 Royal Academy Exhibition was a portrait of  "Mr Charles Kean in the character of Hamlet". (A chalk drawing of the head of Charles Kean, a preparatory study for the painting, is shown below). Exhibiting alongside Myra Pointer was Miss Ellen Drummond (born c1795), Rosa Myra Drummond's elder sister. Myra and Ellen Drummond shared a home and studio between 1838 and 1846.

[ABOVE] A chalk study of the head of Charles John Kean (1811-1868), actor and theatre manager, drawn by Rosa Myra Drummond (1816-1888). When this portrait was made around 1838, Charles John Kean was a young actor who had just made a successful appearance in the lead role of Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Drury Lane Theatre. Rosa Myra Drummond, who exhibited her work under the name of  Miss Myra Pointer, was the youngest daughter of the artist Samuel Drummond (1766-1844).

[ABOVE] Miss Myra Drummond and Miss Ellen Drummond listed at the same home address of 87 Newman Street, London in the Alphabetical List of Exhibitors published in The Catalogue of The Royal Academy Exhibition of 1840.

[ABOVE] A painting of a private soldier in the 1st Life Guards Regiment painted by Alexandre-Jean Dubois Drahonet (1791-1834). Harry Pointer was serving as a private in the 1st Life Guards Regiment when he modelled for the artist Miss Rosa Myra Drummond around 1848. Miss Drummond married Harry Pointer in 1849.

[ABOVE] "Nameless and Friendless", a painting by the woman artist Emily Mary Osborn (1857). The painting depicts a young woman artist, accompanied by a boy carrying her portfolio, showing a painting to an art dealer in the hope that he will buy her work. This scene might have been mirrored a few years later when Mrs Myra Pointer, perhaps accompanied by her young son Harry Pointer junior, tried to sell her paintings in London.

[ABOVE] A listing of the inhabitants of Brighton with the surname of Pointer, as listed in Folthorp's General Directory for Brighton (1864). Mr Harry Pointer, an ex-soldier, is listed as a "drilling master" at 15 Bloomsbury Place, Brighton. Harry's wife, Mrs Rosa Myra Pointer, is listed as a "portrait painter" at the same address. A portrait painter with the name of Mrs Myra Pointer was recorded at Bloomsbury Place in local trade directories from 1862 until 1880.

[ABOVE] A list of Artists residing in Brighton, as printed in the Professions and Trades Section of  Thomas Page's General Directory for Brighton (1865). Mrs Rosa Myra Pointer, mentioned elsewhere in the directory as a portrait painter, is listed as an artist at 15 Bloomsbury Place, Brighton. Miss Ellen Drummond (born c1827, London), a portrait painter living at 5 Clarendon Place, Brighton, was probably a close relative of Mrs Pointer.

 

[ABOVE] A portrait of Camilla Dufour Toulmin (1812-1895), later Mrs Newton Crosland, from a miniature painted in 1848 by Mrs Pitt. This portrait was painted at the time of her marriage to  Newton Crosland (1819-1899) an American-born wine merchant. The couple married at the Old Church, St Pancras, on 22 July 1848 and settled in Blackheath where they resided for the nearly 38 years.

[ABOVE] The title page of "Landmarks of a Literary Life, 1820-1892" by Mrs Newton Crosland (Camilla Toulmins). "Landmarks of a Literary Life, which recorded Mrs Crosland's meetings with leading figures in the world of art and literature during her long career as a writer, was published in 1893 by S. Low, Marston & Co. Ltd. Mrs Crosland's memoir recalled her acquaintance with writers such as the poet Robert Browning, the novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne and the journalist Douglas Jerrold. Mrs Crosland also describes meetings with several artists, including the sculptor Hiram Powers and the French animal painter Rosa Bonheur. In "Landmarks of a Literary Life" Camilla Crosland recalls her meeting and friendship with the portrait painter Rosa Myra Drummond and discusses Miss Drummond's pride and poverty and her marriage to Harry Pointer, a young soldier who modelled for the artist.

Camilla Dufour Toulmin (1812-1895), later Mrs Newton Crosland

Much of what we know about Rosa Myra Drummond (known as Mrs Pointer after 1849) comes from the pen of Camilla Dufour Toulmin (1812-1895), a poet, novelist, translator of French literature and writer of children's books.

Camilla Dufour Toulmin was born on 9th June 1812 at Aldermanbury, London. Camilla was the daughter of  William Wilton Toulmin (1767-1820), a London solicitor, and his second wife Sarah Wright (1783-1863). Camilla's father died when she was eight years of age and although "she evinced exceptional precocity, being able to read at the age of three years", she received little formal education and was essentially self taught. In her mid-twenties she embarked on a literary career, contributing poems, stories, essays, historical sketches and short biographies to a range of periodicals including 'The People's Journal,' 'The Illustrated London News', 'Ainsworth's Magazine,' and 'Chambers' Journal'. Many of Miss Toulmin's early stories were concerned with " the sufferings of the poor". In 1848, Miss Toulmin married an American-born wine merchant named Newton Crosland (1819-1899). Under the name of Mrs Newton Crosland, she published a collection of poems and two novels, 'Mrs Blake' (1865) and 'Hubert Freeth's Prosperity' (1873). Mrs Crosland developed an interest in spiritualism and in 1857 she published an account of her beliefs in a book entitled 'Light in the Valley: My Experiences of Spiritualism'. In her early eighties, towards the end of her life, Mrs Crosland produced a memoir called 'Landmarks of a Literary Life', in which she included an account of the artist Miss Rosa Myra Drummond. Mrs Camilla Crosland died at her home in East Dulwich on 16th February 1895.

In her memoir "Landmarks of a Literary Life", the author Camilla Dufour Toulmin (1812-1895), the future wife of London wine merchant Mr. Newton Crosland, recalled meeting the artist Rosa Myra Drummond, then known as Miss Myra Drummond. Miss Toulmin became friends with the future Mrs Pointer before her own marriage to Newton Crosland in 1848. In her book Mrs Crosland recounted the "pathetic story" of the circumstances leading to the artist's marriage to Harry Pointer, a young soldier in the Life Guards. According to Mrs Crosland, a history painting by Miss Drummond, in which she hoped to include a Roman soldier, had been "delayed from the difficulty in finding a suitable pair of legs from which to paint; but she added that her brother (Julian) had at last discovered a life-guardsman (Harry Pointer), who exactly answered the purpose of a model for her Roman soldier". Mrs Crosland continued : " ... I heard more of her handsome life-guardsman, who, I fancy, served for other subjects besides the Roman soldier. In hours off duty he also carried Myra Drummond's paintings to the picture dealer for sale....I remember she considered he had a real appreciation and love of art, and had been of the greatest service to her. And the next thing I heard was that they were married !".

After her marriage to Newton Crosland in 1848, Mrs Camilla Crosland kept in contact with the young artist. In the Summer of 1851, nearly two years after Rosa Myra Drummond's marriage to Harry Pointer, Mrs Crosland journeyed from Blackheath to to call upon the artist at her home in Albany Street, West London. In her memoir, "Landmarks of a Literary Life", Mrs Crosland recalled her final visit to Mrs Pointer and a conversation they had about the social class differences between Myra and her soldier husband :
 

This visit was about two or three months before the birth of her first child (Harry Pointer junior). Her husband was still in the ranks ; and apartments in Albany Street had been chosen on account of their proximity to the barracks. She seemed glad to see me, and spoke very freely of the step she had taken (i.e. marrying an ordinary soldier), and, certainly, without regret. Of course, I made the best of her position, and I remember saying something to the effect that many a gentleman, in a fit of temper or distress, or from incapacity in other ways to enter the army, had enlisted as a private soldier. And she retorted, "My husband was not a gentleman, he is one of fives sons, peasant-born". And I am really sure she added, "they are all in the army". The old pride was quite as rampant as ever. There was also the old look also in her eyes, that look which poor L. E. L. described as being "heavy with the weight of unshed tears"; and yet this look was a little less marked than it had been in former times. She seemed thoroughly aware that a woman could not raise her husband's social position, though a duke might raise any virtuous girl to his own. This was the last time I saw Myra Drummond, now Mrs Pointer.

The next thing I heard was that Mr Pointer had left the army, and in conjunction with his wife, had taken up photography and settled at Brighton."

From "Landmarks of a Literary Life", by Mrs Newton Crosland (Camilla Dufour Toulmin) pages 204-205

 

Works exhibited between 1833 and1849 by the artist Miss (Rosa) Myra Drummond, later Mrs Rosa Pointer (1816-1888)

YEAR

TITLE OF ART WORK

Art Gallery

ADDRESS

1833

Title Unknown

  14 Church Street, Soho, London (?)
1835 "Portrait of an Actress"

British Institution

 
1838 "Portrait of Mr Charles Kean in the Character of Hamlet." Royal Academy 42 Rathbone Place, Oxford Street, London
1839 "Helena Faucit as Pauline Deschappelles' (in the romantic drama "Lady of Lyons") -

-

1840

"Portrait of Miss Helen Faucit" (actress)    

1840

"Mr. William Harrison as Captain Macheath" (in "The Beggar's Opera"). Royal Academy 87 Newman Street, London

1841

"Copy of a work by Titian" British Institution  
  "Portrait of Miss H. Faucit" (actress) British Institution  

1842

"Sketch of a Lady" (drawing) Royal Academy 87 Newman Street, London

1843

"Portrait of a Lady" (miniature) Royal Academy 12 Charles Street, Berners Street, London
  "The Lady of Lyons", (from Sir E. Bulwer Lytton's play) British Institution  

1846

"Nelly and Tip" Royal Academy 78 Wimpole Street, Cavendish Square, London

1856

 "Roman Drovers" (exhibited under the name of Mrs Myra Drummond Pointer)

 British Institution

 

1868

"Elaine"  (exhibited under the name of Mrs Myra Drummond Pointer)

Society of Lady Artists

15 Bloomsbury Place, Marine Parade, Brighton
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Samuel Drummond and his Family of Artists

'The Death of Nelson' (c1824) by Samuel Drummond (1766-1844) . This painting was one of several painted by Drummond which featured the death of Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The Royal Collection has a self portrait of Samuel Drummond showing him in his studio working on one of his painted versions of "The Death of Nelson". [Norfolk Museums]

Samuel Drummond, ARA  (c1765-1844) - Artist and father of Rosa Myra Drummond

The portrait artist and history painter Samuel Drummond was born in London on 25th December 1766. Samuel Drummond was baptised in London at St. Luke's Church, Old, Street, Finsbury on 18th January 1767. Samuel's parents were Jane Bicknell and James Drummond, a London baker. James Drummond probably came from a Scottish family. According to the art historian James Grieg, Samuel's father, James Drummond, had been a supporter of Charles Edward Stuart, the Jacobite claimant to the British throne. In a summary of Samuel Drummond's life and career, Greig states that "his father had to leave England for fighting on the side of 'bonnie Prince Charlie'." Given that Charles Edward Stuart was defeated at Culloden in 1746, James Drummond's exile must have taken place when he was in his early thirties. This would explain why James Drummond (born 1715, London) did not marry Jane Bicknell (1746-1770) until 1766, when he was fifty years of age.

At the age of 14, Samuel Drummond ran away to join the navy, serving several years in the Sea Service. After leaving the navy, Samuel Drummond worked briefly as a clerk in the City before entering the Royal Academy Schools on 15th July 1791. Joseph Farington, RA (1747-1821) a contemporary of Samuel Drummond and a fellow artist and member of the Royal Academy, refers to Drummond's early life and developing artistic career in a diary entry dated 4th June 1804 :

"He (Drummond) was originally in the Sea Service which He quitted & was 6 months as a Clerk in the City where He attended an Office from 6 in the morning till 8 or 10 at night. Notwithstanding having a passion for drawing He only allowed Himself 4 Hours rest & the remaining time He practised drawing. He left His clerks place & got money by making drawings (portraits) at 5 shillings and Half a guinea (10s 6d), - from which He advanced to His present practice."

 In the same diary entry (4th June 1804), Joseph Farington refers to Drummond's scale of charges for his portrait painting:

"Copland had lately sat to Drummond for a portrait, large as the life, for which he paid only 2 guineas the price which (he) has for three-quarter length portraits."

Drummond began his professional art career as a portrait painter, creating likenesses in crayons and oils. Drummond also produced portrait miniatures in watercolours. Between 1790 and 1844, Samuel Drummond exhibited over 300 pictures at the Royal Academy. Samuel Drummond also displayed his work at The Society of Artists, the British Institution and the Society of British Artists.  Drummond was in great demand as a portrait painter. Among his famous sitters were the novelist Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), the popular radical Francis Place (1771-1854), the prison reformer Mrs Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845), the prize fighter John Gully (1783-1863) and the civil engineer Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (1769-1849), the father of another famous engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Samuel Drummond was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1808 and later became the Curator of the Royal Academy Painting School.

After 1800, Drummond began to produce more ambitious compositions, including large oil paintings featuring scenes from British naval history such as "The Battle of the Nile, 1st August 1798","Captain William Rogers Capturing the 'Jeune Richard', 1 October 1807" (1808), "Admiral Duncan at the Battle of Camperdown, 11 October 1797" (1827) and a series of paintings on the theme of The Death of Nelson, executed between 1812 and 1824. Samuel Drummond also painted portraits of famous naval officers and explorers such as Admiral Sir Edward Pellew (1757-1833), Captain William Rogers (born 1783), and Captain (later Rear-Admiral) William Edward Parry (1790-1855).

Many of Drummond's early portraits were engraved and sold as popular prints (e.g. Drummond's portrait of the journalist Robert Raikes engraved and published in 1788). For a period of time, Samuel Drummond was employed by the European Magazine and London Review to produce portraits of leading personalities of the day. The European Magazine was a monthly publication which covered "Literature, History, Biography, Politics, Arts, Manners and Amusements of the Age" and each issue was "embellished with a portrait". Drummond's original portrait drawings and paintings were copied for publication by leading engravers such as Thomas Blood (1777-1850) and James Thomson (1788-1850). Amongst the portraits by Samuel Drummond which were published in the European Magazine were Lord Gerald Lake (1808), an army general, Sir John Soane (1813), an architect, and Friedrich (Fredrick) Accum (1820), a German chemist who developed gas lighting in London.

Samuel Drummond married three times and children from all three unions became artists in their own right. Rose Emma Drummond a daughter from his first marriage became a famous miniature painter. At least three children from Drummond's second marriage to Rose Hudson also became artists - Ellen Drummond, Eliza Ann Drummond, Jane Drummond. Around 1815, Samuel Drummond married for a third time and at least one daughter (Rosa Myra Drummond) and a son (Julian Drummond) went on to become professional artists.

Between 1822 and 1841, Samuel Drummond resided at 14 Church Street, Soho, London. The 1841 census records Samuel Drummond, his third wife Ann Holanby, and their son Julian Drummond at their home in Church Street, Soho. Samuel Drummond is described on the census return as a seventy-five year old artist and his son Julian is recorded as a fifteen year old "engraver".

According to the records of the Royal Academy, Samuel Drummond struggled financially towards the end of his life. William Sandby in his "History of the Royal Academy"(1862) notes that Drummond was "frequently granted assistance from the funds of the Academy in the latter part of his life, although he continued to practice his profession until his death in 1844".Samuel Drummond died in London on 6th August 1844, aged around seventy-eight.

In addition to a son and (at least) five daughters who became professional artists, Samuel Drummond's grandchildren also achieved some success in the art world. Julian Edward Drummond (1866-1911), the eldest son of Julian Drummond, became a painter of scenes of everyday life on the English coast. Julian E. Drummond's younger brother Philip Maurice Drummond was recorded as a "portrait Painter" in the 1901 census. Myra Pointer (born 1852, London), the daughter of Rosa Myra Drummond and Harry Pointer, worked as an artist and photographer. Dolores Drummond Green (born 1834, London), the offspring of Charles Green and the artist Eliza Drummond, daughter of Samuel Drummond and Rose Hudson, trained as a painter before embarking on a theatrical career in Australia.

[ABOVE] A portrait of  Samuel Drummond (1766-1844), portrait painter and history painter. Samuel Drummond married three times and children from all three unions became artists in their own right. This portrait of Drummond was drawn with pen and ink by George Harlow White (1817-1887). Art historians usually give Samuel Drummond's year of birth as 1765, yet his baptism records and family histories give a birth date of 25th December 1766.

[ABOVE] "Captain William Rogers Capturing the 'Jeune Richard, 1st October 1807" by Samuel Drummond (1766-1844). Drummond was probably attracted to naval subjects as he had spent his youth as a sailor in the navy. The art historian James Grieg wrote in 1923 that "Samuel , while a boy of fourteen, ran away to sea, and after some seven years of life on the 'rolling main' he became a landlubber."

National Maritime Museum

[ABOVE] An engraved portrait of Captain William Edward Parry (1790-1855), taken from the original painting by Samuel Drummond (1766-1844). This print was published in the European Magazine around 1820. Captain Parry was a naval officer who, in 1819, commanded an Arctic expedition to search for the North-west Passage. Drummond painted a portrait of Captain Parry after he returned to England in November 1820.

The Artist Children of Samuel Drummond (c1765-1844)

Rose Emma Drummond born c1790 Exhibited 1815-1835
F. Ellen Drummond born c1795 Exhibited 1838-1848
Eliza Anne Drummond born 1799 Exhibited 1820-1837
Jane Drummond

born 1803

Exhibited 1823-1829
Rosa Myra Drummond

1816-1888

Exhibited 1833-1881
Julian Drummond

c1826-1906

Exhibited 1854-1892
Ellen Drummond (daughter?)

c1827-1875

Exhibited 1860-1875

[ABOVE] The children of the artist Samuel Drummond (1766-1844) who worked as professional artists in the 19th Century. A number of Samuel Drummond's grandchildren went on to become artists and painters.

[ABOVE] A portrait of John Thomas Thorp, Lord Mayor of London (1820), painted in oils by the artist Samuel Drummond (1766-1844).

[ABOVE] A portrait of Sake Deen Mahomed (1749-1851), painted in oils by the artist Samuel Drummond (1766-1844). Sake Deen Mahomed was the proprietor of  Mahomed's Medicated Vapour Baths on  Brighton's seafront. Sake Deen Mahomed was later appointed "Shampooing" (Vapour Massage) Surgeon" to King George IV.

[ABOVE] A portrait of the actor Edmund Kean as King Richard in Shakespeare's play "The Tragedy of Richard the Third", painted in 1814 by the artist Samuel Drummond (1766-1844).

[ABOVE] A portrait of Sir Robert Williames Vaughan (1804-1859), painted in 1825 by the artist Samuel Drummond (1766-1844). [ABOVE] An engraved portrait of the social reformer Mrs Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845), taken from the original painting by Samuel Drummond (1766-1844). This print was published by Dean & Munday in 1818. [ABOVE] An engraved portrait of the German chemist Friedrich (Fredrick) Accum (1769-1838) 1820), taken from the original painting by Samuel Drummond (1766-1844). This print was published in the European Magazine in 1820.
 

The Parents of Samuel Drummond the Portrait Painter

"The next I am to notice, is my sister, Jane Bicknell, who died 5 years before my Mother. This unfortunate young woman was married in her 20th year to Mr James Drummond, on Feb 1766 at St Mary's Newington. He was in good business as a Baker in the Parish of St Luke's, Middlesex, but did not continue long there. He built a house on Goswell Street and dwelt in it, but being of an inconstant disposition, after some time, removed to a house in Westminster Road, where she (Mrs Jane Drummond) was delivered of her third child, and expired a few hours after on Dec 24th 1770, having lived a miserable life, for nearly five years with her husband. She left 3 children, first Samuel, who was born Dec 25th 1766, and is now (in 1816) a portrait painter of high rank in the Parish of St Ann Soho, and an Associate of the Royal Academy ; second, Jane who married Mr G. Frederick (Jane Drummond married George Frederick on 10th October 1795) ; thirdly, Elizabeth also married and all living."

An extract from the Memoir of William Bicknell (1749-1825), written in 1816 and transcribed from the hand-written original by Raymond Huia White of Auckland, New Zealand. Taken from Marcus Bicknell's website On Beacon Hill.

 

Rose Emma Drummond

Rose Emma Drummond was a portrait painter and miniaturist who was active as an artist in England between 1815 and 1835. Rose Drummond was a daughter of the artist Samuel Drummond (c1765-1844), a well-known portraitist and history painter. Rose Emma Drummond, who was born in London around 1790, was probably one of the eldest daughters of Samuel Drummond, most likely from his first marriage.

Rose Emma Drummond was primarily a portrait painter, but in 1823 she was awarded a "large silver medal" for "an historical composition" shown at the Society of Arts. At this time, Rose Drummond shared a studio and residence in Rathbone Place, London, with two of her half-sisters, Miss Eliza Anne Drummond (born 1799) and Miss Jane Drummond (born 1803).

Rose Emma Drummond specialised in making portraits of personalities in the theatrical world. Between 1815 and 1835, she produced a number of portraits of well-known actresses, which were engraved and sold as celebrity prints. Her theatrical portraits included : Miss Henrietta Mangeon (1798-1878), a singer an actress who performed at The Drury Lane Theatre, Miss Elizabeth Walker Blanchard (died 1849), an actress who appeared regularly in New York after her marriage to Thomas Hamblin, Mrs Elizabeth Inchbald (1753-1821), a dramatist and former actress, Miss P. A. Glover of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, Miss Hallande of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, Miss F. E. Copeland of the Surrey Theatre, Miss Ellen Tree (1805-1880), a leading lady in the theatre who married the actor Charles Kean.

Rose Emma Drummond exhibited at least eighteen portraits at the Royal Academy between 1815 and 1835. A portrait of "Miss Smithers as the Innkeeper's daughter" exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1819 was well received, described by the journal of The Repository of Arts as "a very lively and agreeable portrait, executed in a manner highly creditable to the taste and skill of the fair artist". Miss Rose Drummond also showed work at the New Water-Colour Society between 1831 and 1835.

Around 1820, Rose Drummond painted a portrait of the prolific author Robert Huish (1777-1850). In 1835, Miss Rose Drummond painted on ivory a miniature portrait of the  famous novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870). The tiny portrait was commissioned by Dickens to mark his engagement to Catherine Thomson Hogarth (1816-1879). Apparently, Dickens based Miss La Creevy, a character in his novel "Nicholas Nickleby"(1839), on Rose Emma Drummond. Like Miss Drummond, Miss La Creevy, was a middle-aged miniature painter. ( See panel below).

Rose Emma Drummond did not exhibit her work in England after 1835. It appears that Miss Drummond travelled to Central America to join her brother Samuel Drummond (born 1806, London), who had settled in Mexico in the early 1830s. Samuel Drummond married Cristina Dolores Antonina Soto-Borja (born 1807, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico) at San Miguel Arcangel, Mexico in 1835.

Rose Emma Drummond died in Mexico City in 1840. 
 

[ABOVE] A coloured print depicting Miss M. A. Wilson, engraved by Page from a painting by Miss R. E. Drummond (c1820). The painter of the original portrait was Rose Emma Drummond (born c1790), the daughter of the artist Samuel Drummond (1766-1844). Miss Wilson was possibly a famous actress of the period. Rose Emma Drummond specialised in making portraits of personalities in the theatrical world. One of her earliest exhibited works was a "Portrait of an Actress", which was shown at the Royal Academy in 1818.  A portrait of Miss Henrietta Mangeon (1798-1878), a singer an actress who performed at The Drury Lane Theatre in 1816, was later engraved and sold as a print marked "from an original by Miss R. E. Drummond". In November 1818, John Bell published a print of  the actress Miss Elizabeth Walker Blanchard "from an original drawing by Rose Emma Drummond". Around 1820, Miss Rose E. Drummond painted a portrait of Mrs Elizabeth Inchbald (1753-1821), a dramatist and former actress.

[ABOVE] An engraved portrait of the famous novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870) after a miniature portrait on ivory by Rose Emma Drummond (born c1790). Miss R. E. Drummond was the daughter of the artist Samuel Drummond and the eldest half-sister of Rose Myra Drummond. The original portrait, now feared lost, was painted by Rose Emma Drummond in 1835. Charles Dickens, who was then in his early twenties (before he grew his distinctive beard) commissioned the miniature portrait so that he could give it to his fiancee, Catherine Thomson Hogarth (1816-1879) as an engagement present. Charles Dickens, who mentions visiting Miss Drummond in letters written in 1835, married Kate Hogarth the following year. It is thought that Dickens modelled Miss La Creevy, a character in his novel "Nicholas Nickleby" on Rose Emma Drummond. Like Miss Drummond, Miss La Creevy, was a middle-aged miniature painter. In the novel, Dickens describes the good-natured Miss Le Creevy as a "mincing young lady of fifty".

[ABOVE] A print of the child prodigy Clara Fisher (1811-1898) engraved from an original painting by Miss Rose Emma Drummond (born c1790). The print is captioned "Miss Clara Fisher", The Lilliputian Performer who acquired great celebrity at Drury Lane Theatre in 1818". Many of Rosa Drummond's paintings and drawings of theatrical personalities were turned into popular prints.

[ABOVE] A portrait of an unknown woman, painted in oils by Miss Rose Emma Drummond (born c1790). Miss Drummond was a daughter of Samuel Drummond (1766-1844), a well known portrait and history painter. When this painting was completed, Miss Rose E. Drummond was residing in London. This oil painting on canvas has been signed above the subject's right shoulder "Painted by Rose Emma Drummond, No. 3 Rathbone Place".
 

Miss Rose Emma Drummond as Miss La Creevy

It is thought that the famous novelist Charles Dickens used Rose Emma Drummond as the model for the miniaturist Miss La Creevy, a character in his novel "The Life & Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby"(1839). Miss Le Creevy is described in the novel as a diminutive and good-hearted woman of fifty. ( Rose Emma Drummond was a single woman of about forty-five when she painted her miniature portrait of Charles Dickens). In Chapter 10, whilst painting a likeness of Nicholas Nickleby's sister, Kate, Miss Le Creevy shares with her young sitter her views on portrait painting:

"Ah! The difficulties of Art, my dear, are great. ...They are beyond anything you can form the faintest conception of," replied Miss La Creevy. "What with bringing out eyes with all one's power, and keeping down noses with all one's force, and adding to heads, and taking away teeth altogether, you have no idea of the trouble one little miniature is."

"... and then people are so dissatisfied and unreasonable, that, nine times out of ten, there's no pleasure in painting them. Sometimes they say, 'Oh, how very serious you you have made me look, Miss La Creevy!' and at others, 'La, Miss La Creevy, how very smirking!' when the very essence of a good portrait is, that it must be either serious or smirking, or it's no portrait at all."

"... because the sitters are always either the one or the other," replied Miss La Creevy. "Look at the Royal Academy! All those beautiful shiny portraits of gentlemen in black velvet waistcoats, with their fists doubled up on round tables, or marble slabs, are serious, you know ; and all the ladies, who are playing with little parasols, or little dogs, or little children - it's the same rule in art, only varying the objects - are smirking. In fact," said Miss La Creevy, sinking her voice to a confidential whisper, "there are only two styles of portrait painting ; the serious and the smirk; and we always use the serious for professional people (except actors sometimes), and the smirk for private ladies and gentlemen who don't care so much about looking clever."

[ABOVE] An illustration by Phiz (Hablot K. Browne) depicting the miniaturist  Miss La Creevy painting a small portrait of Kate Nickleby - a scene from Charles Dickens' novel "The Life & Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby"(1839).

 

Ellen Drummond, Eliza Drummond and Jane Drummond

 F. Ellen Drummond (born c1795), Eliza Anne Drummond (born 1799) and Jane Drummond (born 1803)

Miss Ellen Drummond (born c1795)

Ellen Drummond is believed to be the first child of the union between the artist Samuel Drummond and his second wife Rose Hudson. Samuel Drummond married Rose Drummond on 27th February 1794 and so Ellen was probably born around 1795. Some art exhibition records give the artist's name as Miss F. Ellen Drummond, so Ellen might have been her second Christian name.

Like other members of the Drummond family, Emily Drummond specialised in portraits of actors and actresses. Miss F. Ellen Drummond exhibited a portrait of the actor Charles Kean in the role of "Sir Edward Mortimer" at the Royal Academy in 1838. Sir Edward Mortimer was the leading character in George Colman's tragic drama "The Iron Chest". In 1841, Miss F. Ellen Drummond exhibited a picture showing "Mr Anderson in the role of Fernando" in Friedrich Schiller's tragedy 'The Bride of Messina'.

[ABOVE] A scene from Friedrich Schiller's tragedy "The Bride of Messina" (1803). In 1841, Miss Ellen Drummond exhibited a picture showing "Mr Anderson in the role of Fernando" in a Victorian production of Schiller's play.

At the Royal Academy in 1840, Miss Ellen Drummond exhibited a "Portrait of Mr. Moore as Francesco Agolante in the 'The Legend of Florence" a play by Leigh Hunt, and a miniature entitled "Portrait of a Lady". Another two miniatures  by Ellen Drummond and her  "Portrait of Mademoiselle Celeste in the character of Narranattah" was shown at the 1842 Royal Academy Exhibition. Narranattah was a character who featured in James Fenimore Cooper's story "The Wept of Wish-ton-wish", published in 1829.

Between 1839 and 1842, Miss Ellen Drummond was sharing a home and studio with her younger half-sister Rosa Myra Drummond at 87 Newman Street, London. By 1845, Ellen Drummond and Myra were living at 78 Wimpole Street, Cavendish Square, London.  A miniature of Mrs King painted by Miss Ellen Drummond was shown at the 1845 Royal Academy Exhibition

Miss Eliza Anne Drummond (born 1799)

Eliza Anne Drummond was born on 27th January 1799, the daughter of the artist Samuel Drummond and his second wife Rose Hudson. Like a number of her siblings, Eliza Drummond became a portrait painter and miniaturist.

Eliza Drummond exhibited a number of her portraits and miniatures at the Royal Academy between 1820 and 1843. In the 1822-1823 season, Eliza Anne Drummond was awarded a Silver Isis Medal by the Society of Arts for an original historical composition painted in oils. At this time Eliza was residing with two of her sisters Rose Emma Drummond and Jane Drummond, both of whom were miniature painters.

Eliza Drummond was particularly interested in the theatre and painted a number of portraits showing actors and actresses performing in popular plays of the day.

Around 1833, Eliza Drummond entered into a relationship with Charles Green. Eliza gave birth to a daughter named Dolores Drummond Green on 3rd February 1834. Sometime in the 1850s, Eliza Drummond and her daughter Dolores, also a trained artist, travelled to Australia "with the intention of practising art as a profession".

Eliza's daughter, Dolores Drummond Green, abandoned her art career to become an actress and by the mid 1850s she was performing in plays at Melbourne's Theatre Royal under the name of Dolores Drummond. Around 1857, Dolores married a man named Sprague, but she continued to perform under the name of Dolores Drummond. Dolores was the mother of five children - Rose Sprague (born c1858 Melbourne, Australia), Laura Sprague (born c1860 Melbourne, Australia), Dolores Sprague (born c1862, Melbourne, Australia), William George Sprague (born c1863, Melbourne, Australia) and Grace Sprague (born c1871, Dunedin, New Zealand). In New Zealand, Dolores performed under the name of "Dolly Green".

Eliza Drummond probably died in Australia, but her daughter Dolores Drummond Green (Mrs Dolores Sprague) returned to England in 1874 to pursue her acting career. Dolores Drummond Green's son William G. R. Sprague (1863-1933) became a famous theatre designer, being responsible for several great London theatres including Wyndham's Theatre (1899),The Camden Palace (1900) and The Aldwych (1905).

Miss Jane Drummond (born 1803)

Jane Drummond was the daughter of the artist Samuel Drummond and his second wife Rose Hudson. Jane Drummond was born in Soho, London, on 30th July 1803. Jane's baptism took place a month later at St Anne's Church, Soho, on 5th September 1803.

Jane Drummond was primarily a miniature painter. She exhibited her work at The Royal Academy between 1819 and 1833. Jane Drummond was awarded a large silver medal by the Society of Arts in 1821 for a portrait in fixed crayons. The following year, Jane Drummond was presented with a Silver Isis Medal by the Society of Arts for a  portrait copied in oils. These early works were copies of paintings by well-known artists, but in the 1825-1826 season, the Society of Arts awarded Jane Drummond a Silver Isis Medal for an original portrait miniature in watercolour. During this time, Jane Drummond was residing at 5 Rathbone Place, London with two of her artist sisters Rose Emma Drummond and Eliza Anne Drummond.

[ABOVE] A portrait miniature of an unknown lady  painted in 1825 by Jane Drummond (born 1803, London).

Between 1826 and 1833, Jane Drummond was earning her living as a professional miniature painter. Portraits painted in 1826 carry an address of 8 Soho Square, London (e.g. Miniature portrait of Mrs Felton painted in September 1826). The following year, Jane Drummond was working from 26 Oxford Street, London and she was still recorded at this address in March 1828. A review of an exhibition of miniatures at the Suffolk Street Gallery, published in the London Literary Gazette on 18th April 1829, singled out for praise a work by Jane Drummond : "The Lutist by Miss Jane Drummond, claims no small share of our admiration, from its beautiful character, design and execution."

Around 1830, Jane Drummond sailed for India, where she hoped to further her career as a miniature painter.

Jane Drummond in India

Jane Drummond arrived in India around 1831. The Journal of the Royal Society of Arts reported that Miss Drummond struggled to make a living as a miniature painter in India : "The Calcutta newspapers of 1831 declared that there was only one miniature painter in that city, namely, a Miss Jane Drummond, who had recently arrived and they added that, despite her ability, she was finding a dearth of patrons". Up until 1834, there were restrictions on the movements of British subjects in India. Miss Drummond appears to have persevered as she was recorded as a miniature painter in Calcutta between 1833 and 1835. During the time when sitters were scarce, Miss Drummond appears to have occupied her time by copying portraits by other artists. She is known to have made a copy of Nathaniel Dance's portrait of Robert Clive, the Governor of Bengal and, around 1833, painted a miniature portrait on ivory of Shah Jehan (1592-1666), the Mughal ruler of India who erected the Taj Mahal.

Fay L. Clark's family history website notes that Jane married a Major Barnard, but there is no indication whether this marriage took place in India.

[LEFT] A miniature entitled  "Mahajanie - Banpus", painted on ivory by Miss Jane Drummond around 1834. [RIGHT] A copy of Nathaniel Dance's portrait of Robert Clive of India. Miss Jane Drummond produced a similar copy around 1832.

 

 

 Julian Drummond (c1826-1906)

Julian Drummond was the youngest son of the artist Samuel Drummond (1766 -1844) and his third wife Ann Holanby (born c1786). Julian Drummond, who was born around 1826 in the St Anne's district of Soho, was the younger brother of the artist Rosa Myra Drummond (1816-1888). At the time of the 1841 census, Julian Drummond was living with his parents in Church Street, Soho, London. Julian is entered on the census return as "an engraver", aged 15. Julian's father, Samuel Drummond, is described on the census return as a seventy-five year old artist.

Julian Drummond became a portrait painter like his father. He began his artistic career in London, exhibiting his artwork at the Royal Academy and the Society of British Artists. By 1853, Julian Drummond was working as a portrait painter in Oxford. During the 1850s, Julian Drummond was commissioned to paint portraits of some of the leading scholars in Oxford, including Thomas Henry Ashhurst (1784-1857), Fellow of All Souls' College, Oxford, Charles Marriott (1811-1858), Vicar of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford and Revd. William Sewell (1804-1874) a former tutor at Exeter College, Oxford, and one of the founders of St Peter's College, Radley.

In 1860, Julian Drummond was in Whitby, North Yorkshire, where he married Mary Dowson (born 1833, Kirkby Moorside, Yorkshire), the daughter of Maria and John Dowson, a Whitby physician. At the time of the 1861 census, Julian and his wife were staying with Dr Dowson and his family in Whitby, Yorkshire. On the 1861 census return Julian Drummond is recorded as an "Artist - Portrait Painter", aged 36.

After their marriage, Julian and Mary Drummond settled in the City of Oxford. Julian Drummond's wife Mary gave birth to a son named Julian Edward Drummond in 1866. According to surviving documents, Julian Edward Drummond, was born in the Oxford district of "St Peter's in the East". A second son, Philip Maurice Drummond, was born in the same district of Oxford towards the end of 1871. During his time in Oxford, Julian Drummond artistic talents were utilised by the academic community of Oxford University. Around 1871, Drummond was commissioned by Sir Henry Acland (1815-1900), the Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford, to make copies of portraits of three famous physicians - Thomas Linacre (c1460- 1524), Thomas Sydenham (1624-89) and William Harvey (1578-1657).

When the 1881 census was taken, Julian Drummond and his family were residing at 11 Longwall Street, Oxford, within walking distance of the Colleges of Oxford University and not far from the Radcliffe Camera Library, one of his main employers. On the census return, Julian Drummond is described as a fifty-three year old "Portrait Painter", but he was also employed as an illustrator by Oxford academics. In a letter to Dr James Andrew, Sir Henry Acland, the Regius Professor of Medicine, commented on the fact that the Keeper of the Royal Academy had "sent down an excellent artist, Mr Julian Drummond, to complete the drawings and the diagrams". In the 1880s, Julian Drummond worked as the "Radcliffe Artist", a specially appointed artist who provided illustrations for the Radcliffe Library in Oxford. During his tenure as "Radcliffe Artist" created drawings which were turned into engraved illustrations for the books and journals produced by the academics of Oxford University. In 1884, Julian Drummond was asked to provide illustrations showing "Armour and Ornaments from Kertsch" for The Journal of Hellenic Studies. Drummond was later commissioned to make anatomical drawings of various creatures for the engraved illustrations in the 1888 edition of George Rolleston's "Forms of Animal Life : a manual of comparative anatomy". The book's author was the late George Rolleston, Professor of Anatomy and Physiology at Oxford University.

In addition to portrait commissions and book illustrations for Oxford academics, Julian Drummond occasionally produced genre paintings, portraying everyday life on the English coast [ e.g. "The Toy Yachts" (1876), "Mending the Nets" (1878), "The Shipwright and his Family" (1879).

By the late 1880s, Julian Drummond was residing in Brighton on the Sussex coast. Julian's sister Mrs Rosa Myra Pointer (1816-1888), also an artist and portrait painter, had lived in Brighton since the late 1850s. Julian Drummond lived with his wife and two sons at 13 Belgrave Place, Kemp Town, Brighton, a short distance from his sister's home in Bloomsbury Place.

The 1891 census, recorded the Drummond family at 13 Belgrave Place, Brighton. Julian Drummond, who gives his age as sixty on the census return, is recorded as an "Artist - Portrait Painter". By this date, Julian Drummond's eldest son, Julian Edward Drummond was also earning a living as a self-employed "Artist". At this time, Philip Maurice Drummond, Julian's nineteen year old brother, was "studying for the Law", yet he too eventually found work as a "Portrait Painter".

On 30th September 1897, Mrs Mary Drummond, Julian Drumond's wife of thirty-seven years, died at the family home in Belgrave Place, Brighton, "in her 63rd year". Julian Drummond remained living at 13 Belgrave Place, Brighton until his death in 1906 at the age of eighty-two.

Julian Edward Drummond (1866-1911)

Julian Edward Drummond, the eldest son of Mary and Julian Drummond senior, was also a professional artist, but ,instead of portraits, he specialised in genre subjects, usually depicting everyday scenes on the English coast ["A Fishergirl carrying the Catch (1895), "A Lass that Loves a Sailor", "The Fishergirl" (1899), "Having a Good Natter"(1909) ]. Julian Edward Drummond, like his father before him, made frequent visits to Whitby, a fishing port on the North Yorkshire coast. Whitby, which was the home town of his mother and grandparents, provided the subject matter for many of Julian E. Drummond's drawings and watercolours [e.g. "View of St Mary's Church, Whitby, from the Harbour" (1902), "Scene at Whitby with Fishermen"(1902),"Dock End, Whitby Harbour" (1904), "Boats in Whitby Harbour"(1905) and "A Home Day at Whitby"].

Julian Edward Drummond died in Brighton during the First Quarter of 1911, at the age of forty-four.

[ABOVE] "The Fishergirl"(1899), an oil painting signed and dated by Julian Edward Drummond (1866-1911).

[ABOVE] "A View of St Mary's Church and the Harbour at Whitby""(1907), a watercolour signed and dated by Julian Edward Drummond (1866-1911). Whitby, a fishing port on the North Yorkshire coast, had strong family connections to the Drummond family. Julian Edward Drummond's mother, Mary Dowson (born 1833  Kirkby Moorside, Yorkshire) was brought up in Whitby, Julian's parents were married in the seaside town, and his grandfather, Dr John Dowson (c1799-1867), was a physician in Whitby for many years. Given Julian Drummond junior's frequent visits to Whitby, it is likely that the Drummonds had a holiday home in the seaside town.
 
 
 
 
 

Further details about the Drummond Family can be found on Fay L. Clark's website :

The Clarks of Otter Creek and Related Families

[ABOVE] A group portrait of three children from the Muirhead Family, painted in 1853 by Julian Drummond (c1826-1906). James Patrick Muirhead (1813-1898), the children's father, was a Scottish  lawyer and author of a biography of James Watt, the famous engineer . James Patrick Muirhead was married to Katherine Elizabeth Boulton, the grand-daughter of Matthew Boulton, a manufacturer and business partner of James Watt. The three children in this portrait are Beatrix Marion Muirhead (born 1849), Francis Montagu Muirhead (born 1847) and Herbert Hugh Muirhead (born 1850). These three Scottish-born children were living with their parents at Haseley Court, Oxfordshire when this portrait was painted.

[ABOVE] "The Shipwright and his Family"(1879), an oil painting signed and dated by Julian  Drummond (c1826-1906).

The Linacre, Harvey and Sydenham Triptych

[ABOVE] Portraits of three famous physicians - Thomas Linacre, William Harvey and Thomas Sydenham - copies of paintings by Julian Drummond. Around 1871, Julian Drummond was commissioned by Sir Henry Acland (1815-1900), the Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford, to make copies of portraits of these three famous physicians from originals held by the Royal College of Physicians. Drummond's portraits of Linacre, Harvey and Sydenham were bequeathed to the University of Oxford after Sir Henry Acland's death in 1900, but copies had previously been made and presented to the Philadelphia University Hospital  in the United States and The Osler Library at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. (see above).

Thomas Linacre (c1460- 1524), a copy of a contemporary portrait by an unknown artist. The original painting, which was previously attributed to Hans Holbein, was in Windsor Castle.

William Harvey (1578-1657), a detail of a portrait formerly attributed to Cornelius Johnson (Jansen). Born in London, Cornelius Jansen (1593-1661) was the son of Dutch refugees.

Thomas Sydenham (1624-89), an engraving from a now lost portrait by Sir Peter Lely. Julian Drummond used Lely's portrait as a basis for his own portrait of Sydenham painted in 1871. Drummond would also have been familiar with the portrait painted in oils by Mary Beale (1633-1699).

Thomas Sydenham (1624-89). Theophilus Sydenham, a grandson of the physican, gave a portrait of Thomas Sydenham to the College of Physicians in 1748. The best known contemporary portrait of Thomas Sydenham was painted by Mary Beale in 1688.

[ABOVE] Portraits of three famous physicians - Thomas Linacre, William Harvey and Thomas Sydenham - used by Julian Drummond to make a set of portraits now known as "The Linacre, Harvey and Sydenham Triptych". William Osler (1849-1919), a distinguished Canadian physician, was presented with a copy of the Drummond's Triptych around 1896. Another copy of Drummond's Triptych was sent around the same time to the American physician William Pepper (1843-1898), to decorate a Laboratory of Clinical Medicine at Philadelphia. On 13th January 1897, Professor Osler wrote to Dr. Pepper explaining the picture's origins : "Drummond has sent me word with reference to the pictures. The Linacre was copied from a painting by Holbein; Sydenham from one by Sir Peter Lely; Harvey from the painting by Cornelius Jansen in the College of Physicians."

 

Acknowledgements & Sources

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS : Thanks to Fay L. Clark of Louisville, Kentucky, who is a direct descendant of the artist and portrait painter Samuel Drummond (1765-1844). Fay Clark has researched the family tree of Samuel Drummond and has produced a database that contains details of Samuel Drummond and his children, including Rosa Myra Drummond (1816-1888), the wife of Harry Pointer the Brighton photographer. Fay Clark's Drummond Family database appears at part of the RootsWeb WorldConnect project on Ancestry.com Fay Clark also has her own family history website The Clarks of Otter Creek and Related Families.

SOURCES : Books:  "Landmarks of a Literary Life, 1820-1892" by Mrs Newton Crosland [Camilla Dufour Toulmin] (Originally published in 1893 by S. Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, re-issued by Biblio Bazaar in 2008); "Helena Faucit (Lady Martin)" by Sir Theodore Martin (Blackwood & Sons, 1900) ; The Catalogues of The Royal Academy Exhibitions (1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1845,1846); "Women Artists in Nineteenth-century France and England" by Charlotte Yeldham (Taylor & Francis, 1984) ; "The Dictionary of Portrait Painters in Britain up to 1920" by Brian Stewart and Mervyn Cutten (Antique Collectors' Club,1997).

Articles: Entry for Camilla Dufour Toulmin in the Dictionary of National Biography.

Primary Sources : Trade Directories: Folthorp's General Directory for Brighton (1864); Page's General Directory for Brighton (1865,1876,1877,1879,1880,1881,1883, 1884, 1886, 1887,1888); Harrod & Co.'s Postal & Commercial Directory of Brighton (1867); Mathieson's Brighton Suburban Directory (1870). Kelly's Post Office Directory for Sussex (1866,1867,1870,1874,1878,1882,1887).

Census Returns: 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 & 1911.

Websites : Births, Marriages & Deaths Records on FreeBMD ; 1881 Census & International Genealogical Index on LDS Family Search. Census returns were also explored on the UK Census Collection featured on the ancestry.co.uk website, 1901 Census Online and the 1911 Census website. Information on the artist Samuel Drummond and his family was found in a database created by Fay L. Clark who has made her family history research available via the RootsWeb WorldConnect project at Ancestry.com. Fay Clark also has her own family history website The Clarks of Otter Creek and Related Families on FamilyTreeMaker Online at Genealogy.com.  Indexes on The National Portrait Gallery website. Digitized books on the American Libraries' Internet Archive website, the Open Library website and Google Books.

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You can read an account of the life and career of  Rosa Myra Drummond's husband, the photographer Harry Pointer, by clicking on the following link:

Harry Pointer- Brighton Photographer

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