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Frederick Cayley Robinson in ‘Country Life’
An article by Peyton Skipwith in the current issue of Country Life discusses the four large paintings by Frederick Cayley Robinson which are displayed at the entrance to the Wellcome Library. [1] The author calls Cayley Robinson “that rare phenomenon—an… Continue reading
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Two empresses and their sons
SS. Constantine and Helena. Russian painting on wood. Wellcome Library no. 34400i Empresses are rarely encountered. However a small Russian painting in the Wellcome Library records a bond between two empresses who lived fifteen centuries apart. As will be seen,… Continue reading
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Item of the month June 2009: The Jagannāth Triad
Wellcome Library no. 45182i Faced with these striking figures for the first time, one could be forgiven for bemusement: who or what are these goggle-eyed black-and-white minstrels? This and eight related paintings were bought by Sir Henry Wellcome at Stevens’… Continue reading
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Galileo and Jewish Emancipation
Milton visiting Galileo. Oil painting by Solomon Hart, 1847. Wellcome Library, London no. 45632i During his sojourn in Italy in 1638, the English poet John Milton visited Galileo who was then under house-arrest at Arcetri near Florence. Six years later,… Continue reading
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Robert Whytt portrayed from the life
Robert Whytt. Oil painting by G.B. Bellucci, 1738. Wellcome Library no. 665664i Robert Whytt (1714-1766) was both a practising physician in Edinburgh and a professor at Edinburgh University. His extensive writings record his search for answers to questions that… Continue reading
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Telescope and Paintbrush in Pisa
Galileo Galilei. Oil painting. Wellcome Library no. 45628i The summer of 2009 sees a wave of celebrations to mark the fourth centenary of Galileo’s first use of the telescope to observe celestial phenomena. In his birthplace Pisa, the exhibition Telescope… Continue reading
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Acts of Mercy by Frederick Cayley Robinson: now back on display
Hmm, these big white walls at the entrance to the Wellcome Library look rather bare and cold. What does it look like if we try putting a painting up? One with warm colours, like one of the four paintings of… Continue reading
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Unflowering fuchsia: the date of “No walk today”
“No walk today” by Sophie Anderson is a classic of Victorian genre painting, but it has not always been appreciated. The painting’s last owner paid only 14 guineas for it after it had failed to reach its reserve of 15… Continue reading
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Mrs Bennett — before and after
These two paintings are part of an archive of Georgian paintings and drawings which appear to come from Leeds. Works from this old Yorkshire collection have been appearing in dribs and drabs, from several different dealers, since 2004. This pair… Continue reading
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Acts of Mercy by F. Cayley Robinson (1862-1927)
ACTS OF MERCY is the collective title of four large oil paintings on canvas painted by Frederick Cayley Robinson (1862-1927) between 1915 and 1920 for the Middlesex Hospital in London. They had been commissioned for the hospital around 1912 by… Continue reading