Ulric Walmsley 12 – Portraits

The Ulric Walmsley Catalogue Page 12 – Portraits PORTRAITS IN OIL were one of Ulric's specialities and the well-paid commissions he hankered after were an important source of income. His images of the local worthies largely reflect the preferences of his rather dour patrons. Those of his family are altogether lighter in both colour and tone. To view an enlargement in a new pop-up window, click on the image below.
Local fisherman (Oil, 1909, 37 x 26 cm) Cat no 069 Note: Was this evocative work, dating from when Leo was a teenager, the source for the story in Foreigners of Mike Regan's portrait, which caused Ulric so much anguish? Cyril Thompson as a boy in Robin Hood's Bay (Oil, 1907, 60 x 45 cm) Cat no 116 Note: A charming portrait and one of four done of the offspring of William Thompson, proprietor of the Dolphin, across the road from Ulric's house. Madonna and Child in woods with dog and children (Watercolour with pen and ink, 8 x 18 cm) Cat no 087 Note: Signed jointly by Ulric and his daughter Sheila. Ulric's grandchildren Harry and Sheila (Oil on canvas, 60 x 40 cm) Cat no 168 Note: Harry and Sheila were the children of Ulric's son Sydney. Rev. R Jermyn Cooper (Oil on canvas, 1919, life-size) Cat no 074 Notes: The Rev. Cooper was Vicar of Fylingdales from 1859 to 1916. Courtesy of the Robin Hood's Bay Museum Trust. Rev. B. D. Lloyd Wilson (Oil, 28 x 22 cm) Cat no 100 Note: The Rev. Lloyd Wilson was Vicar of Fylingdales in the early 1930s.	"Grannie" (Oil on canvas, 50 x 60 cm) Cat no 046 Notes: This is Ulric's most famous work, having been exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1954, half a century (or more) after it was painted. The sitter was not a relative of Ulric but a local model used by Stanhope Forbes and others in the Newlyn Colony. It is unclear whether Ulric was actually a pupil in the Forbes School of Painting set up in 1899 or (perhaps more likely) one of many young artists who found their way to Newlyn in the 1880s and 1890s to pursue realism, often painting en plein air. Ulric's portrait of the old Cornishwoman is very similar both in style and in the features of the model to a number of portraits by well known members of the Newlyn Colony in the period 1884-1895. The signature is untidy and only one other example is known. It is almost certainly from before 1900, most likely predates the stylised signatures that appeared from 1894 and is quite possibly from the mid-1880s. It seems unlikely that Ulric would have had either the freedom or the funds for a lengthy sojourn in Cornwall when he was married with several young children. Detail of female head (Oil on canvas, unsigned) Cat no 134 Notes: This head was part of an unfinished half or full-length portrait of an unidentified lady wearing a bright yellow dress or blouse. Note her striking red lips. The canvas was then cannibalised and the back of it used at least twice. The surface painting is shown on page 6 (Cat no 129). Sheila Walmsley (in her youth) (Pastel, 19 x 15 cm) Cat no 097 Notes: (Doris) Sheila Walmsley was born in 1901, the only daughter of Ulric and Jeannie. This charming portrait, with its subtle facial tones (compare the portrait of Jeannie in the Introduction), perhaps shows her in her late teens. Sheila Walmsley (as an adult) (Oil on canvas, 30 x 19 cm) Cat no 095 Note: Although it is difficult to gauge Sheila's age with any precision, this portrait must be one of Ulric's later works. Captain J W Readman, Master of the "Waynegate" cargo steamer (Oil, 35 x 25 cm) Cat no 068 Note: This refreshingly informal (and untypical) portrait was one of several works commissioned by Captain Readman in about the 1930s. Major-General (later Lord) Robert Baden-Powell (Oil, 66 x 50 cm) Cat no 022 Notes: Painted from the celebrated 1896 photograph by Francis Henry Hart. Courtesy of the Robin Hood's Bay Museum Trust.

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The Ulric Walmsley Catalogue

Page 12 – Portraits