While I would have rather it be a long lost painting by Nino :) ... finding Waterhouse mentioned in a lot of Christie's upcoming sale ... The Country House Sale - Newton Hall ... proved an opportunity to learn more about his friend, Edward Onslow Ford.
Lot 202 is described as:
AN ARCHIVE OF LETTERS, PHOTOGRAPHS AND MEDALS PERTAINING TO THE LIFE AND MILIEU OF ARTIST EDWARD ONSLOW FORD, R.A. (1852-1901)
Included in the archive are: “two small framed cards bearing the signatures of fellow artists including William-Adolphe Bouguereau, John William Waterhouse, Stanhope Alexander Forbes, Frank Dicksee and others”.
Julia wrote about Edward Onslow Ford in the English Heritage Blue Plaque article ... towards the end under, "Other places of interest":
“Bonus two is that a little further on, at the junction of Grove End Road with Abbey Road, you will find the delightful sculpture commemorating the sculptor Edward Onslow Ford (1852-1901), RA, which was erected by his friends and admirers. Waterhouse and Ford were friends, and, at one stage, served alongside each other on the Council of the Royal Academy. The monument, a copy of the Muse which Ford himself designed for his Shelley monument in University College Chapel, Oxford, is accompanied by a bust of Ford by A. C. Lacchesi. The monument was unveiled by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema in 1903. Attendees at the Unveiling included Waterhouse.”
In addition to being a memorial to Ford, an article in the 'Art Notes' section of the New York Times - July 28, 1903 shared:
“… in the course of his address Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema informed his listeners that the monument was raised at St John’s Wood not merely because Ford lived there for many years, but because this part of London is a favorite residence for artists and authors. From certain allusions it was inferred St John’s Wood might possibly suffer from the changes that occur in great cities. The monument was in the nature of a protest against any radical alteration of the place which might make it no longer available for such residence.”
From Archiseek Memorial Archive
(Photographs one and two remind us that the monument is at the corner made famous by The Beatles ... in that Abbey Road album photo. :)
A posting at the blog, Eloge de l'Art par Alain Truong, gives background information about the families of Newton Hall.
But, the Edward Onslow Ford connection is explained in the notes for the painting, Portrait of Clothilde Enid Widdrington, née Onlsow Ford (1877-1952):
“Clothilde Enid (1877-1952), daughter of Victorian artist and sculptor Edward Onslow Ford, R.A. (1852-1901) married firstly Philip Riviere and secondly Brigadier-General Bertram Fitzherbert Widdrington (1873-1942) in 1912.”
Her first husband, Philip Riviere, was the son (I believe) of Briton Rivière ... there is a painting by Rivière in the sale. (He did have a son named Philip, but I couldn't find more information about him.)
The notes continue, "Clothilde was painted by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema in 1888 and together with her brothers Rudolph (b.1875), Wolfram (b.1877) and Max (b.1883); father of surrealist painter Gordon Max Onslow Ford (1912-2003), grew up amidst the artistic milieu occupied by their father and his fellow Royal Academicians.”
If you search just Onslow Ford, you see all the works in the sale associated with the family. Including a portrait of Edward by Sir Hubert von Herkomer.
----------
Waterhouse's The Magic Circle was one of the Chantrey purchases in 1886.
Edward Onslow Ford's bronze sculpture, Folly, was also purchased by the Council of the Royal Academy that year. (Along with Andrew Carrick Gow's painting, Cromwell at Dunbar.)
Both Nino and Edward were elected a full Academician in 1895. Waterhouse was elected first, on 16 May 1895 and Ford on 26 Jul 1895. Peter Trippi wrote, "Still basking in the acclaim that had greeted 'Saint Cecilia' two weeks earlier, Waterhouse watched on 16 May 1895 as his colleagues elected him over his former classmate, E.O. Ford."
Here are links to the entry for Ford found in the Dictionary of National Biography ... and one at The Victorian Web.
(Maybe next time it will be a long lost Waterhouse painting. :)
--------------------
(Just as an aside ... in looking for information, I found that the Christie's sale is also of interest (for another reason) to the person who writes the blog, Two Teens in the Time of Austen – Emma Smith and Mary Gosling.) :)