Photographs
A selection of photographs depicting the painter John William Waterhouse are shown on this page. They include formal studio portraits together with informal family snapshots. Most of the photographs come from the John Physick Collection. The others are reproduced either in the Anthony Hobson 1980 monograph, or Jeremy Maas's Victorian Art World in Photographs.
John Physick (1923-2013) was the great-nephew of John William Waterhouse. I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to the late Dr. Physick for providing scans of photographs from his collection for this page.
Formal Photographs
Waterhouse aged 34, c.1883-5. Photograph by Antonio Sorgato, Venice.
Waterhouse aged 34, c.1883-5. Photograph by Antonio Sorgato, Venice.
Photograph of John William Waterhouse taken around 1883-5 (photographer unknown).
Photograph from H.S. Mendelssohn's Studio - 14 Pembridge Crescent, Notting Hill Gate. c.1886
In the artist's studio
Photograph by Ralph W. Robinson, 200 x 153 mm, published in Members and Associates of the Royal Academy of Arts, 1891, photographed in their Studios (1892). National Portrait Gallery, London.
The unfinished picture on the easel is an early study for the 1894 The Lady of Shalott. Among the items on the cabinet behind Waterhouse is an old statue reflecting his interest in classical antiquities: "It is recorded of his childhood that a fragment of Pompeian fresco was his most cherished treasure." Waterhouse lent a statue to an exhibition of Ancient Greek Art at the Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, in 1903. "Small Marble Torso of Aphrodite to below the knees. Traces of a puntello on the lower part of the torso show that the left hand was brought in front of the body with the gesture of the Venus dei Medici. On the left shoulder long strands of hair. Found at Rome in the Ludovisi quarter."
JW Waterhouse at his easel in his studio at 10 Hall Road, St John's Wood, London.
He is working on the 1909 version of Lamia, with his dog beside him.
Photograph by Mendelssohn, c.1886.
Waterhouse in his studio.
He is at work on A Song of Springtime (1913), which is already in a frame, so perhaps Waterhouse is touching it up, ready for an exhibition. Flora and the Zephyrs (1898) is hanging on the wall behind him.
Family photographs
Waterhouse sitting in a garden, with his dog
Waterhouse standing in a conservatory, possibly at Clippesby Hall.
The current owner of Clippesby Hall, Norfolk, emailed on 12th March 2008 to share the information that he believed this photograph was taken in the conservatory at Clippesby Hall. Clippesby Hall was the home of Peregrine Feeney who had married Waterhouse's sister-in-law, Emily. The conservatory was pulled down and replaced in 2007 after becoming unsafe.
Waterhouse walking his Aberdeen terrier along Hall Road.
The photo was taken in Hall Road facing towards Hamilton Terrace. The tower like building in the distance on the right hand side is there today, at the junction of Hall Road with Hamilton Terrace. c. 1914 or 1915.
(Thanks to Rob Cartwright for this information).
Group photographs
A photograph showing Waterhouse standing top left with Maurice Greiffenhagen beside him. The seated people are Mouat Loudan, GD Armour with a dog on his lap and an unidentified woman. The photograph is undated but probably dates around 1891-1892 and was taken at Primrose Hill Studios.
Taken from the book Bridle and Brush: Reminiscences of an Artist Sportsman by George Denholm Armour.
Continue reading:
The Final Resting Place
John William Waterhouse died on 10th February 1917. Following a funeral service held at St Mark's Church in St John's Wood, London, Waterhouse's body was taken to be buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in northwest London.
Read more »
Reminiscences from 'Bridle and Brush' by George Denholm Armour
John William Waterhouse occupied a studio at Primrose Hill Studios, a purpose built artists' community in north London, from 1878 until 1900. His fellow artists included William Logsdail, Maurice Greiffenhagen, and George Denholm Armour (1864-1949). G.D. Armour later wrote about his memories of the community in Bridle and Brush, published in 1937.