| Description | Volume XII is made up of correspondence to/from Watts and his Victorian contemporaries mostly in alphabetical order by surname.
The correspondence includes letters with Henry Austin Bruce Aberdare, 1st Baron regarding Watts' need for a pony, preferably a Welsh pony; with J. B. Mirrlees regarding 'The Island of Cos' painting and the presence of a butterfly in the work; with James Granville Adderley regarding art as a service for good, being spiritual, ethical and symbolical, that Watts has not been a portrait painter for the past 35 years; with James Allan regarding art works as endeavours of philosophical religion, Allan's poem 'Prometheus'; with William Blake Atkinson regarding Atkinson's poetry; with Marianne Margaret Alford regarding Alford's school of needlework in South Kensington, the arts; with Henrietta Octavia Barnett regarding Mrs Barrington, Watts exhibiting his work 'Dawn' at an exhibition at the Royal Academy, the direction of the Grosvenor Gallery, the separation of art and commerce, the New Gallery, the 'Angel of Death' painting; with Henry Thomas Mackenzie Bell regarding a biography of Christina Rossetti; with George Augustus Frederick Cavendish Bentwick regarding the painting of Bentwick's children, the fresco at the Houses of Parliament, a wall painting in a Church in Westminster, a portrait of Mrs Bentwick, a portrait of Lady Frederick; with Lord Brownlow regarding a statue; with Mary Vere Perceval (née O'Brien) regarding Watts writing to her as a child, a reminiscence of Watts and letters with Annie J. Bryan relating to a memorial to commemorate heroic deeds, Watts not caring for money and no longer painting portraits; with Julia Margaret Cameron regarding Watts writing to The Times about the practice of photography, a portrait by Watts of Henry Taylor, Watts giving advice and praise on Cameron's photography, a disagreement between Mrs Tennyson and Cameron over Watts' work, Blanche, the Prinseps; with Lord Archibald Campbell regarding praise for Campbell's painting, Watts' working and painting practice, the Grosvenor Gallery, the building of the Chapel at Compton; with Frances Christina Baldwyn regarding a statue of Thomas Cholmondeley Owen; with Ester Leonora Clench regarding guidance on painting and the study of nature, a series of manuscript notes by Clench, health, the Royal Academy, the New Gallery, Clench giving up the violin, the study of art; with Arthur Collins regarding the Order of Merit award; with Henriette Corkran regarding Watts' advice on becoming an art critic, Corkran finishing a work for the Royal Academy; with Ethel Coxan (later Earl) regarding Watts' offer of a D. L. C. from Oxford University, the representation of artists lives, Coxan as an arm model for Watts; with Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke regarding Watts' portrait painting of Dilke and the arrangement of portrait sittings, Watts portrait pricing, John Stuart Mill and Watts' portrait of him, health, Charles Couzens as an engraver, Rajon as an etcher; with Warwick H. Draper regarding Watts' fresco as the only fresco on a public wall in England; with George Duckworth; with Frank H. Edminson regarding advice in painting and painting technique; Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl, regarding the Boer War, Watts' idea of having training schools for children, the death of Cecil Rhodes, the painting 'Faith, Hope and Charity', a statue of Tennyson; with Andrew Kinsman Hichens regarding Watts' honeymoon and his painting whilst abroad, a pastel work to be sent to the Royal Academy, the death of Matthew Arnold, Mrs Barrington's prospect of the dedication to everyday heroism, socialism of cooperation, the 'Angel of Death' painting having been inspired by the death of Mary Seton Watts' nephew, the Government of Victoria, Australia buying a portrait of Tennyson, Watts' painting of an old white horse, financial issues, declining Gladstone's offer of baronetcy; with Mrs Catherine Holiday regarding a visit, Watts being away from Little Holland House over winter, Watts' ill health, Watts completing works for the opening of new rooms at the Tate Gallery; with Dorothea Hollins; with Thomas Coghan Horsfall regarding Watts' ill heath, the studio, 'Love and Death', 'Love and Life', poetic ideas for painting, the improvement of the nation, that manufacturing towns should have art galleries, St. Jude's of Whitechapel, the 'people's palace', Britain's role as a great nation, the Home Arts Institution, the 'Court of Death' painting; with Hyde regarding a bereavement.
Material is made up of bound and loose letters arranged in intellectual order referring to the running order of letter numbers, awarded prior to the collection's dismantlement. Items sold in separate lots not bought by the National Portrait Gallery may be held at other institutions or in private collections. |