Description
Book SynopsisThe first full edition of the correspondence, between three artists Joanna Boyce, her brother George P. Boyce and Henry Wells, who she eventually married. It dates from the period 1845 to 1861, and covers artistic life in both Paris and London, including the Pre-Raphaelites. This correspondence, between three artists Joanna Boyce, her brother George P. Boyce and Henry Wells, whom she eventually married, dates from the period 1845 to 1861. They were all friends of Rossetti and the Pre-Raphaelite circle, but in addition Henry and Joanna both studied in Paris, and Joanna wrote extensively about her time there, training with Thomas Couture. She wrote for The Saturday Review as well as painting a small number of very interesting and much admired pictures. Her brother George established himself as a successful watercolourist and member of the Old Watercolour Society, having been encouraged both by David Cox on his Welsh sketching expeditions,and by Ruskin, whose letters advising him what to paint in Venice are included here. Henry Wells was primarily a portrait painter. At first he specialised in miniatures, and was commissioned to paint Mary, princess of Cambridge byQueen Victoria. There are vivid accounts of visits to country houses to carry out commissions from their owners. The three wrote constantly about techniques of painting and about the new colours that became available at this period, and about their visits to exhibitions both in Paris and London. They all contributed to the Royal Academy and other exhibitions. In addition, there is the extraordinary story of Joanna's and Henry's courtship and marriage, at first encouraged and then viciously opposed by Joanna's recently widowed mother. The correspondence survives only in an unpublished transcript made in the 1940s, as the originals were all destroyed in a bombing raid on Bath during the second world war. Excerpts from George P. Boyce's diaries were published in the 1930s, but the present edition contains a considerable amount of new material.
Trade ReviewIt is finally hearing the voice of Joanna Boyce Wells which is truly remarkable and makes this publication one of the most important of the last decade...The writing of the artists and editors alike is enjoyable and readable...[It] is a wonderful achievement that will greatly aid historians, and equally delight those with a keen interest in the period. * PRE-RAPHAELITE SOCIETY REVIEW *
Table of ContentsGeneral Introduction Memoir by Alice Street, including diaries and letters to 1855 Letters and diaries 1855 Letters and diaries 1856 Letters and diaries 1857 Letters and diaries 1858 Letters and diaries 1859 Letters and diaries 1860 Letters and diaries 1861 Epilogue: 1862 onwards Essays by Alice Street Reviews G. P. Boyce's Diaries, 1848-1875 Appendix I: The Short Memoir Appendix 2: Table of entries not in the printed edition of The Diaries of George Price Boyce Abbreviations Bibliography
