Paintings research 14/5/2024
Who was Ella Jacob?
I was recently asked to examine a large painting in the small church of All Saints, Chicklade. Wiltshire. It is a large triptych of the Crucifixion with Saints on either side and is a copy of a fresco in a church in Florence by Perugino (1445-1523). The painting was discoloured by years of dust but was in relatively good condition. There was evidence of some previous restoration to strengthen outlines of figures and regilding of halos. However, what intrigued me was the artist. The only information I was given was that it was by Eleanor (Ella) Jacob and had been in the church since 1888. A quick search on the internet mentioned an earthenware vase with carved decoration by Ella which is in the Victoria and Albert Museum and their records indicated that it was a student piece from her time at the Salisbury School of Art. However, there was no information about her paintings.
Fortunately, a genealogist, David O’Connor, helped to unravel the mystery. His search through birth, death and marriage records as well as contemporary newspapers and other information in the national archive records began to build a picture of this elusive artist. Within three weeks he had unearthed over 80 historical documents. Her family lived in the Cathedral Close in Salisbury, her father, John Henry Jacob, was a Justice of the Peace, the family was wealthy and well connected in Wiltshire. Ella attended the Salisbury School of Art and subsequently exhibited her paintings in exhibitions in Salisbury, London, Bournemouth, and Dorchester. She also produced painted scenery for theatres in Trowbridge and other venues.
Further research into the family provided a link to Anton Jacob, the last direct descendant of John Henry Jacob, Ella’s father. During a visit to his house, we unearthed John Jacob’s diaries of the late 19th century and letters to Edward Jacob, Ella’s brother who had moved to Sweden. Ella often visited her brother as they shared an interest in painting and through this link, his descendants have been able to provide images of her watercolours. One is of a scene in Italy which was the first definite link to her travelling there. Exhibition catalogues listed scenes from other European countries, but I have yet to find diaries or letters about her travels in Europe.
Although I began to collect information about her paintings, there were unanswered questions, particularly who commissioned this large painting and how did she manage to produce such a good copy as the original was in Italy? In 1849, the Arundel Society was established to promote the arts by publishing chromolithographs of great European paintings, particularly Italian. We discovered that Edward Kaiser had produced a small watercolour of the painting for the Society which was subsequently made into a chromolithograph. These were available through print sellers such as Brown and Co in Salisbury and she may have purchased a print from them.
I was curious to know the connection between Ella, her painting, and the church. A search of church faculties did not provide any information. As her father was a canon at Salisbury Cathedral, his connection may have enabled him to arrange for Ella to undertake the painting for the church. However, there is no correspondence in the Cathedral archives to confirm this theory. Ella was well connected to local aristocratic families such as the Pembrokes and the Fitzwilliams and research into their archives might provide more information.
On her death, Ella left her fortune and personal effects to her twin sister, Edith, and Edith’s deceased daughter’s second husband, Francis Alfred Spencer. The search has now begun to trace descendants who might have inherited any letters, diaries, sketches or paintings belonging to Ella which might answer my remaining questions.
As more information about Ella and her painting is discovered, it is hoped that funds can be raised to conserve her painting and give Ella the recognition she deserves. Like so many amateur female artists of the 19th century, their artistic achievements and lives remain poorly documented.
Post created by Christine Sitwell 14 May 2024
Conservation and volunteering at Southwark Cathedral
Southwark Cathedral and The Shard credit: Tristan Surtel/Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Trusted Conservators network conservator Katy Lithgow recently attended her first Fabric Advisory Committee (FAC) meeting at Southwark Cathedral, succeeding longstanding committee member, and former parishioner, Gillian Lewis.
Southwark Cathedral (https://cathedral.southwark.anglican.org/) is an historic oasis in a busy site of urban development around London Bridge and the Shard, surrounded by cafes and restaurants, now beginning to buzz again as lockdown eases. This soaring and contemplative space houses many historic features including monuments to significant and lesser known former parishioners, such as John Gower, C14th poet, friend of Chaucer, and author of Confessio Amantis; William Shakespeare (in the company of many theatrical colleagues); and the C17th Dr Lionel Lockyer, (in)famous for his universally effective pills extracted from the sun’s rays.
Combining pastoral work with the duties of heritage custodian means the Church calls upon the volunteer services of many heritage professionals in its governance. FACs advise on priorities, approaches and standards of work affecting historic fabric and collections.
This first face to face meeting since lockdown showed FAC members the conservation projects completed and underway since the last face to face meeting 18 months ago. It is fantastic that such critical treatment has continued during the pandemic.
One such project was the recent conservation by Skillington Workshop (http://www.skillingtons.co.uk/), led by Dr David Carrington ACR, of the Prior’s Doorway and adjacent stoup. These are important survivals of the 1106 Priory incorporated in the current building. Cleaning and consolidation have been sensitively carried out to remove disfiguring and damaging sooty sulphation and repair the fragile stonework. Chiefly Caen stone, a fine grained limestone popular since it was introduced by the Normans, although some types caused problems in the polluted atmosphere accompanying C19th construction, it includes Taynton stone (an Oxfordshire oolitic limestone recorded as being quarried in Doomsday) and Reigate stone, notorious for failure since at least the C15th and condemned by Sir Christopher Wren. The same soft ‘freestone’ properties that make this sandstone so attractive to carvers render it very vulnerable to pollution and water-based deterioration, often made worse by later cement-based repairs and building work. Widely used in the medieval period in the south east, including many London palaces and cathedrals, Reigate stone’s deterioration has been comprehensively studied by HRP in collaboration with Oxford (https://heritagesciencejournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40494-020-00424-w) as has the deterioration of Caen stone (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13556207.2008.10785030).
Priors Doorway, C12th capitals, columns and bases after conservation completed in March 2021 by Skillingtons Workshop, by kind permission of Southwark Cathedral/Jackie Hall
Southwark’s physical survival today is due to comprehensive C19th repairs and rebuilding using these well-intentioned materials. Cement forms the adjacent floor and embeds the Victorian flint knapped facing on the walls seen beside the capitals, which also replaced the crumbling façade, and was also used in the Victorian reconstruction of the nave. But cement leaves a legacy of salt efflorescence, powdering and surface loss that will continue to be a risk and require careful conservation maintenance and repair.
Public access to view the Prior’s Doorway is currently limited by double doors which lead to the adjacent Vestry, coincidentally also protecting the fragile carvings from wear and tear. So ways of improving access are bound to be a subject to which the FAC will return….
Post created by Katy Lithgow 28 June 2021