Information

This is one of two portraits in the Birmingham collection which have traditionally been described as studies of the artist Daniel Casey (active 1842-1880). Born in Bordeaux to Irish parents he specialised in historical and biblical scenes, particularly those depicting horses. Brown met Casey in 1837 when they studied under Baron Wappers at the Antwerp Academy and shared lodgings at the Hotel du Pot d'Etain. Following their studentship they both relocated to Paris where Casey remained after Brown moved to England in 1844. From 1842 until 1880 he exhibited paintings such as 'St Loius in the Desert at the Salon' and, despite commissions from the French Government monetary success evaded him. After his first wife's death in Paris in 1846 Brown was helped by the Caseys to raise enough money to bring the body home. He pawned valuables and left art materials with the family. Two years later Brown returned to Paris to visit Daniel Casey and stayed almost three weeks with his friend. He wrote happily of the holiday in his diary recording 'Went to Paris to see my old friend Casey & buy a lay figure. Did both, enjoyed myself much, painted a portrait of Casey, worked about 7 hours at it' (Virginia Surtees, ed., 'The Diary of Ford Madox Brown,' p. 145). These studies of Casey are likely to have been made made by Brown during the visit, and finished in London, for the portrait (now lost). They were lifelong friends and Brown owned several of Casey's paintings; after Brown's death four appeared in the sale catalogue of his household contents. Following Casey's death in 1885 Brown arranged for Frederick Stephens to write an obituary in the Athenuaem and organized a raffle which raised £32 for his impoverished widow and family. Brown gave Horses in a Storm, a painting he commissioned from Casey, and his own painting Platt Lane (1884, Tate) as prizes. In this study Casey is shown turned slightly to the left and with a beard. Mary Bennett has suggested that it may not be a portrait of Casey but possibly a head study for the figure of Shakespeare in the discarded triptych 'The Seeds and Fruits of English Poetry' (1845-53, oil on canvas, Ashmolean Museum). Several diary entries made in May 1848 make this suggestion more plausible. On 31 May Brown records that he 'drew 4 hands from Fry the Model.' The next day he notes 'drew his head for Shakespear [sic]' and on 2 June he 'drew Fry's head for Spencer' ('The Diary of Ford Madox Brown,' p. 42). The other portrait (1906P721) in the Birmingham collection does match the pose of Spencer in the oil sketch for 'The Seeds and Fruits of English Poetry.' However, this idea remains speculative and as Bennett herself points out "Fairfax Murray surely saw the Casey Self Portrait in the artist's executive sale" in 1894 and as the original owner of drawings must have provided the initial indentification (see 'Ford Madox Brown: The Unofficial Pre-Raphaelite,' p. 52). LM

  • Purchased and presented by subscribers, 1906.
  • © Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery

Makers

Association Artist Organisation
Artist Ford Madox Brown -

Inscriptions

Type Position(s) Method Date(s) Notes
Ford M Brown London/48
Signature and date bottom right Handwritten 1848 Brown ink.
 

Literature

Author(s) Date(s) Publisher Pages
City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery: Catalogue of the Permanent Collection of Drawings
A E Whitley 1939 Bemrose & Sons Ltd, Derby p. 46
 
Ford Madox Brown: The Unofficial Pre-Raphaelite
Laura MacCulloch, Tessa Sidey 2008 D. Giles Limited, London p. 68
 
Ford Madox Brown: The Unofficial Pre-Raphaelite
2008 D. Giles Limited, London p. 25

Associated people

Name Type
Daniel Casey Depicted

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