William Carpenter (painter)
Encyclopedia
William Carpenter was a watercolour artist
. He travelled for six or seven years in the 1850s painting scenes of India
, its people and its life. The Victoria and Albert Museum
bought over 280 of his paintings. In 1856 he painted Prince Fakhr-ud Din Mirza, the eldest son of Bahadur Shah II
, the last King of Delhi, five months before the Prince died.
and his wife, Margaret Painter
(born Geddes). His father was a keeper at the British Museum
and his mother was a noted portrait artist
. William entered the Royal Academy
Schools in 1835. He initially painted with oils
but quickly took to water colour.
and Ozias Humphrey
, were travelling in India too. Carpenter kept no diary, however his large collection of dated watercolour paintings allows his journey to be recreated. He travelled overland through Egypt
and arrived in Bombay in June 1850. Almost immediately he travelled to Poona where others were escaping the heat in the mountains. By the time he returned to Bombay in about December he had painted a school in the old Maratha Palace and views of the Shaniwar Palace
. He saw the new year in whilst visiting Salsette Island
, after he had spent Christmas Day painting Mount Mary's Basilica at Bandra. His paintings included a view of the Mahim Causeway
which had recently been built to join Salsette island to the mainland.
In 1851, Carpenter met Tara Chand, the court painter to Maharana Sarup Singh of Udaipur
and recorded that meeting with a painting of the Indian artist and his two sons. The painting shows Chand drawing – so he may have been drawing Carpenter at the same time.
Carpenter painted landscapes and portraits of local rulers. He made three annual trips to Kashmir
in 1853, 1854 and 1855. Carpenter painted the Golden Temple of Amritsar in 1854.
He travelled through the Punjab
, Afghanistan
and then to Rajasthan
before returning to England in 1857. An important painting he returned with was a portrait of Prince Fakhr-ud Din Mirza, who was the eldest son of Bahadur Shah II
, which he completed in February 1856. The prince died five months later, in July 1856. He and Carpenter missed the Indian Rebellion of 1857
when his brothers were killed.
. Carpenter later travelled to Boston, Massachusetts and was there in 1866, but it is not known how long he spent in America.
Carpenter had a one-man exhibition in South Kensington Museum in 1881 which included 275 paintings. After the exhibition all of the paintings were purchased by the new Victoria and Albert Museum. The museum still has dozens of his paintings which record India in the 1850s and at least one other painting that it bought in 1884 which still uses India as its subject.
He died still a bachelor in London in 1899.
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
. He travelled for six or seven years in the 1850s painting scenes of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, its people and its life. The Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
bought over 280 of his paintings. In 1856 he painted Prince Fakhr-ud Din Mirza, the eldest son of Bahadur Shah II
Bahadur Shah II
His Royal Highness Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar , also known as Bahadur Shah or Bahadur Shah II was the last of the Mughal emperors in India, as well as the last ruler of the Timurid Dynasty.He was the son of Akbar Shah II and Lalbai, who was a Hindu Rajput...
, the last King of Delhi, five months before the Prince died.
Early life
William Carpenter was born in about 1818. He was the eldest son of William Hookham CarpenterWilliam Hookham Carpenter
William Hookham Carpenter was a British Keeper of Prints at the British Museum.-Biography:Carpenter was born in Bruton Street, London on 2 March 1792. He was the son of James Carpenter, a bookseller in Old Bond Street. In 1817 Carpenter married Margaret Sarah Geddes who was a noted...
and his wife, Margaret Painter
Margaret Carpenter (painter)
Margaret Carpenter , born Margaret Sarah Geddes, was a British painter.Very famous in her time, she mostly painted portraits in the manner of Sir Thomas Lawrence. She was a close friend of Richard Parkes Bonington.-Biography:...
(born Geddes). His father was a keeper at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
and his mother was a noted portrait artist
Portrait painting
Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to depict the visual appearance of the subject. Beside human beings, animals, pets and even inanimate objects can be chosen as the subject for a portrait...
. William entered the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
Schools in 1835. He initially painted with oils
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
but quickly took to water colour.
India
William followed his brother abroad in the early 1850s and painted in India for some years. Other British painters, such as Johann ZoffanyJohann Zoffany
Johan Zoffany, Zoffani or Zauffelij was a German neoclassical painter, active mainly in England...
and Ozias Humphrey
Ozias Humphrey
Ozias Humphry was a leading English painter of portrait miniatures, later oils and pastels, of the 18th century. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1791, and in 1792 he was appointed Portrait Painter in Crayons to the King Ozias Humphry (or Humphrey) (8 September 1742 – 9 March 1810)...
, were travelling in India too. Carpenter kept no diary, however his large collection of dated watercolour paintings allows his journey to be recreated. He travelled overland through Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and arrived in Bombay in June 1850. Almost immediately he travelled to Poona where others were escaping the heat in the mountains. By the time he returned to Bombay in about December he had painted a school in the old Maratha Palace and views of the Shaniwar Palace
Shaniwar Wada
Shaniwarwada is a palace fort in the city of Pune in Maharashtra, India. Built in 1736, it was the seat of the Peshwa rulers of the Maratha Empire until 1818 when the Peshwas surrendered to the British...
. He saw the new year in whilst visiting Salsette Island
Salsette Island
Salsette Island is an island in Maharashtra state on India's west coast. The metropolis of Mumbai and the city of Thane lie on this island, making it the 14th most populous island and the fourth most densely populated island in the world, after Migingo Island in Kenya, Ap Lei Chau in Hong Kong,...
, after he had spent Christmas Day painting Mount Mary's Basilica at Bandra. His paintings included a view of the Mahim Causeway
Mahim Causeway
The Mahim Causeway is a vital link road connecting the city of Mumbai with its northern suburbs. The causeway links the neighbourhoods of Mahim to the south with Bandra to the north....
which had recently been built to join Salsette island to the mainland.
Udaipur
Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...
and recorded that meeting with a painting of the Indian artist and his two sons. The painting shows Chand drawing – so he may have been drawing Carpenter at the same time.
Carpenter painted landscapes and portraits of local rulers. He made three annual trips to Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
in 1853, 1854 and 1855. Carpenter painted the Golden Temple of Amritsar in 1854.
He travelled through the Punjab
Punjab (British India)
Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and then to Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
before returning to England in 1857. An important painting he returned with was a portrait of Prince Fakhr-ud Din Mirza, who was the eldest son of Bahadur Shah II
Bahadur Shah II
His Royal Highness Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar , also known as Bahadur Shah or Bahadur Shah II was the last of the Mughal emperors in India, as well as the last ruler of the Timurid Dynasty.He was the son of Akbar Shah II and Lalbai, who was a Hindu Rajput...
, which he completed in February 1856. The prince died five months later, in July 1856. He and Carpenter missed the Indian Rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
when his brothers were killed.
England
After his return Carpenter was able to sell his paintings as the basis of stories to the Illustrated London NewsIllustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
. Carpenter later travelled to Boston, Massachusetts and was there in 1866, but it is not known how long he spent in America.
Carpenter had a one-man exhibition in South Kensington Museum in 1881 which included 275 paintings. After the exhibition all of the paintings were purchased by the new Victoria and Albert Museum. The museum still has dozens of his paintings which record India in the 1850s and at least one other painting that it bought in 1884 which still uses India as its subject.
He died still a bachelor in London in 1899.