14750
- TitleQueen Victoria, 1850 / oil painting by Joseph Backler
- Creator
- Call numberML 1144
- Level of descriptionfonds
- Date
1850 - Type of material
- Reference code14750
- Physical Description1 painting - oil on canvas - 91 x 71 cm, on cedar strainer
- Collection historyAcquired by the donors' mother, and thence by descent to the donors.
- Access Conditions
Access via appointment - Copying ConditionsOut of copyright:
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales - General note
Queen Victoria (1819-1901) was a prominent figure in the decorative schema of most domestic and public spaces. Imported portrait prints, or engravings of significant events in her reign - such as her 1838 coronation and 1840 marriage - could be found on most colonial walls. Locally Theresa Walker sold wax medallions of her, and Maurice Felton's two highly regarded oil portraits where included in his art union of 1841. Like Felton's portraits, Backler's compostion was based on an English engraving (a copy is in the National Portrait Gallery, London). It is said that this image came from the Maitland district, and was presumably commissioned by someone who wanted an obvious symbol of their support for the Empire. Unlike the plain realism of most Backler' portraits, Queen Victoria is shown smoothly idealised as befits the importance of the subject.
It is believed that when purchased by the donors' mother, both works were framed in ornate gilded frames. They may have originally been hung in a public building in Maitland. - Signatures / Inscriptions
Signed and dated lower right in red brushpoint 'J. Backler 1850' - Name
- Subject
- Topic
- Exhibited in
The Picture Gallery 2: Backler & friends - aspects of portraiture in colonial Sydney - State Library of New South Wales (15 November, 1999 - 16 July, 2000)
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