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The Best of Sherlock Holmes |
Sidney Paget Paintings:
Part II of the Sidney Paget Original Art Checklist
by Randall Stock, July 22, 2012
While Sidney Paget is best-known for his illustrations, and particularly those for the Sherlock Holmes stories, he also produced many paintings. Part I, a census of Sidney Paget original drawings, lists all his known existing drawings to illustrate stories. This page, Part II, lists many of his extant paintings. I have reports of other paintings, but currently lack the details or photos needed to include them on this checklist.
If you know of other Paget paintings, especially ones owned by an institution or by an owner willing to provide details about the painting, please send me e-mail. As always I will keep owner and source identities private upon request.
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Portraits by Sidney Paget
These portraits include one painted for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a number depicting members of the Paget family, and some portraits of other people. If you know of other portraits, especially ones owned by an institution or by an owner willing to provide details about it, please send me e-mail. See the checklist notes for definitions and assumptions.
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Portrait of Sir Arthur Conan DoyleOwner: The Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Foundation The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle by John Dickson Carr (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1949), facing p. 148.
Description: Oil on canvas (43 1/4 x 33 1/2 inches), signed "SIDNEY PAGET | 1897" by the artist in the lower right corner.
History: Painted for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1897. Owned by his son Adrian Conan Doyle after his father's death, and taken by Adrian to the Château de Lucens in Switzerland by the mid-1960's. Held by the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Foundation after Adrian's death in 1970. Lent by the Foundation to the Sherlock Holmes Museum of Lucens in 2001 and on display there since that time.
Collection Notes: The Sherlock Holmes Museum of Lucens, Switzerland No online catalog. Exhibited: On display since June 2001.
Notes: Includes the family coat of arms in the upper right corner. Paget recorded this portrait at £52.10.0 in his account book entry for October 1897. (Last updated: 6/21/12) |
Paget Family Portraits
There are also reports of Sidney painting portraits of Robert Paget (Sidney's father), Martha Clarke Paget (his mother), Robert Ernest Paget (his oldest brother), and Winifred Paget (his daughter), but it's not known if these still exist. If you have information about them or any other family portraits, please send me e-mail.
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Portrait of Edith Hounsfield (Mrs. Sidney Paget)Owner: Descendant of Sidney Paget
Description: Oil painting (55 1/2 x 35 1/2 inches inside frame), signed "SIDNEY PAGET" by the artist in the lower left corner.
History: Exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1902. Owned by Sidney Paget and his descendants.
Notes: Held in a gilt frame. This three-quarter length portrait was probably done before their 1893 wedding. Paget family history has it that Sidney painted in the ring on her finger at a later date, and this could well have occurred shortly before the 1902 RA Exhibition in order to match the subject to its title of "Mrs. Sidney Paget." (Last updated: 6/20/12) |
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Portrait of Edith Hounsfield (Mrs. Sidney Paget)Owner: Descendant of Sidney Paget
Description: Watercolor painting (8 x 6 1/2 inches), initialed "S. P. | SEPTEMBER | 1890" by the artist in the lower left corner and captioned "REMEMBRANCE" at top in arc integral to the drawing.
History: Owned by Sidney Paget and his descendants.
Notes: Painted on the back of a cartoon drawing captioned "The Grand Old Cherub" and initialed "H E B" (almost certainly Herbert E. Butler). This half-length portrait was done two months after the couple first met in July 1890. They were married in June 1893. (Last updated: 6/20/12) |
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Portrait of Edith Paget (probably daughter of Sidney Paget)Owner: Granddaughter of Sidney Paget
Description: Oil painting.
History: Owned by Sidney Paget and his descendants.
Notes: This is probably a portrait of Sidney's second daughter and third child Edith Muriel Paget (1897-??). The subject might be Sidney's sister Edith Louise Paget (1872?-??), but that seems unlikely given the portraits of his other daughters and the time difference. This half-length portrait in profile is held in a gilt wooden frame. (Last updated: 7/5/12) |
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Portrait of Evelyn Merevale Paget (daughter of Sidney Paget)Owner: Granddaughter of Sidney Paget
Description: Oil painting.
History: Owned by Sidney Paget and his descendants.
Notes: Evelyn Merevale Paget (1899-1995) was Sidney's third daughter and fourth child. This quarter-length portrait is held in an ornate wooden frame and was probably painted between 1904 and 1908. (Last updated: 7/5/12) |
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Portrait of Beryl May Paget (daughter of Sidney Paget)Owner: Granddaughter of Sidney Paget
Description: Oil painting.
History: Owned by Sidney Paget and his descendants.
Notes: Beryl May Paget (1902-??) was Sidney's fourth daughter and fifth child. This quarter-length portrait is held in a gilt wooden frame and was probably painted between 1905 and 1908. (Last updated: 7/5/12) |
Other Portraits
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Portrait of Sir John Aird, Bart. M.P., Mayor of PaddingtonOwner: Westminster City Council
Description: Oil painting (59 1/2 x 39 1/2 inches inside frame), signed "SIDNEY PAGET | 1903" by the artist in the lower left corner.
History: Presented to Paddington Borough Council, which merged with the Westminster and Marylebone boroughs in 1965.
Notes: A full-length portrait held in a gilt frame with commemorative plaque at bottom. Aird was best known for damming the Nile, completing construction at Assuan and Assyût by 1902. See the article by Catherine Cooke listed in the Sources section for more details about this portrait. (Last updated: 6/21/12) |
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Portrait of Mr. Frank Dethridge, the Paddington Borough town clerk, 1903Owner: Westminster City Council
Description: Oil painting (approx. 59 1/2 x 39 1/2 inches inside frame), signed "SIDNEY PAGET | 1903" by the artist in the lower left corner.
History: Exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1903. Presented to Paddington Borough Council, which merged with the Westminster and Marylebone boroughs in 1965.
Notes: A three-quarter length portrait held in a gilt frame with commemorative plaque at bottom. Dethridge was Vestry Clerk of Paddington for 40 years and became the first Town Clerk of the Borough of Paddington in 1900. See the article by Catherine Cooke listed in the Sources section for more details about this portrait. (Last updated: 6/21/12) |
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Portrait of Dr. Richard Francis Weymouth, Headmaster of Mill Hill SchoolOwner: Mill Hill School
Description: Oil painting (approx. 40 x 30 inches), not signed or dated but with a plaque in the frame's lower edge identifying the subject and artist.
History: Commissioned by the Old Millhillians' Club in 1886 as a lasting memento to the School's Headmaster. Displayed at the Old Millhillians' Dinner in October 1886 and presented to the School in 1887. Exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1887.
Collection Notes: Mill Hill School Collection No online catalog. Exhibited: On display in The Octagon at the Mill Hill School The School also holds Paget's portrait of Sir William Henry Wills.
Notes: A three-quarter length portrait in scarlet robes at D.Litt. Weymouth (1822-1902) was appointed Headmaster of Mill Hill School in 1869 and retired in 1886. (Last updated: 6/25/12) |
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Portrait of Sir William Henry Wills (Lord Winterstoke), first chairman of Imperial TobaccoOwner: Mill Hill School
Description: Oil painting (approx. 4.5 x 3.5 feet), not signed or dated.
History: Exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1901. By 1912 it was held by Mill Hill School and resides there to this day.
Collection Notes: Mill Hill School Collection No online catalog. Exhibited: On display in The Octagon at the Mill Hill School The School also holds Paget's portrait of Dr. Richard Francis Weymouth.
Notes: This portrait of Sir William Henry Wills (1830-1911) was painted while he was a baronet. In 1906 he was raised to the peerage and became Lord Winterstoke. Educated at Mill Hill School, he was a major donor in later years and gave £10,000 to the School's centenary fund. In 1995 the School's Winterstoke House was converted to Grimsdell Pre-preparatory School. A study of this portrait was held by his adopted daughter, Janet Stancomb-Wills, circa 1912. (Last updated: 6/25/12) |
Sidney also painted portraits of some other people including Francis Barraud, Isaac Butler, and Mrs. Charles Van Raalte. Their current location is not recorded. If you have information about any of these portraits, or could get a photograph of them, please contact me.
Oil Paintings by Sidney Paget
These Sidney Paget oil paintings are listed in order by width, with the widest one given first. See the checklist notes for definitions and assumptions.
Outcast
Owner: Not known
Notes: Oil on canvas (48 x 96 inches), signed "SIDNEY PAGET" at lower right. Possibly depicting a "troupe of cavemen in the snow." Shown London, Royal Academy, 1899, no.557. Last reported as offered at a November 1997 Christie's London auction. Please contact me if you have a photo of it. (Last updated: 6/23/12)
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Figures resting in an extensive landscapeOwner: Not known
Notes: Oil on canvas (32 x 53 inches). Sold at auction in 2005. (Last updated: 6/15/12) |
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Figures on an upland track before a ruined castleOwner: Not known
Notes: Oil on canvas (40 x 50 inches) of an extensive landscape with people walking on a path below an old castle, signed "S. Paget" in the lower center. Sold at auction June 2011. (Last updated: 6/16/12) |
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View from Leigh WoodsOwner: Not known
Notes: Oil painting on canvas (31 x 38 inches). Last reported offered at auction March 2009. (Last updated: 6/23/12) |
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Travellers in an extensive river valley landscapeOwner: Not known
Notes: Oil painting (28 x 36 inches), signed. Last reported sold at auction July 2001. Image at left is a black & white reproduction. (Last updated: 6/21/12) |
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Landscape with fishermenOwner: Not known
Notes: Oil on canvas (20 x 30 inches), signed at lower right. Offered at auction December 2007. (Last updated: 3/16/08) |
Mountainous landscape
Owner: Leeds City Art Gallery
Notes: Oil on Canvas (20 x 30 inches), signed and inscribed by Paget. Probably acquired in 1889. Item 85a/1889. Staff at the gallery have not responded to queries – please contact me if you have a photo of it or know if it's on display. (Last updated: 7/5/12)
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Figures on a track in an extensive wooded landscapeOwner: Not known
Notes: Probably by Sidney Paget. Oil on canvas (18 x 26 inches), signed at lower left as "S. Paget." Sold at auction in 1997. (Last updated: 6/16/12) |
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Hunting scene with woman riderOwner: Descendant of Sidney Paget
Notes: Oil on canvas (15 x 24 1/2 inches), signed "Sidney Paget" at bottom right. Reported as a deathbed effort to raise money for his family, thus 1907 or January 1908. See also the next painting. Held in a gold-painted wood frame. (Last updated: 6/20/12) |
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Hunting scene with horse and dogsOwner: Descendant of Sidney Paget
Notes: Oil on canvas (16 x 24 inches). Reported as a deathbed effort to raise money for his family, thus 1907 or January 1908. Held in a gold-painted wood frame. (Last updated: 6/20/12) |
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Passage PerilousOwner: Granddaughter of Sidney Paget
Notes: Oil painting (11 x 22 1/2 inches) described as a rough study and known to the owner as "Passage Perilous." The brightly-colored painting includes a winged horse with rider and cherub-type characters. It's held in a gilt frame and displayed under a semicircular matte. This might be an early study or alternate version of the painting that Paget exhibited in 1905 at the Royal Academy entitled "The Passage Perilous." There are also reports of a Paget painting sold in 1972 known as "The Perilous Passage." (Last updated: 7/5/12) |
Wooded landscape with figures and horse by mill
Owner: Not known
Notes: Oil painting (29 x 21 inches), signed. Last reported at a Keys Fine Art Auctioneers December 1996 sale. Some reports have the dimensions reversed. Please contact me if you have a photo of it or other details. (Last updated: 6/23/12)
An angler by a rocky torrent
Owner: Not known
Notes: Oil on canvas (16 1/2 x 21 inches), signed "SE Paget." Sold at auction in February 1992 at Christie's London. Please contact me if you have a photo of it. (Last updated: 6/16/12)
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Travellers with a horse in a mountainous river landscapeOwner: Not known
Notes: Oil painting on board (13 x 20 inches), signed. Attributed to S Paget. Last reported offered at auction July 2003. (Last updated: 6/23/12) |
Watercolor Paintings by Sidney Paget
These Sidney Paget watercolor paintings are listed in order by width, with the widest one given first. See the checklist notes for definitions and assumptions.
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Angling below the waterfallOwner: Not known
Notes: Pencil and watercolor heightened with white (20 x 28 3/4 inches), of a waterfall with mountains to either side, signed "S. PAGET" in lower right. Sold at auction March 2006. (Last updated: 6/16/12) |
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River landscape with anglersOwner: Not known
Notes: Watercolor (17 x 28 1/2 inches) with fisherman and mountains in the background, signed "S. Paget" in lower right. Sold at auction May 2012. (Last updated: 6/16/12) |
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Two figures on a rock beside a waterfall in a glenOwner: Not known
Notes: Watercolor (19 x 28 inches). Last reported offered at auction June 2010. (Last updated: 6/23/12) |
Watercolour landscape with a waterfall, cottage, and fishermen
Owner: Not known
Notes: Watercolor landscape (17 x 27 inches) of a river with rocks and boulders in a mountainous region with two male fishermen and a female figure behind, signed ("S. Paget") at lower right. Sold at a December 1998 Sotheby's London auction by Norman L. Rosenbaum. Please contact me if you have a photo of it. (Last updated: 7/6/12)
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Dutch fishing boats and other shipping off the coastOwner: Not known
Notes: Watercolor (16 x 24 1/2 inches) signed, of several boats sailing. Last reported sold at auction September 2009. Probably the same painting described as "Off the French coast, coastal craft in choppy seas" and "Shipping in the Channel." (Last updated: 6/23/12) |
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Peasant women along a track in a landscapeOwner: Not known
Notes: Watercolor (17 x 24 inches), signed. Last reported sold at auction October 2000. (Last updated: 6/20/08) |
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Ships sailing in rough seasOwner: Not known
Notes: Watercolor (14 x 24 inches) with three boats in the foreground, signed "S. PAGET" in lower left. Also described as "Shipping boats in a swell." Sold at auction March 2010. (Last updated: 6/16/12) |
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Fisher folk by beached boatsOwner: Not known
Notes: Watercolor (13 1/2 x 21 inches) of five people and two beached boats in the foreground, signed. Sold at auction in 2008. (Last updated: 6/23/12) |
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Figures by a river with mountains beyondOwner: Not known
Notes: Watercolor (13 x 20 7/8 inches), of two figures by a river with two trees to their left, signed "S. PAGET" in lower left. Sold at auction August 2008. (Last updated: 6/16/12) |
A British bucolic scene
Owner: Private Collector
Notes: Watercolor (12 1/2 x 19 inches image area) signed "S. PAGET" in lower left , of a valley mountainside with clouds above, a ruined castle, two figures in the distance and two closer, the latter with one in blue and the other in gray. (Last updated: 7/3/12)
Checklist Key / Notes
Photos and painting titles/captions are provided to assist in identifying each item. Unless noted, these captions are based on descriptions used in auction catalogs or similar sources rather than text actually on the painting.
Dimensions are in inches, generally to the nearest quarter, and given as Height by Width. They are generally believed to be of the image area, not including any frame.
When reports differ on any aspect of a drawing, I typically provide what appears to be the most authoritative version. Abbreviated dates are in the American form of Month/Day/Year.
History is based on various published reports and some information from owners.
I have reports of other paintings, but currently lack the details or photos needed to include them on this checklist. If you know of other Paget paintings, especially ones owned by an institution or by an owner willing to provide details about the painting, please send me e-mail. As always I will keep owner and source identities private upon request.
Sidney Paget Exhibitions
See the Sidney Paget Exhibitions section from Part I of the census.
Sidney Paget Biography
See the Sidney Paget Biography section from Part I of the census.
Sources & Acknowledgements
See the Sources & Acknowledgements section of Part I of the census.
Please send me e-mail if you have additions, corrections or suggestions for this census.
More Sherlock Holmes Rarities
More Sidney Paget artwork is listed in Part 1 of the census of Sidney Paget original drawings.
This website has information on many Conan Doyle manuscripts, including both Sherlock Holmes and non-Holmes material.
The site also has details on other rarities, including a census of Beeton's Christmas Annual 1887 with the first Sherlock Holmes story, and a census of the rare first edition of "The Unique Hamlet", a Sherlock Holmes pastiche by Vincent Starrett.
While not rare, there are also lists of the each year's best Sherlock Holmes books & DVDs, the best Holmes stories, and the most famous Sherlock Holmes quotes
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Vers. 1.80bx Original work (stockpaget)
Copyright © 2012 Randall Stock. All Rights Reserved.