F. Rolleston, Painter
Frances Rolleston named Hebrew, poetry and astronomy as her three passions, but if painting was not a passion, it was certainly close to it. She painted until confined to bed, three days before her death—one month short of her eighty-third birthday. She did not find her longevity as an artist unusual. After all, she noted, Titan painted till he was ninety. The fact that she was a long-lived lady artist, however, had its drawbacks. To a friend who was marketing some of her paintings she wrote, “I want you to show them at some ‘fancy-shop’ or bazaar-stall, carefully concealing that they are done by a lady, and above all by an old lady—that ruins all, people can’t believe their eyes, when they hear that.”
In 1863 when a friend was exhibiting some of her paintings, Frances asked her to write clearly on the backs of them, “By Frances Rolleston, from the teaching of John Varley, Sen., and Copley Fielding, during many years, between 1807 and 1818.” Her ages would thus have been 36 to 47. Her acquaintance with Fielding and his wife, however, extended beyond those years. Praise Frances received from Fielding brought her great delight. January 1852 she wrote, “Copley Fielding’s more than praise, sympathy with my paintings has been a bright day in my life.” The day was all the brighter because he invited her to send some paintings to exhibit with his own in April. The following year she mentioned more praise from him: "Copley Fielding said my outlines were so accurate that he could name every mountain.” This was especially meaningful because Fielding had grown up in the Lake District where Frances then lived and painted.
Near the end of her life Frances listed her five art masters: W. Parsons, an Italian traveler and member of the Royal Academy, who had “hoards of fine prints to teach from;” John Glover (1767-1849) romantic painter of landscapes in Great Britain, southern Europe, and finally Australia; John Varley (1778-1842) who helped found the Water-Colour Society in 1804, and preferred painting scenes of everyday life that included dogs and children; Copley Fielding (1787-1855) whose painstaking perfection of surface and visual effect so prized by Regency and Victorian art consumers made him rich, and Henry Gastineau (1791-1876), engraver, topographer and landscape artist, who also praised FR's work.
In 1863 when a friend was exhibiting some of her paintings, Frances asked her to write clearly on the backs of them, “By Frances Rolleston, from the teaching of John Varley, Sen., and Copley Fielding, during many years, between 1807 and 1818.” Her ages would thus have been 36 to 47. Her acquaintance with Fielding and his wife, however, extended beyond those years. Praise Frances received from Fielding brought her great delight. January 1852 she wrote, “Copley Fielding’s more than praise, sympathy with my paintings has been a bright day in my life.” The day was all the brighter because he invited her to send some paintings to exhibit with his own in April. The following year she mentioned more praise from him: "Copley Fielding said my outlines were so accurate that he could name every mountain.” This was especially meaningful because Fielding had grown up in the Lake District where Frances then lived and painted.
Near the end of her life Frances listed her five art masters: W. Parsons, an Italian traveler and member of the Royal Academy, who had “hoards of fine prints to teach from;” John Glover (1767-1849) romantic painter of landscapes in Great Britain, southern Europe, and finally Australia; John Varley (1778-1842) who helped found the Water-Colour Society in 1804, and preferred painting scenes of everyday life that included dogs and children; Copley Fielding (1787-1855) whose painstaking perfection of surface and visual effect so prized by Regency and Victorian art consumers made him rich, and Henry Gastineau (1791-1876), engraver, topographer and landscape artist, who also praised FR's work.
I would love to locate any of FR's paintings. Her oil paintings, made between 1851 and 1864 have titles of sights near Keswick: “Skiddaw,” “Honister Crag,” “Head of the Lake,” “Lodore,” “St. John’s Rocks,” “Grisedale Pike,” “Castle-Rock” (this one may have on the back lines from Scott and or a stanza or two of “Wandering Child”). Any help will be greatly appreciated!
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