Buncombe, John (McKechnie Section 7)

Buncombe, John (fl. 1820-30)

See also Buncombe, Charles, in Sections Two and Six

Two artists, father and son, who worked in the Isle of Wight, and of whom the former, Charles Buncombe, was the most distinguished painter of silhouettes of military subjects.

Until recently, only the surname had been recorded (by Coke: Confessions of an Incurable Collector), and only one silhouette artist named Buncombe (John Buncombe) was believed to exist. Jackson (Dictionary) records only J. Buncombe; she owned a photograph of a block paintbox which had evidently belonged to him, since it bore three impressions of his stencilled trade label (the artist's name is given as ‘I. Buncombe'). It seems clear, however, that there were two artists, Charles Buncombe and his son John. In Newport, Isle of Wight in Bygone Days (Newport, 1952), R. J. Eldridge (in a passage drawn to my attention by Mrs E. M. Andrews) writes:

In the early days of the 19th. Century there lived in Newport a man who devoted his spare time to an unusual branch of the arts — the art of silhouette. Charles Buncombe, Schoolmaster, who lodged at the house of a Mrs. Salter at 114, High Street, Newport, produced a number of silhouettes, the great majority of soldiers, and he finished them off with water colours, showing their uniforms in scarlet. These silhouettes are scarce and valuable, but apparently Buncombe made no great profit from them, as the Corporation Minutes, with reference to Mann's Charity, on 27th. April, 1830, contains the following entry: 'Also that John Buncombe, son of Charles Buncombe, late of this Borough, Schoolmaster, a poor orphan, be apprenticed to George Mansfield, of 118, Jermyn Street, St. James', London, until the age of 21 years and that a life premium of £13. 13. 0. be paid with such apprentice.'

Eldridge, a solicitor who practised in the Isle of Wight, was an administrator of Mann's Charity.

Most of the silhouettes inscribed 'Buncombe' (I have not seen an inscription which included an initial) dating from before 1800 are painted in black, the earliest known example being dated 1795. Although I know of two military subjects, with the uniform painted in colour, dated 1795 and 1796, most examples in this style were painted later; the latest of which I know (sold at the rooms of Sotheby and Company, London, on 25 July 1966) is inscribed on the reverse `drawn 1825'. Silhouettes inscribed ‘Buncombe', therefore, were painted over a period of at least thirty years. The Eldridge reference tells us that John Buncombe was under twenty-one in 1830. The parish registers in Newport (examined by Mrs Andrews) disclose that the Buncombe family was quite large, but dates relevant to members named Charles or John cannot with certainty be related to either artist. We must assume, however, that not only are the earlier plain black silhouettes by Charles Buncombe, but that a large number of the later coloured military subjects are also from his hand. In the light of the stencilled labels on the paintbox of which Jackson owned a photograph, we may surmise that perhaps during the 1820s, or a little earlier, Charles's son assisted the schoolmaster with his silhouette work, or even, though still a boy, took over the task from his father, who, it seems, made little money from his sideline. We know that John Buncombe took the trouble to have a stencil made, and therefore must have worked as a professional artist.

Military silhouettes are notoriously difficult to date; it can only be said that those showing pigtail wigs must date from before 1808 (when these were generally abolished for wear in the army) and that any pre-1800 examples which can be attributed to Charles or John Buncombe must be by Charles. The quality of the work on later examples varies, but not sufficiently to enable one to separate with certainty the work of father and son.

Jackson states that, after many years of searching, she made contact with a Mrs Snell, formerly of Newport and the granddaughter of a Mr George Smith, who owned an ironmonger's shop in High Street, Newport, where Mrs Snell's father was born in 1824. Mrs Snell had inherited some relics of the Buncombes which had remained in this shop, where the artists presumably worked before they lodged at No. 114 in the same street. This shop is shown on one of' the plates in a book of engravings of Newport, drawn, engraved and published in 1821 by G. Brannon. On the print, it is shown by the trade sign (a kettle) over the door; the print also shows a party of officers, grouped near the door. The relics included a profile portrait (presumably a silhouette) of Mrs Snell's aunt, by one of the artists, and another of her great-aunt, at whose house one of the Buncombes, presumably Charles, had lodged. Mrs Snell also owned a marble palette used by one of the artists and the paintbox, already referred to, which was presumably the property of John.

Silhouettes by the Buncombes have been much prized — largely, no doubt, on account of their decorative qualities. For the same reason they have been much copied, and originals can be identified with certainty only after a careful study of the artists' styles. I shall discuss first the silhouettes which can confidently be ascribed to Charles Buncombe. I have seen no silhouette of a woman by him dating from after 1800, although the silhouettes of Mrs Snell's aunt and great-aunt may be post-1800 work. The two earliest known examples of the military portraits with which we are chiefly concerned here are inscribed in his hand, with the dates 1795 and 1796.

1593

The sitters, who are members of the Leigh family, are shown wearing the uniform of the Isle of Wight Militia. These bust-length profiles are very fine indeed, being painted with the greatest skill and exactness. The hair of the sitters' wigs is rendered with the utmost neatness and precision (one must bear in mind that the style of a wig would have been more precise than that of natural hair). Gum arabic is used with especial care to outline the edge of the wig against the face, as well as on the edge of the collar against the neck. The shape of the fantail hat worn by Major B. Leigh is also beautifully indicated with gum arabic, which shows up well against the almost dead black of the rest of the hat and the face. The major wears gold facings and gold lace, both indicated by pale chrome yellow. His red coat is shown in body colour, the red being duller in tone than the vermilion hue seen on later work by the Buncombes. The insignia of the Isle of Wight Militia is carefully shown in a shade of burnt sienna against the pale yellow of the gold. The bust-line on these examples is almost straight, but terminates in a sharp point near the back. Both silhouettes are in oval hammered brass frames.

A civilian subject (a full-length portrait of a small boy), dating from c. 1798-1800, is illustrated by Jackson (The History of Silhouettes).

1594

On stylistic grounds I attribute this to Charles Buncombe. It is as skilfully painted as the Leigh profiles; the sitter's hair and hand, and the line of the collar against his neck, are neatly rendered. It has the sparseness of line which is characteristic of the early black work. The frame was of' pearwood (apparently with plain verre églomisé).

Two portraits, of a Captain C. W. Whitby and of a civilian, dating from 1801 and 1802 and owned bv Mr M. A. H. Christie and Miss Betty Bird respectively, must be by Charles Buncombe, since John would not then have been born. (We know that he was not yet of age in 1830.)

1595, 124

Both portraits show certain slight changes in style which became apparent in Bun-combe's work from c. 1800; they were probably due to the increasing demand for his work, which allowed him less time to execute the minute detail characteristic of his earlier silhouettes. Buncombe's earlier style of painting hair changed to a freer manner achieved by the use of looser strokes of thinned pigment, finer lines still being added outside the main body of the profile. The edges of locks near the face were still sometimes touched with gum arabic to give a slight three-dimensional effect. Another portrait of a man (a civilian), sold, together with some later silhouettes of military sitters, by Sotheby Parke Bernet and Company on 20 January 1976, appears to have been painted at the same period.

Most of these later silhouettes were sold unframed, for posting to wives or friends from whom soldiers stationed on the Isle of Wight were separated; it was perhaps for this reason that Buncombe now used a slightly more substantial paper than before. Because of the rougher surface of this paper, Buncombe's painting of the sitter's eyelash often shows an incomplete stroke; the centre is missing, and the end of the eyelash terminates in an isolated blob. The sitters of almost all of these profiles have a 'hunched' look, due to the generous width which the artist has given to the top of the sleeve of the coat to show the whole width of the epaulette. This is carefully painted, with each strand separate and the tips of the fringe carefully shown. Gold lace is shown in yellow ochre. The decorations on shakoes and other detail are carefully shown; sashes are left white, but are shaded. Chinese white is sometimes used to show fine decorative detail. Detail on jackets is shown by sparse fine fines of gum arabic mixed with the ground colour. The red used by Buncombe was a dull vermilion, which a modern water-colour painter might achieve by mixing a touch of sepia with bright vermilion.

In Chapter Five (see 'Naval Subjects') I refer to a silhouette of a naval subject which, on stylistic grounds, is attributable to Buncombe.

Bust-line terminations vary a good deal. Most of the silhouettes are nearly in three-quarter-length and carried to the base of the card. A few are shorter, with a straight-across termination; the bust-lines on the silhouettes of the Leigh family have a sharp point near the back.

In attributing work to John Buncombe I have to bear in mind that I have seen no silhouette signed with the full name of either artist, or bearing John's trade label. In fact, very few of the unframed military profiles which, on stylistic grounds, must be ascribed either to Charles or to John Buncombe were inscribed (possible because, as far as is known, the two men were the only silhouette artists working in the Isle of Wight at the time). John Buncombe was probably taught by his father and therefore would work in his father's style, using similar colours for the uniforms of military sitters. It seems reasonable to assume that he painted the less finished silhouettes. On these, the lines of gum arabic showing shading on a uniform are coarser; the background red is less smoothly applied, and no gum arabic appears to have been used on the hair. Detail is less skilfully painted.

From the available documentary evidence it seems that the Buncombes painted only on paper: not on ivory. (The passage by Eldridge suggests that Charles Buncombe would have been unable to afford to buy ivory.) Copies of silhouettes by Charles Buncombe have been made from illustrations in books, and some of these have been painted on ivory. It appears, therefore, that no work painted on ivory in the style of the Buncombes can be original.

No trade label of Charles Buncombe is known. I have illustrated the inscription on the reverse of a silhouette by him, dating from 1795, in which he is named as the artist and which is presumably in his hand.

1605

There are similar inscriptions on the reverses of the two silhouettes of members of the Leigh family (1795 and 1796), referred to above.

1606

Charles Buncombe sometimes inscribed his earlier framed profiles on the back: `By Buncombe, Newport, Isle of Wight' (with the year) and ‘Taken by Buncombe, Isle of Wight' (again with the year) are typical inscriptions.

1604

I have illustrated the inscription, apparently written with a brush, which is on the reverse of the illustrated silhouette of a young man in civilian dress.

The roughly stencilled trade label of John Buncombe, of which there were three impressions on his paintbox (a photograph of which was formerly owned by Jackson), but which I have not seen on a silhouette, reads as follows:

Striking Likenesses

In Profile

By I. BUNCOMBE

Ladies and Gentlemen waited on

by sending their address to

Ills. 124, 1593-1607.