Hubard Gallery

Introduction:

The Hubard Gallery was founded by Mr. Smith, the manager of boy wonder, William Hubard, in 1822. William Hubard was a ‘wonder’ because, at the age of 14, he was producing excellent profiles and receiving the same rates as adult artists. Smith, who it is believed was something of a showman, founded the Gallery to promote his latest product and coined the neologism ‘Papyrotomia’ for its work

After touring around Britain the Gallery left for America and toured extensively from 1824 to 1829. Despite the fact that William Hubard left in 1826 and returned to England, this did not stop Smith from taking the ‘show’ to Canada and continuing to tour America on their return. At this stage it is hard to know what, exactly, to call the Hubard Gallery. Although formed to showcase William’s talents as a silhouettist, it had by now acquired a Panharmonicum – an invented term used to refer to a large, multi instrumental machine now part of the entertainment. Without its boy genius, it still existed and travelled, employing a number of different people.

Without a stamp or trade label it is extremely difficult to identify a piece which originated at The Hubard Gallery. Indeed, we have no complete list of whom or how many cutters and painters were employed. The noted Australian artist/adventurer Samuel Thomas Gill, Irish profilist W.G. Wall, and E.G.A. Norman (Australia) are but three of the people known to have been associated with The Gallery long after William Hubard’s disassociation from the company.

Gallery Silhouettes