Buncombe, John

Introduction:

Profiles by JOHN BUNCOMBE (ca.1758-1837) have been prized from the early C.20th to the present day. His well detailed, highly distinctive coloured renditions of armed forces personnel dating from the period of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, are often the sole record of the vagaries of individual regimental dress at that time. And, in auction, his works continue to generate keen competition from militaria and silhouette collectors alike.

 Whether by chance or design, by 1795 John Buncombe arrived at, and would spend the rest of his life in, Newport on the Isle of Wight. It was a canny move, and with no professional competition he would craft a large number of profiles over the next 30 years. Certainly Newport was no backwater. In the 'Diary of Mrs. Philip Lybbe Powys' a 1792 entry described Newport's streets 'well paved and remarkably neat...[with 2 weekly markets, a theatre and shops where]...every fashionable thing could be bought...' including, 3 years later, Buncombe's profiles.

While named civilian sitters often had an Isle of Wight heritage, it was the advent of the French wars and the island's strategic command of the waters before the vital port and anchorage of Portsmouth that would provide Buncombe with a consistent source of income. By the mid 1790s the island was awash with locally raised Volunteers, mainland Militias and Regular army Regiments. And regimental officers, either returning from or waiting for a posting abroad, proved the keenest patrons of Buncombe's studio, as the hazards of distant conflict, or more likely, death from disease, made profile portraits potent keepsakes for family, wives and sweethearts.

Bust-size, half, three-quarter and full-length works are recorded. Extremely rare plain black profiles are known and one, partially inscribed, was sold at Philips (London) 16th July 1982. In virtually all other instances Buncombe would paint sitters' attire in shades of grey and black or with varying applications of colour.

Generally his hand exhibited skill and fidelity. However, some full-length profiles of young children, though often endearingly portrayed, can, on occasion, appear somewhat naively executed. Similarly, there are 2 notably different styles of brushwork on his military commissions. The first type, painted on smooth card and relatively rare, exhibit a precise, restrained technique, while the second, painted on coarser wove paper, and by a considerable margin more commonplace, are painted with conspicuous panache. Some commentators have suggested this divergent approach was due to pressures of demand. More likely Buncombe was responding to the more absorbent  quality of the wove paper he began using.

Early profiles are often inscribed and usually dated on their backing board ' By Buncombe, Newport, Isle of Wight' or ' Taken by Buncombe, Isle of Wight'. Only 2 printed trade labels are recorded, neither offer terms. The 1st, briefly worded, reads 'Striking Likenesses in Profile by I. BUNCOMBE, Ladies and Gentlemen waited on by sending their address to - '. The 2nd, reads in part, ' J. BUNCOMBE, PROFILE PAINTER, PYLE STREET, NEWPORT, ISLE OF WIGHT...[offered his]...sincere thanks for the many favours conferred on him for past years...[describing his profiles, he states]...any part of the dress is as strikingly faithful as the outline is correct, and requires but one minute's sitting. Any number of copies can be done...and sent to any part of the Kingdom. Shades of absent or deceased friends accurately copied or reduced to any size and dressed in the present taste'.

A profile bearing the 1st (unaddressed) trade label is inscribed with a date of 1799, and a  remnant of the 2nd trade label, now lost, also bore that date, while the named military sitter bearing the sole complete 2nd.trade label, (now housed in the Chateau Ramezey Museum, Montreal) only served in the Regiment Buncombe portrayed between 1800-1803. At some point thereafter, according to decendants of ironmonger George Smith who traded from 114 High St., Buncombe relocated his studio there and the Smith family would eventually inherit Buncombe's paint box and marble palette now exhibited in the Island's Carisbrooke Castle museum.

In 1815 the end of the Napoleonic War and rapid demobilisation of armed forces personnel doubtless impacted Buncombe's source of income. Fewer works are recorded after this period and his last known profile, dated '1825', sold at Sothebys (London) 25th July 1966.

While his origins remain opaque, extensive current research unearthed fresh aspects of Buncombe's personal life. Arriving in Newport in 1795, his skillful profile taking drew immediate custom, and, as a man already in his late 30s, it suggests his abilities were initially honed on the mainland.

In 2025 an attributable, but unsigned, full length profile of a young boy came to light. A contemporary hand on it's reverse inscribed the sitter as 'Edward Watts Pugh, Born...[Malmesbury, Wiltshire]...Sept 4th 1789. This Likeness took July 4th 1793'. One month later, 24th August, 'Fanny, daughter of John and Sarah Buncombe of Taunton, Somersetshire', was baptised at St. Mary, Tetbury - the town closest to Malmesbury. In addition, as the profilist's daughter Fanny died aged 6 in June 1799, it points to the Tetbury baptismal register recording the artist's offspring and proves Buncombe was initially working on the mainland. Research on more 'mainland silhouettes' is now ongoing.

Though Taunton Buncombes were found, none could be linked to the profilist who, on 14th April 1788, wed Devon-born Sarah Mapledoram (1760-1799) at St. Mary, Sidmouth, Devon. As Sarah was baptised 24th August 1760 at Salcombe Regis and the profilist's wife was buried 2nd July 1799 aged 39, it surely indicates both women were one and the same.

The marriage register also records Buncombe a 'sojourner' or traveller. Certainly by the early C19th. the term 'Traveller' often indicated theatrical connections, and current research revealed a suprising number of profilists, several being Buncombe's contemporaries, were actors, scenery painters, or both. Plausibly Buncombe too pursued these occupations in tandem, and, for a profilist, playhouse audiences would have provided a ready, potentially lucrative market. Arguably, Buncombe's briefly worded 1st printed trade label, which left a space for a 'studio' address to be inscribed, is suggestive of frequent itinerant journeyings, presumably on the mainland, as from 1795 he was permanently settled in Newport.

Regarding his family, while no definitive account surfaced, it's possible James, son of John and Sarah Buncombe, baptised at Barnstaple, Devon in January 1791, was the profilist's 1st offspring. If so, he seemingly died before the artist arrived on the Isle of Wight. However, it's certain daughter Fanny was baptised at Tetbury, Gloucestershire, in August 1793, while sons Charles, Thomas and William were born in Newport in January 1796, April 1797 and November 1798 respectively.

On 9th December 1797, 8-month-old son Thomas died. A year and a half later, a malignant malady scythed through the rest of the family. Aged 6, daughter Fanny was buried 28th June 1799 and 5 days later, Buncombe's wife Sarah and 9-month-old William joined her in the grave. The profilist and 3-year-old son Charles alone cheated death.

On 19th April 1802 widower John Buncombe married widow Mary Salter (ca.1752-1819) at Alverstoke, then a village and short boat journey across the Solent from the Island. The descendants of ironmonger George Smith related a 'Mrs. Salter' was housekeeper to the Smith family and Buncombe when his 'studio' was located at Smith's shop. Initially, perhaps Mrs. Salter became a surrogate parent to Buncombe's infant son Charles, as the ties between widower and widow soon became taut enough to draw both to the altar, and she must surely have been the Mary Buncombe buried in Newport 21st July 1819, aged 67.

Unlike his father, Charles Buncombe (see revised biography-Artists Index) never became a commercial profilist. The erroneous reference claiming he was, first appeared as a poorly researched premise in a mid C20th. history of Newport, with most commentators and auction houses accepting the statement as fact for almost 50 years.

Evidenced by PIGOTS 1828 directory, 'C J Buncombe' was schoolmaster of a Newport boys' day school, Charles Buncombe having taken the additional name 'Joseph'.when converting to Roman Catholicism in August 1813. In June 1815 a Catholic and Established Church ceremony saw him wed to Jane James  (ca.1793-1825). John, their 1st offspring, was born 3 months later, and between 1817 and 1824 Jane bore a 2nd son and 3 daughters, one of whom died in infancy.

Jane Buncombe died aged 32 in December 1825, leaving husband Charles and probably his aging profilist father John, to care for 4 young children. Doubtless the stress was compounded when, for reasons unknown, John Buncombe  was admitted permanently to the 'Carisbrooke House of Industry', the Island's sole Workhouse situated near Newport on 21st. February 1829. In June worse followed when 33 year old Charles Buncombe died. His orphaned offsprings' notably varied histories are expanded on in the revised Charles Buncombe biography.

Aged 79, John Buncombe was interred in the Workhouse burying ground near Newport 4th. June 1837.

REVISED: 2 February 2026 (Brian Wellings with research assistance from Vic Houston)

 

 

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