Joseph Wright of Derby
British, 1734–1797
John Whetham of Kirklington
about 1779–1780
Oil on canvas
127 x 101.6 cm
The J. Paul Getty Museum
www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/765/joseph-wright-of-derby-john-whetham-of-kirklington-english-about-1779-1780/
Museum Dogs has been on a Joseph Wright kick for the last few days, and rightly so—the man painted some excellent dogs. (Read a bio of Wright and check out more of his dogs at http://museumdogs.tumblr.com/tagged/joseph_wright_of_derby), Today’s painting, which was commissioned by John Whetham as part of a male bonding experience, features a particularly fine example of dogkind.
John Whetham was born in 1732 to Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Whetham and Mary Thompson. Thomas Whetham had purchased the Manor at Kirklington, Nottinghamshire, in the 1730s, and when he died in the early 1750s, the estate went to John, who had recently graduated from Trinity College, Oxford. Whetham served as the High Sheriff of Nottingham (!) in 1759–1760, and went on to marry Elizabeth Chadwick in 1769. They had no children. His only sibling, his sister Georgiana, married Thomas Willoughby, later 4th Lord Middleton (1728–1781) a year later.[1]
Whetham got to be good pals with his brother-in-law, Lord Middleton. So much so that they and a mutual friend, Robert Holden (1722–1808) decided to get portraits painted—one plus two copies apiece—and share them so that each man had a set of paintings of himself and his two buddies. Middleton had George Romney do his portrait, which depicts him in his splendid peer's robes. Romney painted a smaller version of Middleton's portrait for Holden. Whetham and Holden had Joseph Wright make their portraits. I can't find an image of Holden’s, but it, apparently, depicts him sitting down indoors. There is no record of any other versions of Holden’s portrait.[2]
Wright made two full-sized versions of his portrait of Whetham: the one meant for Whetham himself, now in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum and featured here; and another, without the dog, for Holden, which was sold at auction in 2011. Wright also made a small oval version of the Whetham portrait (with or without the dog, I do not know) for Middleton, but it has not been found.[3]
Whetham died in August 1781, before the bill for Wright’s portraits had been settled. His friend Holden recorded in his diary on April 19, 1782, that he ‘Went down to Mr. Wright to settle about poor W’s picture.’ (I do not know which version.) Whetham’s widow Elizabeth ended up paying for the painting; Holden later noted that “Mrs. Whetham has quite out-manoeuvr’d us” with that move. Holden wrote a few months later that ‘Mr. Wright breakfasted and fix'd poor Whetham's picture.”[4]
In the painting, Whetham stands against a rocky outcropping—a dashing, rugged outdoor setting that contrasts considerably with more staid portraits of his buddies. He wears a snazzy outfit as well: a green velvet suit trimmed in fur, with a matching hat, a fur sash, and a mustard yellow waistcoat. According the J. Paul Getty Museum, “This costume, unusual for an Englishman, is a loose adaptation of a Hungarian hussar's military dress. Worn by John Whetham for a ball in 1779, this type of masquerade dress was also fashionable for portraits at the time, both because it forwarded the social aspirations of the English aristocracy and because it was timeless, outlasting changing styles.”[5]
The black fur trim of Whetham’s coat and hat is echoed by the black fur of his handsome dog friend. The description of the painting on the J. Paul Getty Museum’s website identifies the dog as a border collie, but our canine hero is far too big for that breed. He looks much more like a black-and-white Newfoundland. Not only are they hearty, strong dogs, but Newfoundlands are also known to be sweet-tempered, docile, and patient. Whetham could not have picked a better dog compatriot! In the painting, he puts a companionable arm around the Noof, who looks up at his person with relaxed affection. His expression seems to say YEP, MY PERSON IS A PRETTY GOOD GUY AND I AM GLAD TO LOOK AFTER HIM. WE TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER. I DUNNO ABOUT ALL THAT FUR HE IS WEARING, THOUGH. LEAVE THE FUR TO US ANIMALS. WE ARE THE PROS. Regardless of how Whetham views their relationship, it is clear from the painting that the Noof definitely considers it to be an equal partnership.
Notes
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1. John Burke and John Bernard Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 3 (London: Henry Colburn, 1850), p. 311; Christie’s, “Portrait of John Whetham (1731–1781), of Kirklington, Three-Quarter-Length, in a Bottle-Green Fur-Lined jacket, Yellow Waistcoat and Fur Hat, a Spear in His Left Hand, in a Rocky Landscape,” Lot 27, Sale 7980, Old Master and British Paintings (July 5, 2011), London, http://tinyurl.com/o9echmk.
5. The J. Paul Getty Museum, “John Whetham of Kirklington,” object description, http://tinyurl.com/nhewhno.
