George Frederic Watts (1817-1904)
Provenance
Dr CFT Blyth
Exhibitions
Royal Academy, 'Winter Exhibition of works by the late George Frederick Watts, R. A. O. M. and the late Frederick Sandys', 1905, no 122
Literature
Dorothy de Zouche, Rodean School: 1885-1955, Brighton, 1955
Mary S Watts, George Frederic Watts: The Annals of an Artist's Life. Vol. 2. London, 1912
This drawing offers a unique glimpse into George Frederic Watts' intimate, later-life connection with Brighton. It depicts a young Agatha Blyth (née Lawrence), who taught art in Brighton at the Roedean boarding school, a distinguished school for girls founded by three of her elder sisters in 1885. In the final decades of his life, Watts and his wife Mary frequented Brighton, often during the winters, believing that the fresh seaside air and light would benefit both the artist's health and creative practice . Most likely, this is where he first encountered the Lawrence sisters. Watts went on to be a founding benefactor of their school and an especial influence on Sylvia Lawrence, Agatha's sister and Roedean's first Art Mistress, who later displayed her work at the Royal Academy. Alongside her sisters, Agatha was a guest at Watts' Brighton residence, as well as a teacher to him and Mary's adopted daughter, Lillian Mackintosh, who attended their school.