by Robert Bateman (1842–1922). 1886. Oil on canvas; 83 x 53½ inches (210.8 x 135.9 cm). Private collection.
Caroline Octavia Howard was born on March 20, 1839 at Donington in Shropshire, the daughter of the Hon. Henry Edward Howard, the Dean of Lichfield, and his wife Henrietta Elizabeth Wright. Caroline’s paternal grandfather was the fifth Earl of Carlisle. Bateman fell in love with Caroline in the early 1870s and, according to Daly, the year 1873 was a critical one in their relationship because their illegitimate son Henry was conceived at that time. Her family disapproved of their relationship, however, and Robert and Caroline were not allowed to marry. In 1876 Caroline was married to the Reverend Charles Wilbraham, an Anglican vicar, who was thirty years her senior. He died in 1879. On October 18, 1883 Robert and Caroline were finally able to marry, the wedding taking place at St. Mary's Church, Bryanston Square, London. Their nearly forty-year marriage proved to be very successful and the couple remained devoted to each other for the rest of their lives. Caroline died on July 30, 1922 and Robert shortly afterwards on August 11, 1922. They were buried in a joint grave in St. George’s Churchyard in Whatley, Somerset.
Bateman exhibited this portrait of his wife at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1886, no. 21, simply entitled A Portrait. Surprisingly this is not an “Aesthetic Movement” portrait, such as those favoured by his friend Edward Clifford, and what indeed might have been expected to grace the walls of the Grosvenor. Instead it evokes the Grand Manner aristocratic portraits of the eighteenth century by artists like Thomas Gainsborough or Joshua Reynolds.
Caroline is portrayed with a soulful expression, her tall elegant figure in half-mourning and carrying a prayer book in her left hand. In late Victorian England the length of mourning could vary depending upon the relation to the deceased, personal choice, financial status, and social expectations. Widows were generally expected to wear full mourning for two years and then half-mourning for three months. That Caroline is shown still wearing half-mourning is therefore unusual since her first husband the Reverend Wilbraham had been dead for seven years at this point, and Robert and Caroline had been married for three.
The landscape background was apparently inspired by a view of the Severn River seen from the Benthall Edge. The Batemans did not move to Benthall Hall, a sixteenthth-century mansion near Much Wenlock in Shropshire, until four years later in 1890. Although Caroline appears imposing and formidable in this portrait she was known for the sincerity and warmth of her personality, her devotion to her husband, and her loyalty to those around her. She was said to be clever and artistic, capable and well read. Warmth, security, and music filled her home, as she was an excellent pianist and vocalist. In this portrait of her Julian Hartnoll has remarked: “As with all of Robert Bateman’s works there is a strange quality of observation that is peculiar to the artist and difficult to define.”
Bibliography
Daly, Nigel: The Lost Pre-Raphaelite: The Secret Life and Loves of Robert Bateman, London: Bitter Lemon Press, 2014, 244-245 and 283-284.
Hartnoll, Julian, A Selection of Drawings Oil Paintings & Sculpture Offered for sale by Julian Hartnoll. London: 1989, cat. 11.
Last modified 17 February 2023