Mary Severn Drawing Eton: An Addendum

With thanks to Peter Bradford

Several portraits by Mary Severn came up for auction recently and we are fortunate that Peter Bradford, who lent portraits to Holiday Sketches at the Portico Library, has managed to acquire three of them (though one is probably not by Mary). The first is a watercolour ‘Portrait of a lady wearing a black shawl’ signed and dated 'Mary Severn 1857'. When Peter unframed the portrait he found an inscription along with Mary’s signature ‘Mrs Marriott 1857’. This would make the sitter Julia Marriott and Mary was staying with the Marriotts at Eton in Autumn 1857 (see my earlier blog).

Julia Marriott (?), 1857

Rev. Wharton Booth Marriott married Julia Soltau in April 1851 and Julia would have been 35 in 1857. Mary made a portrait of Julia in October 1857 and wrote to her mother that she was in ‘great spirits for Mr Marriott saw Mrs Marriott's picture today & was so pleased with it.’ It was a 'Com' from Mrs Marriott and her present to him. Mary found Julia Marriott difficult to draw but thought ‘I am really improving as I thought hers was one of the faces I could not do’ (Mary to Elizabeth Severn, 7 October 1857). It is so very exciting to match one of Mary’s letters to a portrait, especially one that was unknown.

The Marriotts had George (b. 1854) and Catherine (b. 1856) and by the time Mary stayed and they had John in 1857. This is a portrait from Mary’s sketchbook of a woman and baby labelled Eton and I think it is of Julia and John.

She wrote to her sister on 16 October that 'you must tear yourself away from your beloved nieces. . .. There's a little soft girl of 2 years and 3 months, so nice and so fond of me, with grey eyes & black eye lashes. Do write and say yes!' Eleanor came to stay with Mary at the Marriotts until Christmas 1857, when she went with them to their house in the Lake District while Mary stayed in Windsor to finish her royal portraits.

Unfortunately, another two children captured by Mary got away. Another portrait up for auction was a double portrait of two young children signed and dated 'Mary Severn 1860' and bought by some one else. All the portraits appear to be from the same collection so the children may well be John and Alice (b. 1859). The younger child looks too old to be Beatrice (b. 1860).

Another portrait from the same group that Peter did manage to buy was of an older lady and also entitled ‘Mrs Marriott, Summer 1860’. This is likely to be Marriott’s mother Selina Marriott (nee Adam), who would have been 72 in 1860. She died in 1863.

Wharton Marriott died at Eton in 1871 when he was only 48 years and Julia died a year later at 50. One wonders what happed to their seven children as the youngest, Selina, was only born in 1865. . .

Birkenhead Collection – Severn Family Archive

Mary Severn to Elizabeth Severn, Letter 7 October 1857. Eton

Mary Severn to Eleanor Severn, Letter 16 October 1857. Eton.