us. iv. SEPT. 9, i9iL] NOTES AND QUERIES.
203
recourse to the Post Office Directory.
James was at 1, Holford Square (Mrs. G. H.
Harrison's address) from 1844 to 1848 as
an architect and surveyor, then he moved
to 34a, Moorgate Street ; in 1875 he went
to 22, Basinghall Street ; and in 1880 to
1, Guildhall Chambers. His name disappears
after 1881. I have searched at the Probate
Office in that year and after, but have not
found any will proved.
Thus I infer that James began life as a painter, and had circumstances favoured him, he would have continued in that pro- fession ; but he found his living in archi- tecture, and that was the profession he pursued.
One of James Harrison's pictures is in the well-known collection of water-colours formed by Dr. John Percy, F.R.S. (died 1889 : see Boase's 'Modern English Biography'). About 700 artists and 1,500 pictures were represented in this collection. An exhibi- tion of selected works took place at the Burlington Fine- Arts Club in 1876,, the catalogue (anonymous) being compiled, not, as might be supposed, by the owner, but by Sir Wm. Drake. Dr. Percy took Drake's catalogue as a groundwork, but unwisely, as he very soon buried it with his own additions of every kind. We must con- gratulate ourselves that Dr. Percy's cata- logue was acquired for the Print-Room by Sir Sidney Colvin. It is crammed with bio- graphical information about the artists, and original letters from many of the great judges of art of the time, and sometimes has the names of the persons of whom he bought and the prices he gave. It is curious to note the artists who are not represented : E. Duncan, F. J. Skill, C. Davidson, and many others. Dr. Percy had no example by C. F. Williams, a collection of whose water-colours is at the Southampton Public Library. Williams was an exhibitor from 1827 to 1841. Of the sale of Dr. Percy's collection at Christie's long accounts will be found in The Times of 19 and 26 April, 1890.
The following is from the entry in Dr. Percy's own MS. catalogue :
" Boat on the shore, with stormy sky and several small figures. At the bottom right-hand corner is written ' J. Harrison, 1830.' Pure water colour, 9Jw. X 6h. Capital drawing. One of Hollo- way's stock taken to by Goupil & Co."
In the margin is this pencil note : "P. Harrison: is it J. or F. ? " showing that he knew nothing about the artist, although his name comes immediately after a water- colour by Mrs. Mary Harrison. On the first page of the catalogue Dr. Percy explains
that " the expression ' pure water colour '
means freedom from body colour."
This inquiry fhas been greatly aided by the facilities that are given at the Victoria and Albert Museum Library, where the books are all under one's hand, so to speak. Readers who would study or write about art matters will find the greatest assistance by going to this fine library.
When I consider the time and trouble this note has taken to compile, I cannot help thinking of the vast work there is to be done, if only a short account is to be given of the thousands of artists in Graves's 'Dic- tionary,' of whom nothing is known except that they exhibited.
RALPH THOMAS.
F. J. SKILL, AN UNAPPRECIATED
ARTIST.
IN The Athenceum of 12 August, in a review of ' Lovel the Widower, and other Stories r (the " Harry Furniss Centenary Edition of Thackeray"), I notice one striking para- graph :
" Mr. Purniss emphasizes a point he has already made that illustrations worked out as drawings on wood by other artists from Thackeray's rough sketches can hardly be described as Thackeray's. Swam, the well-known engraver, told Mr. Furniss that an artist called Skill made many such draw- ings."
It seems somewhat hard on the memory of a conscientious wood-draughtsman, who had a decent share of reputation fifty or sixty years ago, to write of him as an un- known artist ; yet it is too true that his tame, careful style would simply " dish " sketches of the sort described.
Skill who, according to "Bryan," was born about 1824, and, says the same autho- rity, " died March 8, 1881, of a broken heart, having failed to attract public attention " was, I have been told, brought up as a steel-engraver ; his drawings, rather cold and laboured, would seem to bear out this statement. As a landscape painter in water colour he made a small success ; became a member of the Institute ; and although in England he was " comparatively little known in art circles," he was a frequent exhibitor in Paris.
By no means a genius, scarcely even gifted with " cleverness," he honestly supported his name of " Skill " : care and skill, patience and perseverence, marked all his work. He was one of those artists " discovered " by George Stiff when he was floating the old London Journal : the front-page " oval "
