The Pen by Henry Stacy Marks RA (1829 - 1898)

This month we feature a painting by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Henry Stacy Marks RA, who was a well-known character in the London art scene in the 1900s.

About the picture

This picture depicts a pensive young man, dressed in 17th century costume. He sits on a chair by a table, on which rests several books, as well as a piece of paper on a desktop writing slope. He faces away from the table and the paper, staring absent mindedly at a quill in his hand. He is clearly considering what to write, and by turning away from the paper, the impression is given that he is somewhat unwilling to start what might be a difficult letter.

His outfit is rather plain, which might signify that he was a Puritan by religion. (Puritanism was a form of British Protestantism). His felt hat is typical of one worn by both men and women in the first half of the 17th Century. His collar is plain, but his suit is a beautiful blue, a rich colour which might signify that he was a wealthy young man. (Poorer people would have typically been restricted to wearing muted colours).

The picture, painted in 1886, is representative of the Victorian Pre-Raphaelite art movement artists, who, through their work, liked to reimagine historical or mythical scenes, in a figurative style and sometimes in almost photographic detail.

About the artist

Stacy Marks was somewhat of a ‘character’ known for his humour, which permeated into some of his works. Numerous references to him in 19th century newspapers show him to be a well-known member of the Victorian establishment. He was a founding member of the St John’s Wood Clique – a group of artists living in the St John’s Wood area of London, who were known for their practical jokes.

He was friends with John Ruskin, the art critic who championed the Pre-Raphaelites as well as the Arts and Crafts movement. In his two-volumed book entitled, Pen and Pencil Sketches published in 1894 Stacy Marks refers to his friendship with Ruskin and letters they sent to each other. The book also features examples of Stacy Marks’s work as well as stories and anecdotes from his life. His humour is plain to see in his books, which contain witty observations and amusing poems. Both volumes of “Pen and Pencil Sketches” are available online: Read Volume One . Read Volume Two.

As his artistic career progressed, Stacy Marks became interested in drawing and painting both bird and ornithologists; he could be found sketching his avian subjects at London Zoo. One of his most famous paintings is Science is Measurement which shows a soberly-dressed man (an ornithologist?) holding a tape measure up to the skeleton of a stork. He was inspired to paint this picture after a visit to the Royal College of Surgeons, where he had been engaged in studying the measurement of human bones. This picture now forms part of the Royal Academy’s fine art collection.

A poem, written by Henry Stacy Marks, and found in his book Pen and Pencil Sketches, very cleverly brings together the threads of his life – art, witty humour, love of the medieval and what it is to work with the Royal Academy. Read a section of it below:

The Dolefulle Ballad of Arthur Scumble: or, The Young Probationere

Acknowledgements

• The British Newspaper Archive and © Telegraph Media Group Limited: Henry Marks Obituary 12 Jan 1898
• The Internet Archive: "Pen and Pencil Sketches by Henry Stacy Marks" volumes One and Two
• The Victorian web:
• https://victorianweb.org/victorian/art/design/ceramics/minton/40.html
• Victoria and Albert Museum: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O357644/hat-unknown/
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Stacy_Marks