River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-03-13
The Canterbury Pilgrims.

Stothard's Canterbury Pilgrims was
shown in all the great towns of England,
and also in Edinburgh and Dublin, for a
shilling ana soen became universal
favorite. The admirable engraving by
SchiavOnetti was brought out by subscrip-
ton at the rate of six guineas for proofs
and three for ordinary impressions, and
had altogether the largest sale that any
work of the kind had ever met with in
England. The original painting, for
which Cromek had paid the artist go
guineas, (40 more, that hal been promised
after the subscription for engraving had
been got In, were never forthcoming,) was
sold by the willy dealer for $500. 1t is
now in the possession of Sir William
Miles, Bart, of Leigh Court. Stothard,
however, painted three replicas of this
famous picture, one of a smaller size for
for his friend Samuel Rogers, the poet;
another for Mr.. j. Benson, Of Doncaster,
and another, it is not stated tor whom.
This possibly may have been the one
which appeared at the "Old Masters in
1879, let by Lady Marian Afford. At
much later date, when Stothayd was quite
an old man, he made a sort of com panion
design to his pilgrimage" but Ear
weaker both in composition and drawing.
He never painted this subject, but simply
drew it in sepia for engraving. St0th-
ards life resolves itself, it will be seen,
very much into simple record of the
work accomplished in il. 1t had indeed,
scarcely any incidents to break its placid
monotony, and enliven the biographer's
page and there seems to have been
little of aspiration and little of disap-
pointment IN it. He took whatever
came to him in the way of commits
sions cheerfully, never stopping to con
slider whether they were worthy OF his
genius, but making them worthy of the
manner in which he executed them; never
doing careless work, never sparing any
pains in performing the tasks set before
him to the best of his ability. The next
important work upon which he was en-
gagged after the Canterbury Pilgrims
was the design for the Wellin ton Shield,
a shield in silver presented by the mer
chants and bankers of London TO the
great Duke in memory of his victories.
The commission for this magnificent
trophy was thrown open to competition,
and such was 1.-The general opinion OF
Stothard's powers that lie was applied to
by every goldsmith who went in for the
undertaking to furnish a design. The
one prepares by him in the short space
of three weeks for Messrs. Ward & Green,
of Ludgate Hill, whom he selected to
favor, was so infinitely superior to all
Others that it was chosen at once without
one dissentient voice, and excited uniyer-
sal admiration. After his work in Edin-
burgh, which t 3ok him from the 4th of
June to the 1st Of August, 1922, as we
learn from his Journal, he next, in 1925,
when be was already 10 years of age
journeyed into Derbyshire, in order to
visit the scenes which LEAK Walton has
celebrated in his angler He was still
at this time working hard for the book
sellers with all his faculties unimpaired,
though with a perceptible incre ase OF
feebleness in execution. His designs for
Rogers poems, for instance, which he
illustrated conformity with Turner about
this date, are exquisitely graceful and
happily conceived little sketches, but
slighter and weaker than his earlier
works of the same kind. The same may
be said of bis illustrations 10 Shakes
peare, and of those to Walton's ''Augler,"
though these latter, with their refined
perception of landscape beauty, have
distinct charm. He seems to have great
Iv enioyed his excursion along the banks
of Dove, and has left Us fuller record
of it in his journal than was his won't
T'emDle Bar.