Abraham Wivell (1786 – 29 March 1849)
was a British portrait painter, writer and pioneer of fire protection, credited with inventing the first effective
fire escape
A fire escape is a special kind of emergency exit, usually mounted to the outside of a building or occasionally inside but separate from the main areas of the building. It provides a method of escape in the event of a fire or other emergency th ...
system. After working as a hairdresser, Wivell established himself as a society portrait painter before concentrating his efforts on fire safety measures.
Art
![Roger OConnor via the NPG](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Roger_OConnor_via_the_NPG.png)
Born in
Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...
, London, Wivell was forced to work from an early age after his father died leaving his mother in poverty.
[ Abraham Wivell, Dictionary of National Biography (at Wikisource)] He worked on a farm from the age of six, and did various jobs in London as a child. In 1799, he was apprenticed to a wigmaker, which at the time was part of normal hairdressing. After completing his seven-year apprenticeship, he set up his own hairdressing salon.
[National Portrait Gallery, Abraham Wivell](_blank)
Initially an amateur artist, he advertised his skills by showing
portrait miniature
A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...
s he had painted in his hairdressing shop window. By this means he gained commissions for portrait drawings and paintings, aided by the support of
Joseph Nollekens
Joseph Nollekens R.A. (11 August 1737 – 23 April 1823) was a sculptor from London generally considered to be the finest British sculptor of the late 18th century.
Life
Nollekens was born on 11 August 1737 at 28 Dean Street, Soho, London, ...
and
James Northcote
James Northcote (22 October 1746, in Plymouth – 13 July 1831, in London) was a British painter.
Life and work
Northcote was born in Plymouth, and was apprenticed to his father, Samuel Northcote, a watchmaker. In his spare time, he drew and ...
.
A drawing he created of
Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Caroline Amelia Elizabeth; 17 May 1768 – 7 August 1821) was Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 29 January 1820 until her death in 1821, being the estranged wife of King George IV. She was Pr ...
, wife of King
George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
, appealed to the queen herself, who gave Wivell a personal sitting. His link to the queen soon helped him achieve fame as an artist. When she was put of trial for adultery in the House of Lords, Wivell sneaked in among the lawyers and made sketches of the leading figures involved.
These were published to illustrate the sensational case.
The popular feeling in favour of Caroline led to good sales. Wivell later depicted other figures in the news, including
Arthur Thistlewood
Arthur Thistlewood (1774–1 May 1820) was an English radical activist and conspirator in the Cato Street Conspiracy. He planned to murder the cabinet, but there was a spy and he was apprehended with 12 other conspirators. He killed a policem ...
, a leader of the
Cato Street conspiracy
The Cato Street Conspiracy was a plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool in 1820. The name comes from the meeting place near Edgware Road in London. The police had an informer; the plotters fell into ...
.
Wivell subsequently became an established society portraitist, painting royalty and aristocracy. He also painted nearly 200 portraits of MPs for a view depicting the House of Commons in session, which was published as a print.
Most of Wivell's portraits were highly finished works in pencil, though he did paint some oils and attempted to make some etchings.
After visiting Stratford-upon-Avon to make a study of the tomb sculpture of Shakespeare, Wivell decided to create an illustrated study of all known
portraits of the poet. In 1827 Wivell published the work under the title ''An inquiry into the history, authenticity, & characteristics of the Shakspeare portraits''. As well as a collection of prints, the book presented a detailed examination of purported Shakespeare portraits. The book also replied the arguments of an earlier work by
James Boaden
James Boaden (23 May 1762 – 16 February 1839) was an English biographer, dramatist, and journalist.
Biographer
He was the son of William Boaden, a merchant in the Russia trade. He was born at Whitehaven, Cumberland, on 23 May 1762, and at ...
. Unfortunately, Wivell lost a great deal on money on the venture, as the cost of printing such a richly illustrated work far exceeded the sales.
However, he was saved financially by the death of his uncle, Abram Wivell of Camden Town, who left him his house and furniture and an lifetime annuity of £100.
Fire protection
![Wivell fire escape engaved illustration](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Wivell_fire_escape_engaved_illustration.jpg)
In the 1820s Wivell turned his attention to fire protection, arguing, along with others, that the private fire brigades of the time were more concerned with protecting property than human life. Several voluntary groups sprung up dedicated to solving this problem. In 1836 the "Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire" was created with Wivell in charge of developing techniques for helping people escape from burning buildings.
Wivell designed a portable fire escape, which could be brought to buildings and erected rapidly.
He created demonstration models of the design to illustrate a series of lectures on fire-fighting that he gave in 1836. The ladder was mounted on a wheeled chariot. Once at the scene, a fly ladder was swung into position with ropes. A rescued person could be quickly passed down through a canvas chute that hung below the ladder, allowing a rapid flow of escapees. 85 fire escape stations were established in London by the society containing escape ladders on the Wivell design. Other cities also acquired Wivell's design.
Later life
He resigned his position with the society in 1841 after a dispute, and moved to Birmingham, where he resumed his artistic career. In 1847 he endorsed the authenticity of the newly discovered
Ashbourne portrait, which was claimed to depict Shakespeare.
[William L. Pressly, "The Ashbourne Portrait of Shakespeare: Through the Looking Glass", Shakespeare Quarterly, 1993, p.56.] In 1849 he died of
Bronchitis
Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...
in Birmingham.
Wivell was married twice and had fourteen children. He was survived by ten of his children. His oldest son, also called Abraham Wivell, was also a successful painter.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wivell, Abraham
1786 births
1849 deaths
People from Marylebone
19th-century English painters
English male painters
British portrait painters
Artist authors
Fire protection
19th-century English male artists