Edward Henry Wehnert (1813–1868) was an English-born painter of landscape, genre and historical subjects, now best remembered for his illustrations in books and magazines.

Life and work

The artist was born in London of German parents in 1813 and christened at

St Anne's Church, Soho Saint Anne's Church serves in the Church of England the Soho section of London. It was consecrated on 21 March 1686 by Bishop Henry Compton as the parish church of the new civil and ecclesiastical parish of St Anne, created from part of the pari ...

, on 14 February. He was educated at

Göttingen University Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The o ...

and received his art training chiefly in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, where and in

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

he resided from 1832 to 1837. While in Jersey he taught

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest ...

, shortly before the youngster left to pursue his art education in London, and also painted some topographical views. Wehnert then returned to England himself after joining the recently founded New Society of Painters in Watercolours, to the exhibitions of which he was subsequently a constant contributor. Among these was “The Gardener’s Daughter” (1860), which was obviously influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite themes favoured by his former pupil, Millais, with whom he had kept in contact. Among his other close friends were the sculptor Alfred Stevens and the wood engraver

William James Linton William James Linton (December 7, 1812December 29, 1897) was an English-born American wood-engraver, landscape painter, political reformer and author of memoirs, novels, poetry and non-fiction. Birth and early years Born in Mile End, east Lon ...

. His drawings were all of an historical character, among the best being "Luther reading his Sermon to some Friends", "The Death of Wickliffe" (1846), "George Fox preaching in a tavern" and "Caxton examining the first proof sheet from his press" (1850). Wehnert's large works, though excellently conceived and drawn, were unattractive in colour and did not readily find purchasers. He was more successful as a designer of book illustrations. Among the many for which he furnished the drawings were

Grimm's Fairy Tales ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (german: Kinder- und Hausmärchen, lead=yes, ), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Grimm brothers or "Brothers Grimm", Jacob and Wilhelm, first publi ...

(1853); Keats's '' Eve of St. Agnes'' (1856); Coleridge's '' Ancient Mariner'' (1857); ''

The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christianity, Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a prog ...

'' (1858); Hans Christian Andersen's ''Fairy Tales'' (1861); ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

'' (1862); and

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

's ''Poetical Works'' (1865). Neighbours of his in Fortess Terrace,

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the open ...

were the physician and sanitary reformer

Thomas Southwood Smith Thomas Southwood Smith (17881861) was an English physician and sanitary reformer. Early life Smith was born at Martock, Somerset, into a strict Baptist family, his parents being William Smith and Caroline Southwood. In 1802 he won a scholarshi ...

, his partner, the artist

Margaret Gillies Margaret Gillies (7 August 1803 – 20 July 1887) was a London-born Scottish miniaturist and watercolourist. Biography Gillies was the second daughter of William Gillies, a Scottish merchant in Throgmorton Street, London, and his wife Charl ...

and her sister, the children's writer

Mary Gillies Mary Gillies (16 June 1800 – 20 July 1870) was a British children's author, and sister of the artist Margaret Gillies. Early life Mary Gillies was born in London on 16 June 1800, the eldest daughter of William Gillies, a Scottish merchant ...

for whom he illustrated two books, ''Great Fun for our little friends'' (1862) and ''More Fun for our little Friends'' (1863). Wehnert contributed to the Westminster Hall cartoon exhibition in 1845 an allegorical drawing of "Justice". He died at Fortess Terrace, on 15 September 1868 and was buried on the eastern side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

. His grave (plot no.16238) is now unmarked. There is a collection of his work at the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, for which he also designed a mosaic.It was formerly in a niche in th
'Kensington Valhalla'
/ref>

Note

The bulk of the information here is taken from the article by Freeman Marius O'Donoghue in the ''Dictionary of National Biography'', 1885–1900, Volume 60, a work in the public domain.

References

External links

* __NOTOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Wehnert E. H. English watercolourists English illustrators 1813 births 1868 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery English people of German descent University of Göttingen alumni 19th-century English painters