Original Pen and Ink Drawing 'The Blessing' by Edward Matthew Ward RA both Signed & Dated

THE STORY - When my eyes fell upon this small pen and ink picture I confess I had not heard of the name of the Artist Edward Matthew Ward. Indeed the picture itself as I am sure you will appreciate when looking at my other listings is not a 'typical ThreeMusCATeers listing' (if there is such a thing) but there was something about the fineness of the work, and in particular the drawing of the face of the mother that entranced me and I couldn't and wouldn't walk on by. The Drawing itself is relatively small measuring approx 15cm in height by 12.5cm in Width portraying either a Priest or a Monk conducting a Blessing for the family of four, who are all dressed in costume which I think would be that from the late Medieval Period circa 1400. The Priest or Monk stands over the kneeling family holding the Crucifix whilst he delivers the blessing and I find it interesting that the parents are portrayed looking intently with a sense of gratitude and desperation up at the Priest/Monk where as the two children have an almost playful quality to their pose even though they too are kneeling and we only see them from the back, there almost looks like a stick with string laying on the flagstones behind them. But what there most definitely is at the bottom of the drawing is the signature E M Ward and the date 1846. The drawing sits in a much later painted wooden frame and mount and its previous owner has written on the back the name of the Artist and The Title of the Drawing as well as some other information which I cannot completely decipher the meaning of especially the numbers, but I know RA would refer to The Royal Academy and I think Exb refers the years his works were exhibited in England 1834-1878.
And of course there was no way I was not going to explore the life of the Edward Matthew Ward and it turns out he was quite a force in the Art World during the Victorian Period.
EDWARD MATTHEW WARD
Born in 1816, as a youngster he illustrated the book 'Rejected Addresses' by his Uncles James and Horace Smith as well as illustrating some papers of Washington Irving. In 1836 with the help of David Wilkie and Francis Legget Chantrey he enrolled at The Royal Academy Schools. Whilst a Member of the Schools he became part of a Group known as the Clique led by Richard Dadd seeing himself as a follower Wilkie and Hogarth. Many of his paintings were set in the seventeenth century history as well as scenes from the French Revolution. He was not at all impressed by the Pre-Raphaelites whose style of painting he considered un-British. In the 1850s he won the commission for what he is probably most well known for and that is the painting of eight murals in the palace of Westminster depicting episodes in British history from The Civil War to The Glorious Revolution. During the 1860s he continued with his love of painting of moments in British history but in the 1870s he began to suffer a painful illness and depression and on the 10th January 1879 he was found raving on the floor of his dressing room his throat cut with a razor shouting "I was mad when I did it; the devil prompted me". And although medical help arrived he died at his home five days later on the 15th January. I have to say I thank Wikipedia for this information as indeed have a number of other sites who display his work also refer to. But before I leave this biography of the Artist I would urge you to have a look at the portraits of the gentleman and there were a few and the one I find most impactful is that on the Royal Academy website where there is a painting of our Artist by Thomas Brigstocke painted in 1844 just 2 years before Ward produced this picture.

AGE - Pen & Ink Picture - 1846. Frame and Mount - Circa 1980

CONDITION - The Pen & Ink Picture itself is in good condition with no foxing that I can see, the paper has almost certainly darkened and there can be seen a light horizontal crease I would imagine from where it was originally stored and an even fainter vertical crease possibly from the mounting which I have tried to portray in the final photograph. I also want to point out that I cannot see the title of the picture 'The Blessing' anywhere on the picture itself it is only on the verso on the back of the frame, but I do wonder if the title may possibly have been somewhere on the paper now hidden by the mount or possibly given by an Auction House at a Sale. The frame too is in good condition.

DIMENSIONS (Approx) - Framed -Height 13&1/2" / 34.5cm, Width 11&3/4" / 30cm, Depth 1" / 2.5cm. Image Size - Height 6" / 15cm, Width 5" / 12.5cm.

I wonder what the day was like when Edward Matthew Ward drew this picture, was he at home or in a studio, was it a preparatory sketch for a future painting or was he just bored with rain pouring down outside and was whiling away the hours in his sketch book. The lines are drawn with speed and that makes the work all the more amazing. And I love that faint crease that runs horizontally through it as I imagine him liking the drawing and folding it up to store it maybe in an album until the day he decides exactly what to do with it and I am so glad it was preserved it is beautiful.