Sir Joseph Noel Paton, by Amelia Hill (1820-1904) (original) (raw)

Sir Joseph Noel Paton (1821-1901)

Amelia Robertson Hill (née Paton), 1820-1904

1872

Marble

Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh

• Entire bust

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Amelia Hill's fine portrait bust of her brother, the Scottish Pre-Raphaelite artist Sir Joseph Noel Paton (1821-1901), is full of character. He was, in fact, a man of great presence, with startlingly red bushy hair, and "almost Herculean in breadth of shoulder and depth of chest" (qtd. in Bown). Paton is best known for his paintings of Oberon and Titania (see here); but it is quite hard to imagine such a man choosing to paint fairies. Indeed, Amelia's husband encouraged him to seek alternative subjects lest people should suppose that "you can do nothing else, and that you are raving mad" (qted. in Bown).

Reference

Bown, Nicola. "Paton, Sir (Joseph) Noel (1821-9001)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online ed. Viewed 6 January 2010.

Last modified 7 January 2010