by Allison Sharpe (YGS Communications Manager)
Mrs Peckitt William Peckitt
English School, (?) c1775 English School, (?) c1775
Oil on canvas Oil on canvas
York Art Gallery (YORAG : 621) York Art Gallery (YORAG : 622)
Both paintings descended in the Peckitt family and were bequeathed by Miss M.M. Rowntree in 1952
Images courtesy of York Museums Trust
York Art Gallery holds a substantial collection of portrait paintings, but relatively few sitters
were actually residents of the City. Members of that elite group, Mr and Mrs William Peckitt are depicted in this portrait pair, which has been questionably dated to c. 1775, some 12 years after their marriage of 3 April, 1763. Slightly turning towards each other in three-quarter poses, the couple display both intimacy and independence as they gaze outwards and across space. They are separated from the viewer by feigned painted oval frames.
William had been born into a glove-making family at Husthwaite in the North Riding, on 13
April, 1731. However, the household moved to Davygate, York during his childhood. Mary had a York background, too. Her father Charles Mitley was a sculptor whose work included a pulpit in the Minster, and a statue of King George II at Thursday Market Cross (now St Sampson’s Square). Memorials to Charles Mitley (d. 1758) and Mary Mitley (d. 1773) at St Cuthbert’s Church, York are likely to be for Mary’s parents.
If these paintings were made in 1775, Peckitt would have been in his mid-40s. However that
date belies the youthful faces depicted here, unless the works were retrospective. The notion
that these paintings are earlier in date is supported by Trevor Brighton’s Oxford Dictionary of
National Biography entry for William, referring to a ‘portrait in oils’ of about 1760. It seems
likely that the pictures were created to mark the couple’s wedding, or perhaps as a symbol of
professional status. Certainly Mary’s beribboned stomacher and blonde lace triangular shawl
align with fashions of the 1750s-1760s. The couple are finely, but not ostentatiously dressed:
jewellery is absent, but the taste presented is sophisticated. While Mary has an elaborate lacy bonnet and a heavy black neckband of lozenges, William wears fine sleeve ruffles and a
powdered wig.
Dog Seated on a Cushion
by William Peckitt, 1756
Stained glass
The Stained Glass Museum
Image courtesy of The Stained Glass Museum: (CC BY-NC)
Peckitt had quickly established a successful career as a glass painter and stainer, becoming a
Freeman of the City of York in his early-mid-20s, ‘by order, gratis’, signifying owing to training
rather than paternity. As a 15-year old, William wrote a journal in which he recorded colour
mixtures needed for miniature painting and specific subjects, together with notes on his
mathematical, scientific and language studies. This document provides important historical
evidence on technique and is in the collection of The Borthwick Institute for Archives,
University of York. Find out more on The Borthwick Institute website here.
He was prolific in fulfilling commissions for painted windows combining stained glass, for
churches and domestic settings across England. Notable examples are at Audley End House, Holkham Hall, Oriel and New Colleges, Oxford, and Strawberry Hill. In York Minster Peckitt made new windows, also conserving and repairing medieval examples. About 300 works on glass produced between 1751 and 1795 are recorded in William Peckitt’s ‘Commission Book’, in the collection of York Museums Trust (YMT).
Duke of Cumberland
by William Peckitt, 1760-1765
Painted glass (window)
York Museums Trust, Collection of Decorative Arts (YORAG : 1354)
Image courtesy of York Museums Trust: https::yorkmuseumstrust.org.uk::CC BY-SA 4.0
Peckitt’s importance rests both on surviving works and his revival of lost medieval stained glass skills, through experimentation and an interest in colour. He sought to protect the commercial value of his discoveries through patenting an invention, ‘for blending Coloured and Stained Glass’, in 1780. However presumably thinking of posterity, in 1793 Peckitt wrote, ‘The Principles of Introduction into that Rare but Fine and Elegant Art of Painting and Staining of Glass’, a manuscript also held by YMT.
Self Portrait
by William Peckitt, possibly of 1770, but c1780
Painted glass (window)
York Museums Trust, Collection of Decorative Arts (YORAG : 620)
Image courtesy of York Museums Trust: https::yorkmuseumstrust.org.uk::CC BY-SA 4.0
William appears rather older in his ‘Self Portrait’ dated 1770 (c1780, according to Brighton),
which clearly relates to the painted image. His elegant hand gesture differs and is much more convincing in the glass version. However the canvas paintings have suffered over time, with evident cracking and pigment losses. So who might be the author? One candidate on stylistic grounds is Biagio Rebecca (1731-1808), an Italian decorative painter who, like Giovanni Battista Cipriani (1727-1785) was employed by Peckitt to draw cartoons (preparatory drawings). An alternative speculation is that either William or Mary Peckitt – or both – could themselves be the artists who made these paintings. There is no archival evidence to support this proposal, but we have a significant hint that Mary, too, had artistic skill.
The Historic England list entry for Grade I the Church of St Martin-cum-Gregory, Micklegate,
York 1257277 notes that in the westernmost window of the north chancel chapel there is, ‘a
memorial window to William Peckitt, ‘glass painter and stainer’ (d. 1795), ‘designed and
erected’ by his widow. The inscription reads, ‘SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF WILLIAM PECKETT OF THIS CITY, GLASS PAINTER AND STAINER, WHO DIED 14 th October 1795, aged 64, AND WHOSE REMAINS ARE DEPOSITED IN THE CHANCEL’. Nearby, the easternmost north aisle window of 1792 is Peckitt’s and depicts a, ‘female figure symbolising the Resurrection’. The couple had four daughters and Mary was to outlive William by 31 years.
The author thanks YGS Vice President (and former Curator, York Art Gallery) Richard Green for generous insights and points of information.
Here are some further links and a reference that might be of interest:-
Appropriately, The Stained Glass Centre at St Martin-cum-Gregory, established by the Stained Glass Trust in 2008, provides a focus on the history, appreciate and practice of stained glass. Stained Glass Centre website here.
York is also home to the leading stained glass conservation charity, active research, training and preservation today. Find out more on The York Glaziers Trust website here.
Husthwaite Local History Society has the following articles for further reading:-
Trevor Brighton, ‘William Peckitt (1731-95) and the quest for colour in 18th-century glass’ in, The British Art Journal, Spring/Summer 2004, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp.41-45
YGS Events for Your Diary
Saturday 9 November
Dr Jemima Hubberstey
‘Exceeding Fine Country’: An Eighteenth Century Tour of Yorkshire Gardens’
A lecture at The York Medical Society Rooms, 23 Stonegate, York, YO1 8AW at 2.30pm-4pm
Balthasar Nebot, A view of the reservoir and artificial mount in the gardens of Studley, the seat of William Aislabie, Esq., with a distant view of Fountains Abbey, 1758
Image credit: National Trust Photographic Library/John Hammond / Bridgeman Images
This talk examines the travel accounts of Philip Yorke, later 2nd Earl of Hardwicke (1720-1790)
and his wife, Jemima Marchioness Grey (1722-1797), focusing on their tours of Yorkshire –
which Grey judged to be ‘exceeding fine country’. Both keen travellers, the couple often spent their summers touring the length and breadth of England, as they sought inspiration for their own garden improvements at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire.
Friday 15 November
York Georgian Society & Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings combined
Winter Drinks at The Leeds Library
An exclusive evening at this hidden Georgian gem at 6pm-9pm
A rare chance to explore the members-only subscription library, founded in 1768. You will be
able to delve into its literary and architectural jewels with a glass of wine and good company.
Explore the extensive collections, or just soak up the atmosphere from the gallery above. Enjoy looking at a specially displayed selection of books of interest to both Societies.
Thursday 28 November
York Georgian Society & The Georgian Group
Roof Tour of Cannon Hall, South Yorkshire
A fascinating afternoon’s visit to learn more about the roof repair project at this outstanding Grade II* listed building at 1pm – 3pm
Join us on a visit to Cannon Hall’s rooftop, to witness the essential repair works being
undertaken. Following a generous Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) grant,
existing failing roofs and skylights will be replaced, stonework repaired, ventilation improved
and stonework repointed. These repairs will safeguard the house and its collections for future generations.
An External Event to be Enjoyed
Tuesday 12 November
The Georgian Group
Thomas Read Kemp (1782-1844)
Drawing by Sir Thomas Lawrence
Image credit: Wikipedia Public Domain
The Early Topography and Buildings of London Zoo
Online lecture by Oliver Flory at 6.30pm
The 1.2 million modern annual visitors to London Zoo today, regardless of extensive
modernisation, visit a zoological garden laid out within original boundaries of the early 19th
century, amidst the harmonious surrounds of Regent’s Park. The footprint of Decimus Burton’s designs, despite the demolition of many of his buildings, shaped the character of both London Zoo and zoological gardens throughout the world. Oliver Flory will focus on the topography and the design of the early gardens up to the year 1837 and the construction of Burton’s giraffe house, perhaps the most famous zoo building in the world.
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