Lot 194: JOY, GEORGE WILLIAM (1844-1925, Irish painter of historical and genre subjects and portraits)

PORTRAIT BY THEODORE BLAKE WIRGMAN R.P. (1848-1925),
pencil drawing, half-length, signed with initials by the artist ('TBW'), with pencil tests down the right-hand margin under the mount, 71/2 x 6 in (19.1 x 15.2 cm).

Joy is seen as the prosperous heir to such painters as Millais and Leighton. He must have had a large studio, for he borrowed the bus for his famous picture, The Bayswater Omnibus, 1895, from the General Omnibus Company and used members of his family and friends for most of the models with the baby being loaned by the local policeman. He also painted the best picture of Gordon in Khartoum which became an icon of British colonial rule. For self-portraits of Joy see The Work of George W. Joy, 1904.

Also see Wirgman (lot 226) in this catalogue.