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| Henry Hare Townsend Samuel Woodhouse, 1809-1815 The Victoria & Albert Museum |
Well, would you look at that? It’s Henry Hare Townsend. Sound familiar? How about adding a random “h” to the last name? Familiar now? Well, of course.
Henry Hare Townsend (1765-ish to 1827) was the father of our old friend Chauncey Hare Townshend. Or Chauncy Townsend, depending on the day. The younger Townshend seemed to enjoy changing the spelling of his names. He added the extra “h” to his surname in 1828--just after his father died. Nobody is really sure why. As for his first name, the “e” comes and goes. Regardless of spelling, regular readers of this site know Chauncey because of his huge collections of art and jewels which he bequeathed to the V&A.
Among the paintings in the Reverend Townshend’s bequest was this portrait of his father, seated and looking aristocratic. He’s joined by his dog, a pointer, as a way of denoting him as a landowner. For many decades, the painting has been titled “Henry Hare Townshend” even though Henry never used nor even knew of the different spelling of his surname. I have a feeling that Henry would be annoyed by it.
A specific date of creation is hard to pinpoint, but judging by the look of it, Townsend’s appearance, and the life of the artist, Samuel Woodhouse, it’s safe to say that the painting was finished between 1809 and 1815. The Townshend Bequest was entered into the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) in 1868. Of course, you’ve seen many of the jewels from the bequest. We’ve also had a good look at a few of the paintings, mostly watercolors and landscapes. In fact, this portrait is one of only three such paintings in the collection. All three depicts members of the Townsend/Townshend family.
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