Henry Treffry Dunn (1838–1899) was

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

's assistant and a painter in his own right.Henry Dunn
Rossetti Archive, accessed December 2011 Dunn's memoirs are a valuable source for the lives of the Pre-Raphaelites. He was paid to be Rossetti's factotum and to create copies of Rossetti's paintings. It has been said that the painting ''

Lady Lilith ''Lady Lilith'' is an oil painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti first painted in 1866–1868 using his mistress Fanny Cornforth as the model, then altered in 1872–73 to show the face of Alexa Wilding. The subject is Lilith, who was, according to ...

'' in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

was actually painted by Dunn and only "touched up" by Rossetti. Dunn left Rossetti's house because he was owed his salary. After Rossetti died, Dunn received the money that was owing to him and he would die whilst living with the poets Algernon Charles Swinburne and

Theodore Watts-Dunton Theodore Watts-Dunton (12 October 1832 – 6 June 1914), from St Ives, Huntingdonshire, was an English poetry critic with major periodicals, and himself a poet. He is remembered particularly as the friend and minder of Algernon Charles Swinbu ...

Life and career

Henry Treffry Dunn Rossetti and Dunton at 16 Cheyne Walk

Dunn was the son of a tea merchant. He was born in 1838 in

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

and trained at Heatherleys School of Fine Art in

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. His sister

Edith Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and var ...

(born 1843) exhibited paintings, and another of his sisters was a professor of music. He took up the position of assistant to Rossetti at

Cheyne Walk Cheyne Walk is an historic road in Chelsea, London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It runs parallel with the River Thames. Before the construction of Chelsea Embankment reduced the width of the Thames here, it fronted ...

in 1867 when Rossetti's assistant, Walter Knewstubb, left to launch his own career. Dunn had been recommended for the position by the American artist Walter Deverell. The painter's brother William Rossetti described Dunn as having bright dark eyes and being prematurely grey. Dunn's paintings are influenced by Rossetti and in some cases he would make preliminary studies and copies for Rossetti. His painting style was described as "more solid than graceful". Dunn recounted that he was given the position after successfully creating a copy of Rossetti's work. Rossetti used his assistant frequently to create copies which he would complete and at one stage Dunn complains at having to create a third copy of the same painting. Some have said that some of Rossetti's paintings were in fact almost entirely created by Dunn. Charles Fairfax Murray, who was later another of Rossetti's assistants, claimed that the ''

'' in the

was painted by Dunn and then "touched up" by Rossetti. Lady Lileth attrib Dunn

Dunn's paintings include a version of ''

'' which is attributed to him. Dunn is thought to have later recreated this picture in coloured chalk based on Rossetti's version. Alexa or Alice Wilding was admired by Dunn although it not known if his feelings were returned. Dunn is reported to have only had a few women in his life and no long term attachments. Dunn was not only an artist's assistant, but also a secretary and friend. It was Dunn who first arranged for Rossetti to get a bank account, as Rossetti would keep his money in a drawer where he, and others, could freely help themselves. Dunn worked as Rossetti's assistant for many years, but they quarreled and Rossetti refused to pay him. The quarrel continued until Dunn returned to his native Cornwall in 1880, leaving Rossetti's household in chaos. Rossetti then replaced Dunn with another companion; the author

Hall Caine Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine (14 May 1853 – 31 August 1931), usually known as Hall Caine, was a British novelist, dramatist, short story writer, poet and critic of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Caine's popularity during ...

. The lost salary remained in dispute until after Rossetti's death. When Rossetti died Dunn was very helpful to William Rossetti in his role as executor, though he considered Dunn to be an alcoholic. Dunn eventually obtained the considerable sum of money that was owed to him from Rossetti's estate. At the end of his life he was taken in by the critic and poet

who had earlier saved Swinburne from alcoholism. The three of them lived together at Watts-Dunton's house until Dunn died in 1899. Dunn's recollections of Rossetti and his friends were later published.

Legacy

Dunn's watercolours and his other paintings are in collections in Cornwall and other British galleries.

Gallery

File:Henry Treffry Dunn (1838-1899) - The Theodore Watts-Dunton Cabinet, Genevieve (after Dante Gabriel Rossetti) - 1288304.9 - National Trust.jpg, ''Genevieve'' File:Henry Treffry Dunn - The Theodore Watts-Dunton Folding Press Bed - Paolo and Francesca da Rimini.jpg, '' Paolo and Francesca da Rimini'' File:Henry Treffry Dunn (1838-1899) - The Theodore Watts-Dunton Cabinet, The Return of the Princess - 1288304.5 - National Trust.jpg, ''The Return of the Princess'' File:Henry Treffry Dunn (1838-1899) - The Theodore Watts-Dunton Cabinet, The Skulls Brought to the King - 1288304.2 - National Trust.jpg, ''The Skulls Brought to the King'' File:Henry Treffry Dunn (1838-1899) - The Theodore Watts-Dunton Cabinet, The Wedding of Saint George - 1288304.10 - National Trust.jpg, ''The Wedding of

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

'' File:Henry Treffry Dunn (1838-1899) - The Theodore Watts-Dunton Folding Press Bed, Janey Morris (after Dante Gabriel Rossetti) - 1288301.4 - National Trust.jpg, ''

Jane Morris Jane Morris (née Burden; 19 October 1839 – 26 January 1914) was an English embroiderer in the Arts and Crafts movement and artists' model who embodied the Pre-Raphaelite ideal of beauty. She was a model and muse to her husband Willi ...

'' File:Henry Treffry Dunn (1838-1899) - The Theodore Watts-Dunton Cabinet, How They Met Themselves (after Dante Gabriel Rossetti) - 1288304.6 - National Trust.jpg, ''How They Met Themselves'' File:Henry Treffry Dunn (1838-1899) - The Theodore Watts-Dunton Cabinet, Faust and Margaret in Prison (after Dante Gabriel Rossetti) - 1288304.7 - National Trust.jpg, ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

'' ''and Margaret in Prison''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Henry Treffry 1838 births 1899 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters People from Truro Pre-Raphaelite painters 19th-century English male artists