Charles Allen Duval, often spelled duVal or Du Val, (19 March 1810 – 14 June 1872), was a well-known Victorian portrait painter, photographer, literary critic, illustrator and writer. He played a large role within the city of Manchester's thriving art scene, including the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, the

Manchester City Art Gallery Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre, England. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupi ...

and the

Art Treasures Exhibition, Manchester 1857 The Art Treasures of Great Britain was an exhibition of fine art held in Manchester, England, from 5 May to 17 October 1857.Beaumaris Beaumaris (; ) is a town and community (Wales), community on the Anglesey, Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey fro ...

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, on 19 March 1810. His parents were Edward Octavius Caesar Wall duVal and Sarah Eskildson After some time at sea, he started his artistic career in Liverpool. He married Elizabeth Renney in both Liverpool 1833 and Manchester 1834. They had nine children, two of whom; Edward and Gerald, became artists. Gerald's daughter Bessie Du Val also painted and illustrated books. His eldest son, Charles became a photographer and partner in his father's business, Messrs. C. A. Duval & Co., Exchange Street, Manchester. The firm was established in the 1860s and remained in business for forty years. Duval's second daughter, Florence, married Dr Charles Thurstan Holland, who would become famous for his research on Radiology. Duval had studios in Liverpool, Manchester and London. In 1831 he sent his work to

Liverpool Academy of Arts The Liverpool Academy of Arts was founded in Liverpool in April 1810 as a regional equivalent of the Royal Academy, London. It followed the Liverpool Society of Artists, first founded in 1769, which had a fitful existence until 1794. Two local a ...

from the following address: 51 Lime Street, Liverpool and in 1832; 26 Russell Street, Liverpool. He also opened a studio on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

where he spent his summers. In 1833 Duval left Liverpool and moved to Manchester where his address was 74 York Street Manchester though he was still listed in the Liverpool Directory in 1841 at the same address as a Sara Duval. In 1842 – 24 Carlton Terrace, Greenheys, Manchester became the family home. He was employed by Messrs. Agnew & Zanetti, Art Dealer (later known as

Thomas Agnew & Sons Thomas Agnew & Sons is a art dealer, fine arts dealer in London that began as a print and publishing partnership between Thomas Agnew and Vittore Zanetti in Manchester in 1817. Agnew ended the partnership by taking full control of the company in 183 ...

.) In Manchester he founded the Art Academy, a society for holding annual exhibitions with the idea of establishing a permanent public gallery, and was its president for many years. Eventually his idea took permanent form in the rooms of the Royal Manchester Institution. He was one of the first members to be elected to the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts in 1859 and was also one of the first members of the Brasenose Club along with Charles Halle and Edwin Waugh. His colleague Alfred Darbyshire described Duval entering the Brasenose Club in the following way: "That distinguished looking man just entered the room, with the Scotch plaid around him, and in the act of removing his black sombrero, is C A Duval, the artist and fashionable portrait painter of the period.". Duval was also a member of the

Portico Library The Portico Library, The Portico or Portico Library and Gallery on Mosley Street in Manchester, England, is an independent subscription library designed in the Greek Revival style by Thomas Harrison of Chester and built between 1802 and 1806. ...

, the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, the Manchester Athenaeum and for a time he was President of the Manchester Chess Club. The first circular announcing the formation of the Manchester Etching Club contained the signatures of Sir Charles Halle,

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known for his designs ...

, Sir Henry Roscoe, Samuel Pope, Charles J J Hitchman, Edwin Waugh, H F Blair, Sir John Holker, Duval the painter and H M Acton. He exhibited two pictures in the prestigious

Art Treasures Exhibition, Manchester 1857 The Art Treasures of Great Britain was an exhibition of fine art held in Manchester, England, from 5 May to 17 October 1857.Royal Jubilee Exhibition, Manchester 1887. Duval exhibited for thirty-six years at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, London (1836–1872).

Death

He was painting a family portrait in

Alderley Edge Alderley Edge is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cheshire, England, north-west of Macclesfield and south of Manchester. It lies at the base of a wooded sandstone escarpment, ''The Edge'', overlooking the Cheshire Plai ...

when he was suddenly taken ill and he died at Bollin Fee, Nr.

Wilmslow Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is south of Manchester. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the parish had a population of 26,213 and the built up area had a p ...

Cheshire on 14 June 1872. The

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

states "''His portraits are good likenesses, and have considerable artistic merit particularly his chalk studies of children... All his work was marked by great taste and beauty.''"

Works

One of his first works was ''The Ruined Gamester'' which was purchased and engraved by a Manchester print seller named Dewhurst. It became so popular that a cartoon in Punch caricaturing

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...

was drawn from it, and an etching from the picture and accompanying verses both by the artist appeared in the North of England Magazine, June 1842. The following etchings by Duval appeared in 'The North of England Magazine' vol 1, 1842: * Dr Dalton, from the Chantrey Statue, p. 14 * The Resident Pupil's Supper, p. 35 * The Genius of Mesmerism Rescuing a 'Slave of the Ring,' p. 72 * The Real and the Ideal, p. 72 * Hulme Hall, p. 96 * The Ruined Gamester, p. 297 Some of his other well-known sitters were Charles Halle,

Joseph Whitworth Sir Joseph Whitworth, 1st Baronet (21 December 1803 – 22 January 1887) was an English engineer, entrepreneur, inventor and philanthropist. In 1841, he devised the British Standard Whitworth system, which created an accepted standard for screw ...

, Samuel Bough and the inventor Joseph Burch whose portrait is now in the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, Industry (manufacturing), industry and Outline of industrial ...

. Duval painted an oil portrait of the inventor Joseph Burch (1825–1898) measuring 84 x 68.5 cm. It was commissioned by the Patent Museum and is now in the Science Museum store at Blythe House. Some of his inventions can also be seen at the Museum: * Model of a drugget-printing machine, with accessories, patentee Joseph Burch, England 1843. (Inventory number 1860-10) * (a) Machine for burning textile printing block moulds, 1845–1855; (b) Mould (unfinished); (c) Three cast printing blocks; (d) Collection of burning punches. (Inventory number 1979-378.) For a comprehensive list of Duval's works see: the 'Arnold Hyde Dictionary' of local artists compiled in the 1930 at Manchester Art Gallery.

Portraits

The rich and famous wanted their portraits painted by him and some of these can be seen on the website of the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

. Numerous members of the landed gentry commissioned Duval, for example: Rowland Eyles Egerton-Warburton who built the present

Arley Hall Arley Hall is a English country house, country house in the village of Arley, Cheshire, Arley, Cheshire, England, about south of Lymm and north of Northwich. It is home to the owner, Viscount Ashbrook, and his family. The house is a Grade&n ...

in Cheshire. Duval painted both Rowland's and his mother's portraits and they can be seen hanging in the elegant Drawing Room at Arley Hall.

Pastels

His pastel portraits of both adults and children were in great demand. One of his well-known pastel portraits is of the three oldest daughters of the Manchester novelist Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. The author's husband, William Gaskell was a Unitarian Minister in the city and first chairman of the

and would have been personally acquainted with Duval.

Politicians

John Bright John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn La ...

Daniel O'Connell Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...

Richard Cobden Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radicals (UK), Radical and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician, manufacturing, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti–Corn Law L ...

, and Charles Pelham Villiers were some of his political commissions. Daniel Lee, one of Duval's first patrons commissioned him to paint a life size painting of O'Connell, who allowed him one two and a half-hour sitting. Records show Cobden paid Duval £10.10.0. for his full-length portrait in 1853. All these portraits were worked in oil. Occasionally he worked in watercolour, for example Thomas Milner Gibson in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

. He executed a series of water colour vignette portraits of the leading members of the Anti-Corn Law League, which were engraved and published, and reproduced on pocket handkerchiefs.

Historical paintings

Duval painted numerous history paintings for example: ''The Methodist Centenary'' contained one hundred portraits of leading Wesleyans who had assembled in Manchester to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Institution of

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. ''Luther Burning the Pope's Bull'' also contained many figures. It measured 3m x 1.8m and was exhibited at

Westminster Hall Westminster Hall is a medieval great hall which is part of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. It was erected in 1097 for William II (William Rufus), at which point it was the largest hall in Europe. The building has had various functio ...

and afterwards in principal towns throughout the country. A three-quarter length oil portrait of Thomas Michaelson, in the dress uniform of a cavalry officer, can be seen on the website of the Dock Museum Collection. His family owned Michaelson House and Barrow Island, Barrow-in-Furness. His widow, Jane Michaelson sold Barrow Island to the Furness Railway in 1863. The Barrow Shipyard now Vickers Armstrong was sited on the island. The museum are planning to conserve this painting. In 1855 he exhibited Columbus in chains at the

Photography

In the 1860s Duval opened his own photography and portrait gallery at the premises of Messrs. Thomas Agnew & Sons, 14 Exchange Street, Manchester. He produced a full page advertisement for the firm, which included the following paragraph: "Messrs C A Duval & Co trust that the special training and knowledge of the artist, combined with the skill of the photographer, will ensure results more satisfactory to the public than those hitherto realised by photographing alone." He then produced a list of all his techniques: * Mr Duval's Miniature Portraits * Oil And Water-Colour Vignetted Portraits * Copies Of Pictures And Drawings Reduced Or Enlarged From The Original * Album Groups And Portraits * Instantaneous Portraits Of Children * Crayon And Pastel Portraits * Life Size Portraits In Oil He ended his advertisement by stating: "Messrs C A Duval & Co will not exhibit a portrait without special permission." Duval also produced right up to the minute

Carte-de-visite The ''carte de visite'' (, English: ' visiting card', abbr. 'CdV', pl. ''cartes de visite'') was a format of small photograph which was patented in Paris by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854, although first used by Louis Dod ...

portraits made popular by Queen Victoria. When Prince Albert died in 1861 over 70,000 portraits were sold within a week. Some of Duval's carte-de-visite portraits, for example:

William Fairbairn Sir William Fairbairn, 1st Baronet of Ardwick (19 February 1789 – 18 August 1874) was a Scotland, Scottish civil engineer, structural engineer and shipbuilder. In 1854 he succeeded George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson to become the third ...

, Charles Halle, James Whitehead,

Richard Ansdell Richard Ansdell (11 May 1815 – 20 April 1885) was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British painter of animals and genre work, genre scenes. Life Ansdell was born in Liverpool (then in Lancashire), the son of Thomas Griffiths ...

, Edward Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby and Prince Lee can be seen on the website of the National Portrait Gallery, London. By using Andre-Adolphe-Eugene Disderi's techniques Duval enabled the not so wealthy to afford their own portraits. Many of his photographs, paintings and drawings were registered by C A Duval and Company at the Copyright Office and Stationer's Company between 1863-1864 and photographs of these works are in the collection of

The National Archives (United Kingdom) The National Archives (TNA; ) is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its parent department is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom, United K ...

Writing

In 1863 Duval published five pamphlets on the ''American Civil War.'' He also wrote satirical articles for periodicals which he illustrated with his own sketches.

Sources

* Allen Vivien, ''Du Val Tonight! The Story of a Showman'', Worcester: Square One Publications, p.p. 3,4. * Art Treasures Examiner: ''A Record of the Art-Treasures Exhibition at Manchester,'' 1857. * Dewsbury Sheila, Archivist, Manchester Academy of Fine Arts and author of ''The Story So Far: The Manchester Academy of Fine Arts from 1859–2003,'' MAFA, 2003. * Graves A., ''A Century of Loan Exhibitions 1813–1912,'' 5 vols (1913–15.) * Nicholson Albert, ''Duval Charles Allen (1808–1872)'' Oxford Dictionary of Natural Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 * Quentin Bajac, ''The Invention of Photography: The First Fifty Years'', '

New Horizons ''New Horizons'' is an Interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary space probe launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research Institut ...

' series. London: Thames & Hudson, 2002. * ''The Ruined Gamester'', The North of England Magazine, Book 11, Chap 11, p. 297, 2002.

Bibliography

Susan W Thomson, ''Manchester's Victorian Art Scene And Its Unrecognised Artists,'' Chapter 2, ''Charles Allen Duval 1808–1872 Portrait Painter And Photographer,''Manchester Art Press, 2007, p.p. 13–29.

References

External links

National Portrait Gallery

Charles Allen Du Val – His life and works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duval, Charles 19th-century English painters English male painters Photographers from Manchester 1810 births 1872 deaths 19th-century English male artists 19th-century Welsh photographers 19th-century Welsh male artists People from Beaumaris