John Masey Wright OWS
John Masey Wright OWS, Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor – C19th watercolour
John Masey Wright OWS, Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor – C19th watercolour

John Masey Wright OWS Falstaff in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor

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View the full Collection: Wright OWS, John Masey (1777–1866)

An original early 19th-century watercolour painting, John Masey Wright OWS, Falstaff in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor.

This jocular scene by John Masey Wright OWS (1777–1866) shows Falstaff in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor. Falstaff's surprised expression encapsulates the entanglement of deceit that plays out as Falstaff attempts to seduce the wives of two wealthy citizens; he in turn gets tricked and his double dealing is ultimately exposed.

Wright's reputation rests upon his small, delicately rendered compositions illustrating Shakespeare and other poets. He was deeply involved in the theatrical world of early 19th-century London, living in Bishop's Walk, Lambeth, at that time the theatrical quarter, and working as a scene painter at the opera house. It is said that his love of literature was such that his son recalled how, during an illness, he broke out in his sleep reciting long passages from Shakespeare.

Provenance: This painting derives from a collection associated with the Walpole family.

In brown wash with faint graphite underdrawing. There is an additional sketch on the verso in graphite and wash.

+ Read the Artist Research

John Masey Wright OWS (1777–1866)

John Masey Wright OWS (1777–1866) was born in Pentonville, London where his father was an organ-builder. He had a remarkable ear for music and was initially apprenticed to the same business, but was dismissed for making sketches on the organ pipes. Turning then to art as a career, he spent time in the studio of Thomas Stothard, whose illustrations were to have a profound influence on Wright's style.

Wright married and moved to Lambeth in 1810, where he shared a house in Bishop's Walk with the marine painter John 'Jock' Wilson. Wilson introduced Wright into the local circle of theatrical managers and designers, and Wright obtained work with Henry Aston Barker at the Stand Panorama and as a scene-painter at Covent Garden and at His Majesty's Theatre.

Wright was elected an associate of the Society of Painters in Water Colours in 1824, and became a full member in the following year. From that time he made a living as an exhibiting watercolourist and illustrator of literary subjects, producing illustrations for such annuals as Literary Souvenir and Amulet, and also for editions of Shakespeare, Scott, Burns and others.

Wright unfortunately was too generous and liberal with his money, and he suffered considerable financial hardship into old age, obliging him to work until the end of his life. He was dependent upon charitable payments from the Old Watercolour Society and a small life annuity from the Royal Academy until his death in 1866.

His work can be found in the collections of the British Museum, Royal Academy, V&A, Yale Center for British Art, and the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington.

COA
+ Artwork Details

Dimensions: Height: 23.3cm (9.17") Width: 17.4cm (6.85")

Presented: Unframed.

Medium: Watercolour

Age: Early 19th-century

Signed: No.

Inscribed: The picture is accompanied by an inscription on a separate fragment of paper giving the attribution.

Dated: --

Condition: There is some staining to the verso of the paper, which is slightly visible as brown patches on the front. Slight wrinkling to the paper at the lower edge, and small mark towards the lower left corner. There is a short, barely visible repaired tear to the right edge. Please see photos for detail. There are historic adhesive marks and/or paper remnants to the corners on the verso, from previous mounting.

Stock number: JT-550