Print of the Month - August 2018
Published by William Dickes in July 1875, and originally sold for 12 shillings, “Paddy in Difficulty” was one of Dickes’ largest prints measuring nearly 16 by 21 inches.
The print was after a painting by J. T. Lucas – Lucas’ signature can clearly be seen in the bottom left corner, together with the date 1873.
It would appear that J. T. Lucas was John Templeton Lucas (1836 - 1880) who exhibited in London at the Royal Academy and the Society of British Artists.
Amongst the many paintings by Lucas listed in “Works Exhibited at The Royal Society of British Artists 1824 – 1893”, there is the following entry – “1873/4 Paddy’s Predicament (copyright reserved) £50 (453)”.
The print is a chromolithograph and is signed in the plate margin bottom left – “London. Published for the Proprietor, William Dickes, July, 1875, by Wm. Dickes & Co., Farringdon Road, E.C., Copyright entered.”
The following quote from Alfred Docker (author of the book “The Colour Prints of William Dickes”) appeared in the Baxter Society Quarterly Journal of December 1924:-
“William Dickes was as persevering and painstaking as George Baxter, in some ways more so. He painted all his copies of the Great Masters himself and whenever an original print was required of him he would travel any distance to make his drawing on the spot, to enable him to get the right setting and local colouring. He journeyed to Palestine to make his drawing, in water colours, of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives and although "Paddy in Difficulty" was taken from Lucas' original, yet Dickes went over to Ireland, and sat in the rain by an Irish bog, to make sure that his local effect would be correct.”