Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wolstenholme, Dean (1798-1883)

1059231Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 62 — Wolstenholme, Dean (1798-1883)1900by Ernest Clarke

WOLSTENHOLME, DEAN, the younger (1798–1883), animal painter and engraver, son of Dean Wolstenholme the elder [q. v.], was born near Waltham Abbey in Essex on 21 April 1798, and, unlike his father, received a regular training in his art. The first picture which he exhibited at the Royal Academy was a portrait of ‘Beach,’ a favourite bitch. In 1822 he exhibited at the academy a painting of the Black Eagle brewery of Messrs. Truman, Hanbury, & Buxton, the first of a series of paintings of the great London breweries, which included portraits of the drayhorses and of some of the brewery men. About 1830 he painted a full-length portrait of Lord Glamis in highland costume. He also painted and engraved the Essex Hunt, with portraits of members, horses, and hounds, together with several sets of sporting pictures.

About 1846 he turned to historical subjects, the most important of which were a ‘Hunting Picture of Queen Elizabeth’ and ‘Queen Elizabeth visiting Kenilworth Castle by Torchlight.’ His best known works were ‘The Burial of Tom Moody’ and ‘The Shade of Tom Moody.’ He died at Highgate on 12 April 1883.

[Sir Walter Gilbey's Animal Painters, 1900, vol. ii.; Bryan's Dict. of Painters and Engravers.]

E. C.-e.