The Lost Pre-Raphaelite: The Secret Life and Loves of Robert Bateman

by Nigel Daly

When the author bought a falling down fortified house on the Staffordshire moorlands, he had no reason to anticipate the astonishing tale that would unfold as it was restored. A mysterious set of relationships emerged amongst its former owners, revolving round the almost forgotten artist, Robert Bateman, a prominent Pre-Raphaelite and friend of Burne Jones. He was to marry the granddaughter of the Earl of Carlisle, and to be associated with Benjamin Disraeli, William Gladstone, and other prominent political and artistic figures. But he had abandoned his life as an artist in mid-career to live as a recluse, and his rich and glamorous wife-to-be had married the local vicar, already in his sixties and shortly to die. The discovery of two clearly autobiographical paintings led to an utterly absorbing forensic investigation into Bateman's life. The story moves from Staffordshire to Lahore, to Canada, Wyoming, and then, via Buffalo Bill, to Peru and back to England. It leads to the improbable respectability of Imperial Tobacco in Bristol, and then, less respectably, to a car park in Stoke-on-Trent. En route the author pieces together an astonishing and deeply moving story of love and loss, of art and politics, of morality and hypocrisy, of family secrets concealed but never quite completely obscured. The result is a page-turning combination of detective story and tale of human frailty, endeavor, and love. It is also a portrait of a significant artist, a reassessment of whose work is long overdue. Nigel Daly is an antique dealer and house restorer.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Biography

336 pages, Hardcover

First published August 11, 2014

Reviews

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
Funny how it is that you start reading a book with no great expectations beyond it being interesting, and it turns out to be totally enthralling.
To explain in any sort of detail what this book is about would be to spoil the surprises it contains.
Beautifully written and illustrated.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not even sure how to begin. A full five star rating does not give this beautiful work enough merit. What Nigel Daly and his partner Brian Vowles have done is a stroke of pure genius! This is not a biography folks; The Lost Pre-Raphelite begins with the setting of a home called Biddulph Old Hall, the remnants of a great Elizabethan mansion on the Staffordshire moorlands. You see, due to author Nigel Daly's day job dealing in antiques and restoring houses, his presence at Biddulph Old Hall leads to the discovery of one former owner, Robert Bateman. Robert Bateman was a rather unsuccessful, not very well-known, nineteenth century artist with some very now infamous friends. For instance, a young man named Edward Burne-Jones, Rossetti, and Simeon-Solomon are brought into the fray as well.

Once Nigel Daly's interest in the house and its history is piqued, well, hold on readers because you are in for an incredible artistic journey getting to know a fascinating recluse, Robert Bateman and his wife, Caroline Octavia Howard. Her marriage to Bateman was her longest but her second marriage and without giving much away let's just say that fact is very important to know beforehand. Take a good long look at that woman on the book cover in the painting by Robert Bateman called, 'The Artist's Wife' that's her! She was related to one of the most prominent nineteenth century families The Howards and cousin specifically to painter, George Howard, ninth Earl of Carlisle and his wife Countess Rosalind Howard.

From the Introduction, I was engrossed and found myself begrudgingly only putting the book down when I had no choice. Nigel and Brian write not only detailed and descriptively on geographic settings and locations but manor house period room furnishings and restorations. Dear Reader the entire book is broken up into six parts, chronologically according to the life span of Robert Bateman and his wife Caroline Howard. I loved reading about the interiors of Biddulph Old Hall including gorgeous photographs leaving nothing to the imagination in a very good way! I felt as if I was on a manor house tour with both of these passionate men and when they discover Robert Bateman's presence hidden within the interior of Biddulph well, then more fun begins.

The Lost Pre-Raphaelite changes in tone and texture with the 'artistic' discovery of artist RB-Robert Bateman and with each passing chapter his life unfolds from a young single recluse of a man living very Wagnerianesque to a happily married man still artistic, still creative, still passionate until his last days. Not only will the readers read about these beautiful manor homes throughout England, they will read Nigel and Brian's exquisite background on all of Robert Bateman's paintings including catalogue notes and family anecdotes!

The Lost Pre-Raphaelite is a journey of discovery about one man's artistic life as he viewed the world through his paintings. For those are his legacies containing clues that he left behind. This is a detective story in the sense that you discover the human being behind the artist. Nigel and Brian take you through Robert Bateman's life into old age and trust me you do not want to miss this book. If you are an art lover of the Victorian era, or even The Pre-Raphaelites then please check out The Lost Pre-Raphaelite by Nigel Daly. I absolutely loved this entire book and it belongs on every art lovers shelf! I hope you will enjoy it and all the discoveries along the way!

[Suzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating! Part love story, part detective novel, part art history text.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Pre-Raphaelite artist, a tumble-down country estate, a mysterious romance - this was a page-turner!

[Minstrelka]

DNF
Had I known it was combined with authors' memoir about acquiring the house, I might have skipped it. Not for me.

[E A M Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the author bought a house that had been rented to Robert Bateman, he started an investigation into the life and work of the artist that led him down many historical and geographical byways.
Although Bateman's life story emerges, in all its troubles and confusion and final surprise, this is not arranged as a conventional biography. Instead the author describes the research he and his partner had to undertake. This arrangement foregrounds the way in which the past will always hold mysteries for the present. Our ancestors didn't bother recording and explaining things they thought obvious.
Questions raised by the research range from: Who was Bateman? To Why did a major and popular artist disappear from the public mind? In pursuing these and other questions we learn a great deal about the Victorian art world, its business, its attitudes and its scandals. I learned a huge amount that I hadn't known.
The writing style is easy to read and the numerous illustrations explain and enhance the text. Some of the conclusions drawn are necessarily speculative, but they are logical and give food for thought.
This book would appeal to anyone interested in history, art, heritage and/or the difficulties social conventions can cause. Not to mention a great love story. In addition anyone about to embark on a similar investigation will find the details of the research very useful.

[Russell James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two architectural detectives follow a trail that immerses them in a mystery far greater than they’d envisaged. Having intended merely to unravel the history of the ruined house they’d bought to restore, they quickly found that the house had had a previous owner (the Lost Pre-Raphaelite, Robert Bateman) who, as they gradually discovered, had been regarded in the late nineteenth century as a major artist (exhibiting alongside Burne Jones and others) before, following scandals around the trendy Grosvenor Gallery, he vanished into a long recluse-like existence with his unlikely wife, who he had plucked from the Howard family (the Howards of Castle Howard). Yet he and his wife - and even his paintings - seemed to have been expunged from history. Why? An absorbing read, in a beautifully produced and lavishly illustrated book.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely well-researched, interesting read. Starting with the purchase of a house - Biddulph Old Hall - and its picturesque ruins, the new owners become obsessed with a former owner, little-known pre-Raphaelite artist Robert Bateman. They make valiant attempts to track down his paintings and sculpture before becoming intrigued by his relationship with widow Caroline Wilbraham (née Howard).
Nigel Daly makes a compelling case for the family history aspect of the book, although I found some of the art history symbolism a little tenuous.
An enjoyable detective story which might make a good TV documentary.

[Claire Delacroix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This is a fabulous book. It begins, quite reasonably, with the acquisition of an old house and the desire to know more about the people who have lived there, as well as the story of the house. It evolves into a detective story and some credible speculation about a great human story. I heartily recommend it. What a page turner!