The ‘lost’ portrait of Emily Brontë by sister, Charlotte – next to the photogravure reproduction in the ‘Woman at Home’ Vol. 2, 1894. Sir William Robertson Nicoll saw the ‘lost’ portrait in 1879 – when he visited Martha Brown. He described the portrait as a “clearly and boldly drawn pencil sketch”. In the ensuing years after Martha’s death in 1880 – the original portrait became ‘irrevocably lost’. No coincidence then – I don’t think – that Robertson Nicoll was the Editor of the ‘Woman at Home’ that first featured the reproduction in 1894.
Two years later. . .
‘The Bonnet Portrait of Emily Brontë’ appeared again in print —— “EMILY BRONTË. FROM A PORTRAIT DRAWN BY CHARLOTTE”, in an 1896 edition of ‘THE BOOKMAN’ Vol III —— in an article by none other than, Clement K. Shorter; the individual broadly responsible for the Bonnet Portrait’s current sad state of ‘non-recognition’ —— and non-authentication.
The portrait’s appearance in Shorter’s article, ‘Mrs Gaskell and Charlotte Brontë’ strongly suggests that in 1896, Shorter believed the reproduction in the ‘Woman at Home’ and ‘The Bookman’ to be wholly genuine. . .
Page 318 “Brontë, Emily (from a portrait drawn by Charlotte)
Unfortunately, with no original of the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ on hand back then, Shorter changed his mind without good reason or proof —— and took it upon himself to write-off the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ REPRODUCTION —— without any evidence to back up his dismissal. The situation has remained unchanged and unresolved since 1900 —— a period of 120 years no less!
Ever a work in progress til the Truth will out; ‘Emily Brontë: The ‘Lost’ Portrait’ —— updated on the 5th May 2021. . .
The ‘Lost’ Portrait of Emily Brontë – drawn by sister, Charlotte Brontë in 1844 – on J Whatman watermarked paper…
There’s also a painted version on J Whatman watermarked paper —— plus a miniature version too.
“J WHA[TMAN]” Charlotte’s known paper of choice.
The Drawing, The Watercolour and The Miniature were created BEFORE the reproduction in print in the ‘Woman at Home’ and ‘The Bookman’ – and in a time l—o—n—g before Google Images was invented!!! It’s obvious that they are correct for the time of the Brontë Sisters.
Since watching ‘The Brilliant Brontë Sisters’ presented by Sheila Hancock in 2013 on ITV (still available to watch, via a link at foot of this blog post) – I have been hooked by Charlotte, Emily and Anne (and Branwell) – but not through reading their novels but through discovering their art! Today, 30th. July 2018 is the bicentenary of Emily Brontë’s birth – so this is my way of marking this special day.
For several years now – I have been researching – the ‘lost’ art of the Brontës, in particular – The ‘Lost’ Portrait of Emily Bronte drawn by sister, Charlotte – that has been thought ‘irrevocably lost’ since 1879 – when Sir William Robertson Nicoll witnessed its very existence…
“… In July, 1879, I paid a visit to Haworth and had an interesting interview with Martha Brown, the faithful servant who nursed all the Brontes, and saw them all die. She possessed many relics of the famous sisters which had been given her by Mr Bronte. Among them was the pencil sketch of Anne Bronte by Charlotte Bronte, which, however imperfect in drawing, is described by at least two who knew her well as an unmistakable likeness…. I purchased it on Martha Brown’s death from one of her sisters…. I deeply regret that I cannot add a portrait of the greatest genius among the sisters, Emily Bronte. Martha Brown possessed a very clearly and boldly drawn pencil sketch of Emily by Charlotte, which I in vain endeavoured to purchase. After her death, what she left was divided among four sisters, with all of whom I communicated without succeeding even in tracing the picture. …”
William Robertson Nicoll, 1891.
There are several original versions of the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ of Emily Brontë recently come to light —— however the earliest is an original sanguine drawing in the Brontë Parsonage Museum’s own collection in Haworth; it was bequeathed to the trustee’s of the Brontë Parsonage Museum by Henry Houston Bonnell after his death in 1926. ‘Sanguine’ derives from ‘sanguineus’ —— Latin for “blood” or “bloody”; the Brontë Society’s version of the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ is drawn entirely in red crayon. . .
‘Emily On The Wall!’ The sanguine version of the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ looking suitably defiant on display beside a portrait of the gentleman that bequeathed it to the Brontë Society; American philanthropist, Henry Houston Bonnell – whom the room is named after.
The sanguine version on display on the back wall. Vintage postcard of the ‘Bonnell Room’ in the Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth.
The sanguine version of the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ is listed in the official Bonnell Catalogue – as item 69 – along with two other sanguine portraits, listed as items 67 and 68. . .
Item 68 in the Bonnell Catalogue is a sanguine portrait of Anne Brontë; after Charlotte’s watercolour portrait of Anne – number 92 in ‘The Art Of the Brontës’ by Christine Alexander and Jane Sellars.
Item 67 is a sanguine portrait of Charlotte Brontë – after George Richmond’s chalk drawing in the National Portrait Gallery.
All three sanguine portraits – in the Brontë Parsonage Museum collection – 67, 68, and 69, appear to be by the same hand – yet two are after genuine portraits of Anne and Charlotte – yet item 69 of ‘Emily’ remains unjustly labelled as ‘spurious’ without any proof that it is after a spurious portrait type.
All three ‘red’ portraits – can be easily viewed here on the Brontë Museum Collection Database:- http://bronte.adlibsoft.com/search.aspx
Just tick ‘Museum Collection’ box > type‘portrait’into search box > click ‘search’.
Sanguine portraits of Anne and Charlotte can be viewed on page 9, listed as:-
205 Anne Brontë Bonnell68
206 Charlotte Brontë Bonnell67
Whilst sanguine portrait of ‘Emily’ can be viewed on page 10, spuriously listed as:-
246 Girl wearing a bonnet Bonnell69.
Now back to the original ‘lost’ pencil drawing:
Although bearing a date, title and artist’s signature – the pencil drawing of Emily by Charlotte – is timeworn; all three are now exceedingly faint with age, but just visible nonetheless.
Significantly the drawing has several ‘hidden’ markers – cryptic clues that confirm both artist and sitter. Charlotte was a cryptographer – and was a master of minuscule writing – or micro-script; the drawing is covered in tiny, indecipherable sequences of letters and numbers. In fact – many of the bold lines are not straight lines at all but tiny writing – including three diagonal lines across the right eye:-
A secret, minuscule message written in ‘Emily’s’ eye; evidence of Charlotte’s micro-script. It’s definitely script not pencil strokes – ‘lines’ that are missing from the other eye. A macro lens has revealed a teeny-weeny signature ‘C BRONTË’ – as well as the initials ‘EJB’ for Emily Jane Brontë. . .
During the making of ‘The Brilliant Brontë Sisters’ with Sheila Hancock – a heart-shaped full-stop was newly discovered at the end of Charlotte’s last ever letter to Constantin Héger. It was only discovered BECAUSË the television camera powerfully zoomed-in on the letter and magnified Charlotte’s cryptic punctuation——therein revealing a perfect micro-heart – and not a ‘dot’ as presumed.
Revealed. A screenshot from ‘The Brilliant Bronte Sisters’ to illustrate Charlotte’s secret heart ‘full-stop’.
This example, only goes to magnify the point I make about the ‘Bonnet’ drawing; that unless it undergoes proper scientific, photographic analysis of the type seen on ‘Fake or Fortune?’ – much of the hidden micro-information contained within the drawing will remain secret. Indeed, it’s high-time that many of the authenticated artworks in the Brontë Parsonage Museum collection were looked at again——more closely – because it would reveal for certain, the hidden micro-numbers that they too contain.
Here are some significant markers exposed – beginning with ‘The Initials in The Hair’ – in Emily’s frizz of curls:-
Initials in the Hair. E.B. for sitter, Emily Bronte. C.B. for artist, Charlotte Bronte.
Cryptic monogram ‘C.B.’ disguised in a curl of hair. Neither curl can possibly end in a ‘B’ shape if one follows both strands around to their natural ends.
An area of Charlotte’s micro-script numbers exposed. Bear in mind that the pencil sketch is small – so the micro-script concealed within the drawing’s bold pencil lines is tiny beyond words and normal vision.
Secret numbers…in the ‘L’ of E.M.I.L.Y. (click on image to enlarge in another window.)
…from an infrared image of the ‘lost’ portrait of Emily Bronte by Charlotte – courtesy of Jevon Thistlewood, Ashmolean, Oxford.
Five bold pencil strokes from left to right: “E M I L Y” ingeniously interwoven in the folds of the sitter’s cloak. . .
“E M I L Y”
From left to right – the cryptic folds in the drapery collectively spell-out “E M I L Y”
‘Emily BRONTË‘ – writing so timeworn – this image has been taken from an enlarged CANVAS copy of the original drawing (as seen below). ‘Emily’ slopes upward from right: ‘BRONTË‘ is uppercase – straight-right. If you look at it hard enough – you will perceive the sitter’s name, even the diaeresis or dots above the ‘ë‘.
The ‘Lost’ Portrait of Emily Brontë reproduced on canvas. Because the original portrait IS so “clearly and boldly drawn” (to use William Robertson Nicoll’s description of the ‘Lost’ Portrait) it’s been enlarged from 131 mm x 107 mm to an expansive 800 mm x 600 mm!
‘BRONTË‘ faintly discernible on the original drawing.
‘1844’
A rough tracing of the date ‘1844’ – to highlight the shapes of the figures. The ‘8’ is distinctive – a form that I have seen repeated in one of Charlotte’s miniature books.
By tinkering around with light, sharpness, contrast levels only – the distinctive ‘8’ in 1844 becomes easier to see.
Another area of my research – is the auction of “a small parcel” of Brontë portraits sold at Sotheby’s on Monday, 18th. December 1933; Lot 115.
Annotated page from a Sotheby’s Catalogue – courtesy of ‘The British Library’ – it’s the sentence below that strikes a chord with the ‘Bonnet Portrait’…
“a photogravure of the same, proof;”
The sentence highlighted above – especially resonates with my identification of the pencil drawing as the ‘lost’ portrait – because there is only one reproduction of a portrait of Emily Brontë by Charlotte Brontë – and that’s the photogravure illustration formally known as the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ or ‘Gypsy Portrait’ that appeared in print —— in the ‘Woman at Home’ 1894 volume 2 —— and again in ‘The Bookman’ volume III in 1896.
Significantly, Sir William Robertson Nicoll (who saw the ‘lost’ portrait in 1879 in Haworth —— during a visit to Martha Brown) —— was the Editor-in-Chief of ‘The Woman at Home’ that first published the photogravure reproduction of the Bonnet Portrait ‘type’ . . .
The Sotheby’s 1933 catalogue entry proves that a pencil portrait of Emily by Charlotte exists – and crucially was REPRODUCED IN PRINT —— “An original drawing of Emily Brontë by her sister Charlotte; a photogravure of the same, proof;”
Note also – reproductions of a portrait of Anne Brontë by Charlotte Brontë and reproductions of George Richmond’s portrait of Charlotte Brontë – were also sold in Lot 115. The significance of this to me – is that items 67, 68, 69 in the ‘Bonnell Catalogue’ have all been reproduced in print over many years – as has item 70; not the actual sanguine versions themselves – but reproductions of the SAME PORTRAIT TYPES – as in the ‘Bonnet’ portrait illustration below – and by clicking on these links:-
The ‘Woman at Home’ illustration states – ‘From a painting by Charlotte Brontë, hitherto unpublished.’ This somewhat confuses the matter – as to whether the original is a painting – or a drawing by Charlotte – but William Robertson Nicoll clearly stated that the ‘lost’ portrait of Emily Brontë by Charlotte – that he witnessed in Haworth in 1879 – was “a very clearly and boldly drawn pencil sketch.”
The ‘Lost’ Portrait of Emily Brontë drawn by Charlotte Brontë – atop the ‘Woman at Home’ 1894 – Vol ll. Is she not clearly and boldly drawn?
There is of course – another, more formal style painting of the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ ( pictured above with Prof. Christopher Heywood ) – that one can read about in an edition of the Keighly News.
If you are interested in finding out more about the Brontë Sisters – I recommend visiting this great resource, http://www.brontesisters.co.uk/ —— and this link is about the ‘lost’ portrait specifically. http://www.brontesisters.co.uk/Lost-Portrait-of-Emily.html
This post is dedicated to Professor Christopher Heywood —— for his friendship, encouragement, Ënlightenment —— and belief in the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ of Emily Brontë. . .
Please use the drop-down menu titled: ‘EMILY_BRONTE_IN_THE_FRAME’ —— at the top of this page —— to read tons more about ‘The ‘Lost’ Portrait of Emily Brontë’ —— and other ‘lost’ Brontë portraits too; I promise you, the findings in this post are just for starters. . .
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Tuesday – 31st July 2018. For Tina – doll-maker extraordinaire from Melbourne.
Hi Tina – Thank you for your comment today, I’m so glad ‘Emily’ has reignited Brontë fever within you, I look forward to seeing your ‘Sister’ dolls – wow! Your comment has awakened ‘Severine’ a rag-doll I once made, I thought you may like to see her…
I made her on Saturday, 19th January 2013 – whilst at work! We were hosting an open day in our new premises, where we had a workshop upstairs for children that had come along with their parents. A local artist/maker encouraged them to make whatever came into their imaginations out of recycle scraps and rags. At the end of the day, when all the kids had finished and gone home, and the lady running the workshop was starting to pack up, I sat down and made something of my own.
I have no idea where my creation came from, but within about fifteen minutes – ‘Severine’ took shape! My workmates and manager thought her too spooky – and told me to take her home——fast! That was in January 2013 – then in March 2013 – my interest in the Brontës was sparked when my mother telephoned me to tell me that ‘The Brilliant Brontë Sisters’ was on the telly that night. I still don’t know why she told me to watch it because I had no interest in the Brontës back then – I hadn’t even read their novels (still haven’t!) – the nearest reason was that I loved Yorkshire vet, James Herriot! Anyway, I watched it, and that did it – I caught Brontë fever!
I love the way a couple tied sticks for a body, the corner of a black dustbin bag for a dress, a scrap of leather for a bonnet and cape – and a circle of nylon gauze for a faceless face – look so animated when tied together——it’s like she came alive! 
‘Severine’
That was an inspiring read Melanie! I am moving house at the moment but this has reignited my Brontë fever, so I shall be working on some sister dolls in my head until I unpack my workroom.
Hi Tina, thanks for commenting again. I’ve just updated ‘Emily Bronte: The ‘Lost’ Portrait’ and it’s dedicated to YOU and your Craft. X
Oh yes she has that certain something! I think its in the lovely speaking posture and folds of her gown, I certainly don’t think she is spooky at all, just very poetic in her simplicity. It’s never too late to start a new career Melanie! Thank you for dedicating a post for me, I loved seeing Severine -perhaps our dollies can meet one day.
Sounds like a plan! And no – Severine was a one-off. X