Joseph Wright of Derby, A.R.A.

William Alvey Darwin (1726-83) the elder brother of the sitter, Elston Hall, Nottinghamshire;
by descent

K. Pearson, The Life Letters and Labours of Francis Galton, 1914, Vol I, p. 243;
B. Nicolson, Joseph Wright of Derby, 1968, Vol. I., pp. 4, 35, 96, 100-101, 193, no. 51;
D. King-Hele, Erasmus Darwin, 1999, p. 77

STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE The painting appears to be in very good condition. ULTRAVIOLET Examination under ultraviolet light reveals an old and slightly discoloured varnish overall. There is also one horizontal line of retouching, running through the sitters left hand, approximately six inches in length. There are also a small number of very minor flecks of dirt on the surface. FRAME In the original fluted British 'Marratta' gilded frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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The sitter, Erasmus Darwin, was one of the most famous men of the his day and is here portrayed by his friend Joseph Wright of Derby, one of the foremost portrait artists of the day. The sitter was born on the 12th December 1731 at Elston Hall, near Nottingham, the seventh child of Robert Darwin (1682–1754), a lawyer and his wife, Elizabeth née Hill, (1702–1797). He was sent to the Chesterfield School in 1741 and in 1750 became a student at St. John's College, Cambridge, where he studied medicine. He held the Exeter scholarship there and whilst a student travelled to London to attend the lectures of the surgeon William Hunter. He subsequently studied medicine in Edinburgh, then the major centre for medical education in Europe.

Darwin established his first medical practice in Nottingham in 1756 and soon moved to Lichfield, where his practice flourished. He married Mary Howard (b. 1740), the daughter of Penelope (née Foley) and Charles Howard, a Lichfield solicitor, in 1757. Mary died in 1770 leaving three surviving children, Charles, who died at the age of nineteen, Erasmus, who became a lawyer and Robert Waring who became a successful physician and father of Charles Darwin, the author of The Origin of the Species. Darwin later formed an attachment to a Mary Parker (1753–1820) with whom he had two illegitimate daughters, Susan and Mary Parker.

At the time this portrait was painted in 1770, Darwin's medical practice dominated his life. He travelled extensively to treat patients and maintained a lively medical correspondence, providing advice and reflecting on specific cases. Innovative in his treatments, he experimented with drugs (including digitalis), gases, and exercise regimes, as well as unsuccessfully attempting inoculation of his own children. He was concerned with illnesses of both the body and mind, with heredity and with broad public health issues, including improving nutrition and ventilation. A keen inventor, among his many mechanical contrivances was a new steering mechanism for carriages, a copying machine and even a mechanical bird. Botany also became an absorbing practical and theoretical interest for Darwin by the late 1770s. He constructed his own botanic garden outside Lichfield and undertook the translation of writings of the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778).

Wright was a friend of John Whitehurst, the Derby inventor, who was well known to Darwin, being a member of the 'Lunar' group. When Wright became unwell c. 1767, Whitehurst would have recommended him to consult Darwin and it is probable that Wright stayed at Darwin's house in Lichfield on several occasions in the late 1760s and early 1770s. This portrait is one of two versions of Darwin portrayed in his role as consultant and physician dated 1770, the second is now on permanent loan to Darwin College, Cambridge (a copy which is not certainly original was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 1859). Darwin's friend Anna Seward recalled that the present portrait of Darwin was a good likeness, 'Dr Darwin sat to Mr. Wright. That was a simple contemplative portrait, of the most perfect resemblance.'[i] And indeed here Darwin is portrayed contemplating the viewer as if momentarily pausing during a consultation.

Darwin and Wright's paths continued to cross throughout their subsequent careers. It is possible that Wright introduced Darwin to his second wife Mrs Elizabeth Pole (1747–1832), widow of Colonel Edward Sacheverell Pole, who had sat to Wright and subsequently consulted Darwin on medical matters. A true icon of the Age of Enlightenment, Darwin was a founder of provincial scientific societies whose aim was to forward the progress of knowledge in these fields. They included the Botanical Society at Lichfield, the Lunar Society of Birmingham, and the Derby Philosophical Society. Wright was not invited to join any of these societies but he painted the portraits of members of both Societies and was clearly influenced by their revolutionary and enlightened ideals on topics from manufacture to slavery. Darwin was clearly also captivated by the artistic talents of Wright and in his later poetry he makes reference to the skills and attributes of Wrights landscapes. Darwin sat to Wright again in c. 1792-3 (Private Collection) seated, as a gentleman of letters, contemplating the middle distance with a quill in his hand.

In 1801 Darwin became seriously ill from pneumonia and retired from medical practice. Although he continued work on poetic works he and his family moved out of Derby in March 1802 to Breadsall Priory, which had been purchased by his son Erasmus. Darwin died there, apparently of a lung infection, on 18 April 1802 and was buried in Breadsall church.

[i] See A. Seward, Memoirs of the Life of Dr Darwin, 1804, p. 21