Emma Sandys (1843-1877) is one of these undeservedly obscure female Pre-Raphaelite painters, overshadowed by her more famous and debauched brother Frederick. I have been tracking her down, on and off, for years, slowly compiling a list of all her paintings (and more keep turning up – she was astonishingly prolific). This week I have been on the trail a little more actively, however, visiting her birthplace, Norwich, where she lived for most of her life apart from a few stays in London. There is much more work to do (and I will be on it as soon as I’ve finished writing my current book!) but it was so exciting to track down a little more about her.
Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery has two Emma Sandys (above top centre and left); the top is apparently her last work, and you can see that it is unfinished; the left is considered possibly a self-portrait, although I’m not convinced. There are some beautiful medieval figures in the background only really apparent when you see the paintings in person, and it was a real thrill to me to be able to do so.
In the Study Centre I spent some time looking at documents held on her works – quite an interesting collection in terms of provenance and other people’s research, and I now know of several paintings I hadn’t come across before. But the interesting thing in researching Emma is that there are the titles of paintings in exhibition or sale catalogues, and then there are the paintings I know of, many or even most of which have generic titles (Portrait of a Young Lady, or variations on that theme); and I am trying to match up the images with the titles, which is great fun but quite tricky and extremely speculative. Her paintings feature many historical or literary characters, and she is meticulous in her use of accessories and symbolism, so I am tracing these clues. (I’m also obsessed with the jewellery that features in her paintings, but that’s a future research project!)
Emma Sandys’ life was short and, I suspect, quite sad. Born Mary Ann Emma Negus Sandys, she adopted Emma as her first name, and her father, the painter Anthony Sandys, changed the family’s name from Sands in about 1853. At the age of 20 she was baptised, at St Peter Mancroft Church in Norwich, and visiting the church made me feel quite close to her. It is a beautiful, light church, the largest in Norwich other than the cathedral, and although we don’t know why she decided to be baptised as an adult it is lovely to think of her visiting and worshipping in this beautiful building.
The place where she lived, on Grapes Hill, is now a roundabout, sadly, but it is close to Chapelfield Gardens, which was a park in the 1860s and is still open, and there are houses nearby which would have been there in Emma’s time.
Other places of interest included St Andrew’s Hall, where Emma’s work was exhibited during her lifetime, and from which she sold a painting to raise money for the church. The building was scaffolded when I visited, but it is a spectacular place.
It is difficult to find out much more, as so little has been recorded of her life, but we do know that she was a determined woman, who painted other women in the Pre-Raphaelite style with enormous skill and attention to detail. The only indication I have of her own voice is in a few letters, and in one she is clear that she needs space to work:
I want you to write at once and tell me if you will want your studio to do it in, as then Jarrold has another room to let and I’ve asked him to keep it for a week that I may have time to decide about liking it – because if you want yours I must have one, it would be impossible for me to paint at home – so do write and let me know there’s a dear as it is important.
‘Jarrold’ must refer to the family who owned Jarrold’s department store, then a printer and publisher as well. I like the firmness of her tone in this letter, and other letters where she is arranging sales of her work.
Emma Sandys died at the age of 34, after a short ‘congestion of the lungs’, according to the death certificate. Her death was registered by an illiterate maid who was with her when she died. Emma is buried at the non-denominational Rosary Cemetery with her parents, although the grave is unmarked as there was no money in the family by then. I visited the cemetery and found it a wonderfully peaceful place, and thanks to the help of the Friends of the cemetery I worked out roughly where she was buried, and was pleased to see a small patch of snowdrops there. It seemed a calm space for Emma Sandys to rest.
