The Marriage of Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Princess Alexandra of Denmark in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, 10 March 1863

Location

Country: Sweden
City: Stockholm
Place: British Embassy

William Powell Frith was born near Ripon in Yorkshire. He studied at the Royal Academy Schools and was elected an Academician in 1852. During the 1840s he was a member of the artists' group 'The Clique'. Although his early subjects were historical or literary, Frith claimed to have been ‘strongly drawn’ to contemporary genre. He first painted the subject following a visit to Ramsgate of 1851, which resulted in ‘Ramsgate Sands’ (exhibited 1854). He went on to paint ‘Derby Day’ (1858), ‘The Railway Station’ (1862) and ‘Private View Day at the Royal Academy’ (1883). His 19 children - twelve with his wife and seven with his mistress - caused considerable financial difficulties. Frith died of pneumonia aged 90, at his home in St John's Wood.
Engraver William Henry Simmons was born in London. Nothing is known of his parents. He was a pupil of engraver William Finden but later turned from steel plate engraving to mixed mezzotint (combining etching, mezzotint and engraved line). He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1857 and 1882. His prolific output includes engravings after Thomas Faed, William Powell Frith, Charles Eastlake and Edwin Landseer. His finest work is perhaps the engraving after William Holman Hunt's ‘The Light of the World’ (published 1858). By 1881 Simmons was a widower, living in St Pancras, London, with his unmarried sister, widowed daughter, his grandson and an apprentice engraver. He died a day before his 71st birthday and was buried in Highgate cemetery.

Places

England, Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire

Subjects

topography, royal portrait, group portrait, bouquet, boy, man, woman, girl, 19th century costume, dress, military uniform, kilt, flag, Queen, wedding, clergyman, royal marriage, church windows, stained-glass window, balcony, carpet, religious/ecclesiastical interior

Materials & Techniques

engraving

Artist

William Powell Frith (1819 - 1909)
William Henry Simmons (1811 - 1882)

Title

The Marriage of Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Princess Alexandra of Denmark in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, 10 March 1863

Date

published 17 July 1870

Medium

Engraving

Dimensions

height: 61.00 cm, width: 86.50 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Christopher Wood, October 1980

Provenance

Sold through Christie’s, South Kensington, on 2 June 1980 (Lot 41); from which sale purchased by Christopher Wood Gallery, London; from whom purchased by the Government Picture Collection in October 1980

GAC number

15107