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Dear fellow forum members,
Is anyone aware of any original illustrations of Richard Caton Woodville jr. artwork of A Gentleman in Khaki be it a watercolour or otherwise?
The attached watercolour has recently come into my possession and it's on Whatman 1899 paper, unsigned. Sheet size approx. 11 ½” x 8 9/16 or 290 mm x 215 mm.
Any information would be very much appreciated.
With thanks,
Michael

Your images

I do believe the original Gentleman in Khaki was indeed a painting. Woodville did use watercolours and oils. However, most of his original paintings were signed with the initials R.C.W. If you visit Wikiwand on line there are a list of Woodvilles paintings, 99% of them are in galleries or private collections. However, A Gentleman in Khaki is recorded as ( 1899, to promote the charitable efforts of the Absent Minded Beggar) Unfortunately, no mention of the whereabouts of the original painting.
If you look closely at your painting and the print used to promote the poem, you can see that there are certainly differences in the composition and the detail, especially the facial features and the attached shovel. Also, the rifle magazine seems different.
In my humble opinion I think that your painting has been undertaken by a reasonably gifted artist, but not as gifted as Richard Caton Woodville.




PS...I believe the artist signed his name in full along with Kipling's to promote the print for the Absent Minded Beggar.

Dave, many thanks for your valued input and valid observations. If there is an 'original' watercolour it's still to be found.
It would be common that infact no painting exists at all and that the print was drawn directly to plate.
Another possibility is that this is a trial run painting and a printing plate with corrections created thereafter..
What stirs my curiosity is that the watercolour is on dated paper, 1899, the same year as the print.
Onwards.

Michael



Above information taken from





The art paper and the date are bang on.

I wish you well in your quest, please keep us posted on future developments.

A limited number of lithographs, signed by both Caton-Woodville and Kipling, were produced and sold as part of the fund-raising exercise.

My belief has always been that the original was a black and white wash drawing, rather than an oil painting. But I might be wrong.

There was a story circulating in the 1980s that the "original drawing" was displayed on the wall of the Lord Roberts Memorial Workshops. But, I have no idea whether there is any truth in this.



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