George Morland 



pay their respects to Mrs. Morland and to discuss the mezzotint 

 process and art generally with her versatile husband. But while 

 the elegant Sir Joshua and his friends were downstairs, in an 

 upper room young George sat alone with his genius unknown as 

 yet to those who admired his father's inferior work. His chief 

 recreation at this time was music, for when he laid down his 

 brushes it was to pick up his violin and fill his lonely room with 

 throbbing, tumultuous sounds. It would make a subject for a 

 genre painter, this picture of young Morland, a dark-eyed, bullet- 

 headed fellow, standing in the midst of a disorder of canvases, 

 brushes, paints, and palettes, playing alone in his garret. 



His one tried friend at this period of his life seems to have been 

 a lad named Dawe, who afterwards wrote his biography. This 

 youth became a pupil of Henry Morland, and young George used to 

 go long walks with him on a Saturday afternoon. Dawe describes 

 how they went once to some sandpits at Blackheath, and how 

 amazed he was at the memory of his comrade, when, some weeks 

 later, George made a picture of the scene with such accuracy of 

 detail that it was almost impossible to believe he had not painted it 

 on the spot. 



It was a debateable point whether Morland ever studied at the 

 Academy schools, his biographers making precisely opposite state- 

 ments on this point. But it is believed now that he did attend the 

 schools for a time, and was withdrawn by his mother on account of 

 his having fallen into evil company. It was at this time, we 

 are told, that George also acquired his unfortunate taste for 

 strong liquors, which was in after years to be his curse and his 

 ruin. 



By this time, however, when he had turned eighteen years, the 

 secret of his genius had leaked out, and he was recognised by his 

 father's friends as an artist of rare promise. He received two 

 handsome offers, either of which would have filled any ordinarily 

 ambitious youth with joy. Romney offered to take him into his 

 own house as apprentice or pupil at the really excellent salary, 

 for those days, of £300 a year, and an artist named Gress, the 

 drawing-master to the Royal Family, made him a somewhat similar 

 proposal. 



10 



