Pettie, John (1839-93; Scottish)

Works included in this catalogue
Pettie Arrest for Witchcraft 1866 {1876} NGV [PA]
Pettie Challenged {1885} NGV [PA]

The artist relocated to London in 1862, joining other Scottish painters working there, notably Orchardson (see Orchardson The First Cloud 1887 {1887} NGV [PA]). In the 1850s and 60s, Pettie worked as a book illustrator, and produced several paintings based on Sir Walter Scott’s historical novels.

Many of his subsequent narrative pictures, including the two pre-Felton purchases, also have an illustrative character.

Refs.

Both NGV 1894 and 1905 provide details on the artist. See Martin Hardie, John Pettie, London: Adam & Charles Black, 1908, pp.78 (text) and 219 (catalogue, noting a replica by Pettie, also dated 1866, in Wolverhampton): https://archive.org/stream/johnpettierahrs00hardgoog/johnpettierahrs00hardgoog_djvu.txt (Google Books reprint). See also Bénézit 10, pp.1279-80 and AKL 95 (2017), pp.286-87 (both mentioning the NGV); Wood Victorian Painters (1995), vol.I, p.406; and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Pettie