Cheffins
Lot 542
Philip Richard Morris (British, 1836-1902), Portrait of Mr Austin; and Portrait of Mrs Austin, oil on canvas, 74 x 62cm (28.86 x 24.18in), a pair (2). The family writes: "The portraits are of Mr and Mrs Austin, indigo planters, who married in Calcutta Cathedral in 1848; in those days brides were expected to curtsey to their new mother-in-law as they processed up the church on the arm of their groom. This lady refused to do so, it being beneath her dignity as she was a 'cousin of the Earl and Countess of Wemyss'. They had various children, but India was a graveyard for babies and children in those days, and they were sent home with governesses or nurses to be brought up in England. They would be sent across land, with a cow to give milk for the children - I expect quite a cavalcade, a large group of them would go at a time, not just one or two - and then the cow would go with them on the ship home. When they reached England, it would be given to the captain in part payment for the journey. Indigo planting was very remunerative, and Mr Austin became extremely wealthy. The portraits were painted by Philip Morris in London; he lived in a very poor garret with his young wife, trying to make a living, and they were eating cheap cuts of meat, chops or cutlets, when they heard the Austins' carriage rattling up to their door. The artist's wife hurriedly pushed the plates under the sofa, and went to let the important visitors in. Mrs Austin had her little dog with her, and to the intense shame of the Morrises and the amusement of the Austins, it burrowed under the settee and came out chewing the bones. This story has been handed down the generations since"
