Eureka Moment
Paul Johnson knew that his relation Thomas Prytherch was a painter. After finding two intriguing portraits in a museum, he embarked on a quest that shed new light on his family tree, as Gail Dixon explains
Paul Johnson explains how a journal that he found on eBay revealed the identity of two intriguing portraits
Paul Johnson was thrilled to discover that the acclaimed Welsh artist Thomas Prytherch is his great great uncle. Thomas might not have been a household name, but he was highly regarded in artistic circles and his work has been exhibited in world-famous galleries.
Thomas came from humble beginnings. He was born in Merthyr Tydfil in 1864, the son of a weigher and puddler at Dowlais Ironworks, and began working alongside his father as a metal straightener at the age of 10.
Fortunately, his talent for art and technical drawing attracted the attention of influential patrons, including Lady Wimborne, the owner of the ironworks. She saw some of his pencil sketches and ordered that Thomas should be trained as an engineering draughtsman, a post that he held for five years.
During the 1888 by-election in Merthyr Tydfil, Thomas drew a series of cartoons of the Liberal MP William Pritchard Morgan, who was so impressed that he offered to sponsor him to study at the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art in London.
Thomas carved out a thriving career as an artist, and both his landscapes and his cityscapes were highly sought after. Paul discovered that Thomas also enjoyed portraiture, an interest that would to lead to a mystery, as he explains.
My Brick Wall
I’m very proud of my Welsh heritage, and it was a great joy to find out that my great great uncle Thomas Prytherch was a successful painter. Art was my best subject at school – it seemed to come naturally to me.
I couldn’t wait to research Thomas’ life and works online. I’ve even purchased two of his paintings at auction. The most famous watercolours he produced, for the magazine The Strand, are Piccadilly Circus at Night and Ludgate Hill at Night. The atmosphere, composition and colours are all stunning.
In 2015, I discovered that artuk. org, which has images from every public art collection in the UK, had photographs of some of his works. Two in particular caught my eye: Portrait of an Unknown Man With Full Beard and Portrait of an Unknown Lady With a Lace Cap. Both were dated 1896.
I had a romantic notion that
the paintings might be Thomas’ parents, my great great grandparents Thomas and Sarah Prytherch. Both paintings were housed in Carmarthenshire County Museum, which my wife and I visited in 2015. It came as a blow when we found out that the museum had no record of who donated the paintings.
My Eureka Moment
Three years later, I was looking on eBay for anything related to ‘Prytherch’ and bought an old journal for £8. It was inscribed with the name JM Prytherch, Llanarth, and had a signature.
It was hard to read the handwriting, most of which was in Welsh and of a religious nature. Using some detective work and well-known genealogy websites, I discovered that the author was the Rev Jenkin Morgan Prytherch, my third cousin 3x removed. He was born in Llandovery in 1833, and married Sarah Evan. Jenkin links to my 5x great grandfather Thomas Rudderch, who was born in 1720 in Llanfair-ar-yBryn, Carmarthenshire.
Digging deeper, I found a photo of Jenkin at the National Library of Wales ( library.wales). I couldn’t believe the similarity between his face and that of the man in the portrait. This convinced me that Jenkin Morgan was the sitter, and that the lady was his wife Sarah.
All the pieces of the puzzle fitted together. Jenkin was 63 in 1896, Thomas Prytherch was 32 and, given the location and family connection, I’m convinced they would have known each other.
My Breakthrough
I’ll admit I was disappointed not to be able to gaze upon the faces of my great great grandparents. However, solving the mystery was surprisingly serendipitous.
This discovery has opened more doors to the ‘Welshness’ of my family, and I’ve really enjoyed researching Thomas’ career.
He led the life of a successful professional artist. He exhibited twice at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and in Welsh galleries. His work was sought after by illustrious patrons, and is on display at Raby Castle in County Durham, Weston Park in Shropshire and Cyfarthfa Castle in Merthyr Tydfil.
Thomas never married and lived with his beloved Aunt Mary at Topsy Cottage, Wroxeter. He died in 1926 and his epitaph says that he “combined brilliant artistic talent with extreme modesty, uprightness and sincerity”.
It’s satisfying to discover facts and figures about ancestors, but my favourite part is finding photographs or paintings – it’s as though you are looking them in the face. That experience is so special, like time travel.