Paul Jacob Naftel (10 September 1817 – 13 September 1891) was a watercolour painter from Guernsey, the only Guernsey-born professional painter of the 19th century.[1]

Biography

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Naftel was born on 10 September 1817 in Guernsey.[2] He was a self-taught artist and taught drawing at Elizabeth College on Guernsey.[2]

Naftel was extremely prolific, producing over 1000 works during his lifetime.[1] He came to particular prominence when he recorded Queen Victoria's visit to Guernsey in 1846, with the resulting prints published in The Illustrated London News.[3] In 1856 he was elected to the Society of Painters in Water Colours.[2]

He married twice. His second wife, Isabel Oakley, was an artist and the youngest daughter of his longtime friend Octavius Oakley. Naftel's second marriage produced two sons and a daughter including Maud Naftel (1856–1890) who was also a successful artist.[4]

Naftel moved to London in 1870, where he had a highly successful solo exhibition at the gallery of the Fine Art Society.[3] At his art studio in Chelsea, London[5] he taught Rose Maynard Barton and Mildred Anne Butler.

He died in Strawberry Hill near London on 13 September 1891.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Museum's painting store: We took a look into one of Guernsey museum's painting store cupboards ahead of an exhibition of island Romantics". BBC Guernsey. 28 January 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d Lee, Sidney, ed. (1894). "Naftel, Paul Jacob" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 40. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  3. ^ a b "Artists: Naftel, Paul Jacob". Guernsey Museums & Galleries. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  4. ^ Paul Jacob Naftel, theislandwiki.org
  5. ^ "Settlement and building: Artists and Chelsea Pages 102-106 A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 12, Chelsea". British History Online. Victoria County History, 2004. Retrieved 21 December 2022.