Gordon Bottomley, 1922

Gordon Bottomley 1922 coloured chalks on paper by William Rothenstein (1872-1945).

Portrait of Gordon Bottomley (1874–1948) in middle age, with the head only depicted in detail; shirt collar and jacket lapel lightly sketched. He faces left, his features viewed almost in profile.

Gordon Bottomley was a poet, dramatist and collector. He suffered from ill health throughout his life and was unable to hold down a job, live in a town or travel widely. He lived in Silverdale, Lancashire, and wrote poetry and plays influenced by nineteenth-century artists and poets.

Rothenstein was friendly with Bottomley and his involvement  with the development of the Tullie House art collection undoubtedly influenced Bottomley’s decision to bequeath his own art collection of six hundred works to the museum in 1949. His gift comprised paintings, prints and drawings by primarily British nineteenth and early-twentieth-century artists many of which are nationally important. These include Samuel Palmer, the Pre-Raphaelites, Charles Ricketts, Charles Shannon and Paul Nash. Bottomley’s gift to Carlisle transformed the art collection into one of national standing.