By 1842 Dadd was starting to make a name for himself, and had received one major commission to paint decorations for Lord Foley’s house in Grosvenor Square. His father’s friend David Roberts RA, famous for his paintings of Egypt and the Holy Land, was influential in helping him to obtain his next commission, to accompany the Welsh lawyer Sir Thomas Phillips on a ten-month tour of Europe and the Middle East as artist and travelling companion. Before the end of this journey Dadd was showing signs of severe mental disturbance. He returned to England early in 1843 believing that he was pursued by the devil, and that his actions were controlled by the Egyptian god Osiris (delusions which haunted him for the rest of his life). Three months later he killed his father, believing him to be the devil in disguise. Thereafter he was confined in the state criminal lunatic asylum, first at its original location at Bethlem Hospital, and then at Broadmoor, until his death in 1886. This watercolour was made either during the journey itself, or in the time between his return home and the murder. Either way, it was painted when Dadd was on the brink of lifelong insanity, and already tormented by feelings of persecution and other frightening symptoms. On the way back from Egypt, an episode occurred in which he identified Phillips himself as the devil in disguise. Nothing of Dadd’s state of mind could be guessed from this meticulous little portrait, however, which shows all the technical skill and refinement so admired by his contemporaries.
Acquired in 2000 with the assistance of the National Art Collections Fund.