Eyre Crowe (1824-1910)

It’s Eyre Crowe’s 200^th birthday!

I have come to Dr Johnson’s House Museum in Gough Square, London, the home of Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-1794). Johnson was a writer and literary critic, and most famous for being the author of A Dictionary of the English Language (1755). It’s a lovely museum which gives a good idea of what London town houses were like in the 18th century – and you can find out how to make a dictionary!

Eyre Crowe was a big fan of the giants of 18^th-century British literature, and incidents in their lives were very popular subjects for artists of his time. Two of Crowe’s paintings featuring Dr Johnson are Boswell’s Introduction to the Literary Club (1856) and A Scene at the Mitre: Dr Johnson, Boswell, Goldsmith (1857). His third Johnson painting, The Penance of Dr Johnson, was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1869 and is now owned by Dr Johnson’s House. It hangs in the Garret at the top of the staircase.

Image: Eyre Crowe, ‘The Penance of Dr Johnson’ (1869). Credit: Dr Johnson’s House Trust