Simplon Pass

1830–1840s

Criticism in the 1830s–1840s and Ruskin’s defence

His innovative works, bordering on abstraction, gave him a reputation for madness: the Victorian public preferred realism and sentimentality, and Queen Victoria refused to knight him. John Ruskin came to his defence, calling him “the greatest artist of all time”.

1845–1851

Life as “Mr Booth” in Chelsea

In his seventies he formed a relationship with the widow Sophia Caroline Booth and often stayed with her, under the pseudonym “Mr Booth” or “Admiral Booth”, in her house at 6 Davis’s Place (now Cheyne Walk) in Chelsea, where he died in 1851.

1851

Bequeaths some 300 paintings to the nation

In an unprecedented gesture he bequeathed to the nation about 100 finished and 200 unfinished oil paintings, over 19,000 sketches, drawings and watercolours and some 200 sketchbooks; he specified that a special gallery should be built for them, and his will included a donation of £140,000 in investments and property to help painters.

19 December 1851

Death in Sophia Booth’s house; his last words

He died, reportedly of cholera, in the house of Sophia Caroline Booth on Cheyne Walk in Chelsea; his last words are apparently “The Sun is God”. He is buried in St Paul’s Cathedral next to Sir Joshua Reynolds.

19 December 1851

Died