John (?) Watson. Pastel attributed to W. Watson, 174-.

An old zinc tape attached to the back of the frame states that the subject was an "army and eye surgeon", still living in 1775, the son of Hewytt Watson of Stillorgan [later a suburb of Dublin near Monkstown]. Hewytt (also Hewitt, Hewett etc.) Watson was the owner of several parcels of land near Stillorgan over which he granted a lease on 19 July 1743. This Hewitt was, surely, one of the four sons of John Watson of Lyme, the "noted centenarian deer-keeper" mentioned in Earwaker's East Cheshire etc. Hewitt's brother Legh Watson was the father of a well-known antiquary, Rev. John Watson (1724–1783); there were two other brothers. It is unclear which of these was the father of Holland Watson of Congleton (1750–1829), an attorney in Stockport (reported as the nephew of the antiquary Rev. John Watson), and the father of the famous botanist Hewett Cottrell Watson (1804–1881), whose first name suggests a familial connection with the Hewytt Watson of Stillorgan.

Hewytt (Hewitt) Watson and his wife Mary baptized two children at the Union of Monkstown, Dublin: a daughter, Elizabeth in 1711, and a son, John (who may be the sitter of the present pastel), on 13 March 1708 (born 28 February). (These dates indicate that Hewytt was probably one of the elder sons of the deer-keeper John Watson of Lyme.) The Universal Chronicle (3 February 1759, p. 46) states that "Mr John Watson is appointed Surgeon to the 48th Regiment of foot, in the room of Surgeon Murdock, deceased". He may therefore be the army surgeon described in the old zinc label; no other confirmation of this has been found

The Universal Chronicle (3 February 1759, p. 46) states that "Mr John Watson is appointed Surgeon to the 48th Regiment of foot, in the room of Surgeon Murdock, deceased". This John Watson of the 48th Foot was one of the surgeons who attended General James Wolfe at his death (Stephen Brumwell, Paths of glory: the life and death of General James Wolfe, London: Hambledon Continuum, 2006, p. 294?). According to a letter from William Johnston, ensign in the 48th Foot, written soon after the incident, "Mr. Watson, Surgeon to our Regt. dressed Mr. Wolfes woonds he asked him and repeated it twice had we beat them. Watson told him we had and that we had obtained a complete Victory and were then in pursuit he said he was satisfied and could die contented – an expired immediately." (cited in Journal of the society for army historical research, v-vii, 1926, p. 3). However, since John Watson is a common name, the identification of the Dublin surgeon with the surgeon of the 48th Foot regiment is speculative at this stage

There was another surgeon called John Watson in Dublin: "John Watson, surgeon" who is mentioned in several deeds from the period 1747–53. They concern the same land at Bullock, near Dublin, that was leased by Hewitt Watson in the 1743 deed mentioned above. This suggests that "John Watson, surgeon" was closely related to Hewitt Watson, but cannot be the son born to Hewitt in 1708, nor the sitter in the pastel, since in 1770 he was dead according to a report about his widow; and before then, this surgeon John Watson of Bullock was identified as a Revenue collector, and his dates seem to be 1675–1767, i.e. born too early to be the sitter of the present pastel. It may have been that John Watson the surgeon of Bullock was Hewitt's brother, and that Hewitt's son John (1708–after 1775 ) also became a surgeon (Research by Neil Jeffares, 2013)

Hewytt (Hewitt) Watson and his wife Mary baptized two children at the Union of Monkstown, Dublin: a daughter, Elizabeth in 1711, and a son, John (who may be the sitter of the present pastel), on 13 March 1708 (born 28 February). (These dates indicate that Hewytt was probably one of the elder sons of the deer-keeper John Watson of Lyme.) The Universal Chronicle (3 February 1759, p. 46) states that "Mr John Watson is appointed Surgeon to the 48th Regiment of foot, in the room of Surgeon Murdock, deceased". He may therefore be the army surgeon described in the old zinc label, no other confirmation of this has been found.

1740-1749

1 drawing : pastel ; sheet 65 x 47 cm

Wellcome Collection 45863i

The tentative attribution to William Watson was suggested by Neil Jeffares (email to the Wellcome Library, 2013). William Watson was one of the few pastellists active in Dublin in the 1740s when this pastel was probably made. The attribution relies on that of another anonymous pastel, of Lady Molyneux, attributed to Watson by Crookshank and Glin (The watercolours of Ireland: works in pencil, pastel and paint c.1600-1914, London, 1994), but it remains tentative since they are far earlier than any signed examples of Watson's work. Another possibility on technical grounds (for both of these pastels) is an attribution to Arthur Pond