Collection Summary
Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin
Tonks, Henry, 1862-1937
Henry Tonks Collection
1877-1947
Manuscript Collection MS-04254
3 boxes (1.26 linear feet)
The Henry Tonks Collection consists
primarily of Tonks' correspondence, manuscripts, and notes plus correspondence
regarding Tonks, all used by Joseph Maunsell Hone in his biography of the artist.
English
Acquisition:
Purchase, 1957
Access:
Open for research
Processed by:
Jamie Hawkins-Kirkham, 2010
Biographical Sketch
Henry Tonks, born on April 9, 1862, in Solihull, Warwickshire, was an English painter
and art teacher. Tonks attended Clifton College, then studied medicine at London
Hospital, Whitechapel. In 1887, Tonks began a successful surgical career at the
Royal Free Hospital where he worked until 1892, when he became an anatomy
demonstrator at the London Hospital medical school in order to have more free time
for painting. His knowledge of human anatomy would later be an integral part of both
his own art and his teaching.
Starting in 1887 Tonks attended the Westminster School of Art in his free time, where
he studied under Frederick Brown. In 1891, he exhibited his first paintings at the
New English Art Club. By 1893, Tonks had completely abandoned his medical career to
pursue a career in painting and teaching, when he attained a position at the Slade
School of Art in London as assistant professor to his former teacher, Frederick
Brown.
At the onset of World War I, Tonks went back into medicine, working with prisoners at
a camp hospital in Dorchester, then at Hill Hall, Essex. He also worked as an
orderly with a British ambulance unit. During this time he began making drawings of
facial wounds from the war which were later published in a book titled
Plastic Surgery of the Face. In 1918, he was
appointed official war artist.
In 1919, Tonks succeeded Frederick Brown as professor at the Slade School of Art in
London, where he would teach until his retirement in 1930. After his retirement,
Tonks continued to paint until his death on January 8, 1937.
Sources:
Hopkins, Justine.
Tonks, Henry.Oxford Art Online, Oxford University Press,
http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/ (accessed 4 October
2010).
Morris, Lynda.
Tonks, Henry (1862-1937).Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford
University Press, 2004, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36535 (accessed 4
October 2010).
Scope and Contents
The Henry Tonks Collection consists primarily of Tonks' correspondence, manuscripts,
and notes plus correspondence regarding Tonks, all used by Joseph Maunsell Hone in
his biography of the artist. The collection is arranged in three Series: I. Works
(1915, undated), Series II. Correspondence (1877-1939), and Series III. Joseph
Maunsell Hone Papers Regarding Henry Tonks (1879-1947). Part of this collection was
previously accessible through a card catalog but has been recataloged as part of a
retrospective conversion project.
The Works Series consists primarily of short, unpublished works by Tonks, many of
which are untitled. Among these are nine handwritten works on the nature of art,
including such subjects as the principles of drawing, the artist and society, the
practical difficulties of painting, as well as one manuscript that reveals why Tonks
became an artist. In addition to Tonks' writing on art, the Works Series contains
Tonks' translation of a German article on drawing (
The
Golden Compasses), a description of Tonks' war service in Italy, and two
typed manuscripts describing Tonks' close friend George Moore, which were used by
Hone in his biography, The Life of George Moore
(1936).
The Correspondence Series is divided into outgoing and incoming letters and is
arranged alphabetically by recipient or sender. Outgoing correspondence is made up
of letters from Tonks to close friends and students, including twelve letters to
Joseph Maunsell Hone regarding George Moore, six letters to his student Aubrey
Waterfield regarding the conditions under which artists must be expected to live,
and 58 letters to Nelson Ward, four of which are illustrated and addressed to "Felix
Baumgartner." Incoming correspondence makes up the bulk of this series and includes
significant amounts of letters from Tonks' professor Frederick Brown, Sir Augustus
Daniel, and John Fothergill, a life-long friend of Tonks. All correspondent names
are included in the Index of Correspondence in this finding aid.
Series III., Joseph Maunsell Hone Papers Regarding Henry Tonks, consists of notes and
correspondence used by Hone in his biography of the artist,
The Life of Henry Tonks, (1939) and is arranged alphabetically by author
or sender. These include descriptions of Tonks made by close friends and students of
Tonks as well as correspondence between friends of the artist regarding his life and
character.
Additional manuscript material by Tonks may be found in several other manuscript
collections at the Ransom Center: Laurence Binyon, Edward Gordon Craig, Thomas
Stearns Eliot, Francis John Clarence Westenra Plantaganet Hastings, 15th Earl of
Hastings, Joseph Maunsell Hone, Alfred Edward Houseman, Mary Hutchinson, Julian
Sorrell Huxley, Wyndham Lewis, Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes, Dugald Sutherland
MacColl, George Moore, Sir William Orpen, Sir William Rothenstein, and R. J.
Whistler. Tonks is included in three drawings by Max Beerbohm in the Art Collection.
An image of a bust of Tonks, a portrait of Tonks with Walter John Low Northbourne,
an image of Tonks' friend P. Wilson Steer with a woman, a portrait of Eric Gill
looking at a mosaic, and a view of the beach with nude figures drawn in by Tonks are
included in Photography in the Literary File Collection. Clippings and other
ephemera can be found in the Vertical File Collection.
Container List
Series I. Works 1915, undated
1.1
Handwritten manuscripts with corrections, 1915,
undated
Series II. Correspondence 1877-1939
Outgoing
1.2
A-Z
1.3
To Hone, Joseph Maunsell, 1934-1936
1.4
To Ward, Nelson, 1916-1936, undated
1.5
To Ward, Nelson as "Felix Baumgartner," 1926, undated
1.6
To Waterfield, Aubrey, 1928-1933
Incoming
1.7
Unidentified; A-B
1.8
Brown, Frederick, 1896-1936
1.9
C-E
1.10
Chowne, Gerard, 1917
2.1-3
Daniel, Augustus Moore, Sir, 1919-1934, undated
2.4
F-G
2.5
Fothergill, John
2.6
H-J
2.7
James, William, 1930-1934
2.8
K-M
2.9
Morgan, Charles, 1930-1936, undated
2.10
N-Q
3.1
R-S
3.2
T-V
3.3
W-Z
Series III. Joseph Maunsell Hone Papers Regarding Henry Tonks,
1879-1947
3.4
Unidentified; A-G
3.5
Collinson, J., 1880
3.6
H-Z
Index of Correspondents
- Aitken, Charles, 1869-1936--1.7 (10 to Tonks)
- Alexander, Margaret--1.7 (1 to Tonks)
- Allan, Ronald--1.7 (1 to Tonks)
- Armstrong, Ernest A.--1.7 (1 to Tonks)
- Asquith, Herbert, 1881-1947--1.7 (1 to Tonks)
- B____, C. H.--1.7 (3 to Tonks)
- Baker, Muriel I.--1.7 (1 to Tonks), 3.4 (1 to Grace
Gough)
- Baker, Philip J.--1.7 (1 to Tonks)
- Bartholomew, F. M.--1.7 (1 to Tonks)
- Bentinck, Henry Cavendish, Lord--1.7 (2 to Tonks)
- Blackwell, Geoffrey--1.7 (7 to Tonks)
- Blainley, Ernest--1.7 (1 to Tonks)
- Bland, Emily Beatrice, 1864-1951--1.7 (2 to Tonks)
- Bodkin, Thomas--1.2 (5 from Tonks), 1.7 (1 to Tonks)
- Bone, Muirhead, Sir, 1876-1953--1.7 (6 to Tonks)
- Boyd, Katherine--1.7 (1 to Tonks)
- Bray, Phyllis--1.7 (1 to Tonks)
- Bromley-Martin, Madeline--1.7 (1 to Tonks)
- Brooker, Peter--1.7 (1 to Tonks)
- Brown, Frederick, 1851-1941--1.8 (43 to Tonks)
- Burn, Rodney Joseph--1.7 Tonks (5 to Tonks)
- Butler, Cyril K.--1.7 (1 to Tonks)
- Butler, Harcourt, 1869-1938--1.7 (1 to Tonks)
- Charles Roberson & Co.--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Charlton, George Victor Bellasis, 1889-1943--1.2 (2 from
Tonks), 1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Charteris, Evan, Sir, 1864-1940--1.2 (1 from Tonks), 1.9
(4 to Tonks)
- Chelsea Arts Club (London, England)--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Child, C. Koe--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Chowne, Gerard--1.10 (2 to Tonks)
- Clausen, George, 1852-1944--1.9 (4 to Tonks)
- Collinson, J.--3.5 (1 to Roberson and Company)
- Connard, Philip, 1875-1958--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Constable, W. G. (William George), 1887-1976--1.9 (3 to
Tonks)
- Cosens, William Burrough--1.2 (1 from Tonks), 1.9 (2 to
Tonks)
- D____, H. G.--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Daniel, Augustus Moore, Sir, 1866- --2.1-3 (185 to Tonks)
- Daniel, Henry--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Darwin, _____--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Davison, Gil--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Dean, Harry, 1865- --1.9 (2 to Tonks)
- Deverell, W. T.--1.9 (2 to Tonks)
- Dey, Mukul, b. 1895--1.9 (2 to Tonks)
- Dodd, Francis, 1874-1949--1.9 (4 to Tonks)
- Douie, Charles--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Drucker, Jean Charles Joseph, 1862-1944--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Duff Gordon, Maud--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Ede, _____--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Elgin and Kincardine, Edward James Bruce, Earl of--1.9 (2
to Tonks)
- Esher, Reginald Baliol Brett, Viscount, 1852-1930--1.9 (1
to Tonks)
- Evans, Frances L.--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Evans, William--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Eves, R. G.--1.9 (1 to Tonks)
- Finchams, David--2.4 (2 to Tonks)
- Florence, Mary Sargant, b. 1857--2.4 (1 to Tonks)
- Foster, Longman--2.4 (1 to Tonks)
- Fothergill, John, 1876-1957--2.5 (12 to Tonks)
- Fox, C. Leslie--1.2 (2 from Tonks), 2.4 (3 to Tonks)
- Frank, H____--2.4 (1 to Tonks)
- Friends of the National Collections of Ireland--2.4 (1 to
Tonks)
- Fry, Roger Eliot, 1866-1934--2.4 (1 to Tonks)
- Furse, William T., Sir--2.4 (1 to Tonks)
- Gardiner, Alan H. (Alan Henderson), 1879-1963--2.4 (1 to
Tonks)
- Gere, Charles M. (Charles March), 1869-1957--2.4 (1 to
Tonks)
- Gerrard, A. H.--2.4 (1 to Tonks)
- Gilbert, Stephen--2.4 (1 to Tonks)
- Gill, Eric, 1882-1940--2.4 (3 to Tonks)
- Gilman, Harold John Wilde, 1876-1919--2.4 (1 to Tonks)
- Godley, Hugh--3.4 (1 to "Eric")
- Gomez, C. L.--2.4 (1 to Tonks)
- Gooden, Stephen, 1892-1955--2.4 (1 to Tonks)
- Goodlady, Kate H.--2.4 (1 to Tonks)
- Gough, Grace--1.2 (2 from Tonks)
- Gray, Ronald, 1868-1951--1.2 (1 from Tonks), 2.4 (1 to
Tonks)
- Green, Edith--2.4 (1 to Tonks)
- Green, Laura Gwenllian Rice--1.2 (1 from Tonks)
- Guthrie, Robin--2.4 (3 to Tonks)
- Hammersley, _____--2.6 (4 to Tonks)
- Hammersley, Hugh--2.6 (1 to Tonks)
- Hardie, Martin, 1875-1952--2.6 (1 to Tonks)
- Hind, Arthur Mayger, 1880-1957--2.6 (1 to Tonks)
- Hobhouse, Rosa Waugh--3.3 (1 to Tonks)
- Holmes, C. J. (Charles John), 1868-1936--2.6 ( 1 to
Tonks)
- Hone, Joseph M. (Joseph Maunsell), 1882-1959--1.3 (12
from Tonks)
- Hughes, C. E. (Cecil Eldred), b. 1875--2.6 (1 to Tonks)
- Hutchinson, Mary, 1889-1977--1.2 (7 from Tonks), 3.6 (1
to Grace Gough)
- Hutchinson, Stephen--2.6 (1 to Tonks)
- Image, Selwyn, 1849-1930--2.6 (1 to Tonks)
- Inglis, Jean--2.6 (1 to Tonks)
- James, Alice--2.6 (1 to Tonks)
- James, William--2.7 (9 to Tonks)
- John, Augustus, 1878-1961--2.6 (6 to Tonks), 3.6 (1 to
Pickward)
- Jones, Glyn, 1902- --2.6 (2 to Tonks)
- Jones, Ray Howard--2.6 (1 to Tonks)
- Kelly, F. M.--2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- Kelly, Gerald, 1879-1972--1.2 (2 letters from Tonks), 2.8
(4 to Tonks)
- Keppie, John--2.8 (3 to Tonks)
- Lain, Hugh--2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- Legge, Arthur E. J. (Arthur Edward John), 1863-1934--1.2
(2 from Tonks), 2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- "Lettice"--1.2 (1 letter from Tonks)
- Lindsay, Joan--3.6 (1 to Mary Hutchinson)
- Lisenschitz, Claire--2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- Luard, Lowes Dalbiac--2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- Lucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall), 1868-1938--2.8 (1 to
Tonks)
- MacColl, Andrée--2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- MacColl, D. S. (Dugald Sutherland), 1859-1948--1.2 (6
from Tonks)
- Manson, James Bolivar, 1879-1945--2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- Marsh, Edward Howard, Sir, 1872-1953--2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- Mawer, A. (Allen), 1879-1942--2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- Mawr, Harrington--2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- Maxwell, John Maxwell Stirling, Sir, bart.--2.8 (2 to
Tonks)
- Medward, Gilbert--2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- Miller, Godfrey, 1893-1964--2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- Money-Coutts, Godfrey--2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- Morgan, Charles, 1894-1958--2.9 (14 to Tonks)
- Morgan, William E. C.--2.8 (2 to Tonks), 3.6 (1 to Smith)
- Morrison, L. A.--2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- Morrison, Murray, Mrs.--2.8 (1 to Tonks)
- Neumann, Sigmund, b. 1886--2.10 (11 to Tonks)
- Norrington, Bess--2.10 (1 to Tonks)
- Norris, Arthur--2.10 (1 to Tonks)
- Northbourne, Lord, 1896-1982--2.10 (1 to Tonks), 3.6 (1
to Grace Gough)
- O'Brien, Dermod, 1865-1945--2.10 (3 to Tonks)
- Oliver, Frederick Scott, 1864-1934--2.10 (5 to Tonks)
- Ormond, Violet--3.6 (1 to Nelson Ward)
- Orwood, Frank--2.10 (1 to Tonks)
- P____, M. F.--2.10 (1 to Tonks)
- Pearson, Lionel--2.10 (1 to Tonks)
- Pegram, Henry, 1862-1937--2.10 (2 to Tonks)
- _____, Penelope--2.10 (1 to Tonks)
- Peters, _____--1.2 (6 from Tonks)
- Peters, Lauire--3.6 (1 to Laura Gwenllian Rice)
- Phillimore, Lucy H.--2.10 (1 to Tonks)
- Poel, William, 1852-1934--2.10 (1 to Tonks)
- Pole, E.--2.10 (1 to Tonks)
- Porter, D. T.--2.10 (3 to Tonks)
- Price, Mabel M.--2.10 (2 to Tonks)
- Prothero, G. W. (George Walter), 1848-1922--2.10 (1 to
Tonks)
- Pryor, Margaret E.--2.10 (4 to Tonks)
- Reverat, Jacques--3.1 (2 to Tonks)
- Rich, Alfred William, 1856- --3.1 (2 to Tonks)
- Richardson, Charles--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Richmond, Bruce L. (Bruce Lyttleton), 1871-1964--3.1 (1
to Tonks)
- Roberts, William--3.1 (4 to Tonks)
- Rooth, James--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Ross, Robert Baldwin, 1869-1918--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Rothenstein, C. L.--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Roworth, Edward--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Royal Academy of Arts (Great Britain)--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Rutherston, Albert and Marjory--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Salaman, Ruth--3.1 (3 to Tonks)
- Sargent, F. W.--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Schwabe, Randolph, 1885-1948--3.1 (2 to Tonks)
- Scudamore, Margaret--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Sickert, Walter, 1860-1942--3.1 (7 to Tonks)
- Sisson, Marshall--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Sitwell, I. L.--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Smith, Owen H.--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Soloman, J. M.--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Soloman, Lawrence--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Spencer, Stanley, 1890-1943--3.1 (2 to Tonks)
- Steele, _____--1.2 (1 from Tonks)
- Steer, Philip Wilson, 1860-1942--3.1 (1 to Tonks)
- Stubbs, Carrie--3.1 (5 to Tonks)
- Thomson, David Croal, 1855-1930--3.2 (2 to Tonks)
- Thomson-Walker, John, Sir--3.2 (2 to Tonks)
- Thornton, Alfred--3.2 (1 to Tonks)
- Tonks, E.--3.2 (1 to Tonks)
- Tonks, Edmund--3.2 (2 to Tonks)
- Tonks, Libby--3.2 (1 to Tonks)
- Tonks, William--3.2 (1 to Tonks)
- Townsend, William--3.2 (1 to Tonks)
- Treherne, Blaton--3.2 (1 to Tonks)
- Tristram, E. W. (Ernest William), 1882-1952--3.2 (1 to
Tonks)
- Turnbull, Ian--3.2 (1 to Tonks)
- Turner, H. Charlewood--3.2 (2 to Tonks)
- Ulen, Jean Grigor, 1900-1988--3.2 (5 to Tonks)
- University of London--3.2 (1 to Tonks)
- Vansittart, Robert Gilbert Vansittart, Baron,
1881-1957--3.2 (2 to Tonks)
- Vaughan, Hilda, 1892-1985--3.2 (1 to Tonks)
- Vinall, Ella Doreen--3.2 (1 to Tonks)
- Walker, Herbert--3.3 (1 to Tonks)
- Ward, Nelson as "Felix Baumgartner"-- 1.5 (4 from Tonks),
3.3 (1 to Tonks)
- Ward, Nelson--1.4 (53 from Tonks)
- Wash, Herbert E.--3.3 (1 to Tonks)
- Waterfield, Aubrey--1.6 (6 from Tonks)
- Webbe, Persaline Maud--3.3 (1 to Tonks)
- Whistler, Rex, 1905-1944--3.3 (2 to Tonks)
- White, Franklin--3.3 (1 to Tonks)
- Wilkie, James--3.3 (1 to Tonks)
- William Poel Portrait Fund--3.3 (1 to Tonks)
- Williamson, Elizabeth--3.3 (2 to Tonks)
- Williamson, Phyllis--3.3 (2 to Tonks)
- Witt, Robert Clermont, Sir, 1872-1952--3.6 (1 to Sir
Martin Alec)
- Wyles, _____ --3.3 (1 to Tonks)
- Yerbury, John E.--3.6 (1 to Martin)
- Yockney, Alfred--3.3 (1 to Tonks)
- Unidentified--1.7 (5 to Tonks)