Portrait of William Jackson, Organist of Exeter Cathedral

A portrait of William Jackson, Organist of Exeter Cathedral, (1730-1803), by J. Robotham, after "the painting in the Institution, Exeter." Image shows an engraved charcoal or pencil drawing of a white male, middle-aged, with ear length hair. He is dressed in a black overcoat with a white shirt and neck scarf looking out to the left. The portrait is torso height with simple black shading behind.

The painting which inspired this piece may have been by Irish portraitist John Keenan, who completed a portrait of William Jackson in 1800 (oil on canvas), which "stripp[ed] Jackson of props suggesting his interests and allowing the sitter’s personality to emerge with a force that is purely painterly.’[1] William Jackson was the son of an Exeter grocer and grew up to be one of the most admired English composers of his day, beginning his musical studies at Exeter Cathedral c.1742 before continuing his education at the Chapel Royal in London. From 1745 onwards he composed a number of works, including Twelve Songs, before becoming the official Organist of Exeter Cathedral in 1777. In his own words, there he “found a bad Choir which I was determined, if possible, to make a good one. By degrees I succeeded, and it is now (1801) and has been for many years, the first in the Kingdom.”[2]

Alongside his musical successes, he was also an accomplished painter and good friends with the artist Thomas Gainsborough, who painted Jackson’s portrait and encouraged his artistic career, advising him ‘this was well within his capabilities.’[3] He favoured landscapes, and in 1785 embarked on a tour of the continent, sketching many of the scenes he encountered. Of Lausanne Cathedral, Switzerland, he wrote: “as an Exeter man, I cannot help remarking, the great resemblance between the Tower and the North Tower of Exeter Cathedral before the low steeple was taken down.”

A concert dedicated to the music and life of William Jackson was held as part of the 2003 Exeter Festival, and an exhibition dedicated to his life and artworks was displayed at Gainsborough’s House, Suffolk in 1997. See items AB 92 JAC/A
Pamph. X and AB 92 JAC/ASF for more details.

[1] William Jackson of Exeter, Amal Asfour and Paul Williamson, 1997.
[2] A short Sketch of my own life, William Jackson,1801, in Gainsborough’s House Review 1996/97.

[3] Ibid Asfour and Williamson.

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