Ambrosini Jerome (James Parker Jerome)
Our family has been blessed with so many talented artists. We have Alfred Collins, Alfred Charles Collins, George Edward Collins, Ambrosini Jerome and Edward Atkinson Hornel. Some have studied in Italy, some have travelled as far as China for inspiration, and others h ave just had to walk through the fields and streams of their own English village to create amazing masterpieces.
Ambrosini Jerome was born as James Parker Ambrosini Jerome on 8 August, 1810 in Portsea to Joseph Scarrott Jerome and Maria Parker. At a time when it was profitable for an artist to have an Italian sounding name, James decided to change his name to the distinclty Italian sounding Ambrosini Jerome. There have been family stories which say he studied in Italy for some time, but I have not found any documentation to support that he ever left the country or studied abroad.
By 1833 Ambrosini had been appointed Royal Painter to the Duchess of Kent and Princess Victoria, the future Queen Victoria, with notice of his appointment being printed in the Hampshire Telegraph, 23 September, 1833.
Exhibiting his work was a challenge, as at the time England had rigid restrictions on what was acceptable in art. Ambrosini was one of the Pre-Raphaelites and because he didn't quite follow the rules of acceptable art, he was shunned out of exhibiting in the larger centres such as London. So, the Pre-Raphaelites decided to launch their own exhibition in Liverpool. Soon, the Liverpool exhibitions were the darling of the art society and the painting styles of Ambrosini and the Pre-Raphaelites took over.
Although he never gained the famed he strived for, his paintings were sought after and are still in many private collections today around the world. Auctions houses are still selling his oils as they come up for sale. A number of his paintings, many of his own family members, are held in the collection at the Portsmouth Museum, Hampshire, England.
Ambrosini was married on 17 February, 1836, at St. Thomas Church, Portsmouth to the widow, Mary Hudson. There has been no evidence to show that Ambrosini and Mary had children together.
Ambrosini died on 7 April, 1883, at the St. Pancras Workhouse Infirmary, Camden, London. This does not mean he was an inmate of the workhouse, but rather probably just sought medical assistance from the infirmary. To receive medical help he would have had to register with the workhouse. A private doctor would have insisted on payment which Ambrosini likely did not have. His death certificate shows only that he died of 'paralysis', which could have been an underlying symptom of another condition.
