Early Years

The Bohemian Lifestyle

Sandys'
Love Life

Introduction

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Later Years

'I am ill for want of money', wrote Sandys in 1900 and this sad cry sums up what was to be the rather tragic end to his life.

By the late 1860s a downward spiral had begun. Sandys had to go into hiding to avoid the many creditors and bailiffs who began knocking on his door - too many unpaid bills had caught up with him, and he fell out with Rossetti who accused him of copying his paintings.

He became known as a heavy drinker. One of his sitters reported that Sandys’ hands shook so badly whilst he was painting her portrait that he had to steady them against the frame of the canvas. His popularity as an artist was declining whilst his family was steadily increasing and money was tight. What little there was, Sandys often gambled away. Eventually he was declared bankrupt in 1873 to the huge sum of £4948. This was not to be the only time - notices of his bankruptcy appeared again in 1884 and 1899.

Luckily, many of Sandys' friends and patrons, such as William Houghton Clabburn (right), were prepared to help him, lending him money or asking him to paint portraits as they knew he needed the money.