Life:

He was an etcher of landscapes (for instance, Salisbury, Long Bridge. He was also an important collector (for instance, Fishing Boats and a Rowing Boat approaching a Steamer off the Isle of Wight, 1827, pen and wash, was bought for Heseltine by the print dealer Noseda (who also bought prints by James McNeill Whistler) at the Thomas Greenwood sale at Christie's, London, 12-13 March 1875 (230), for 7 guineas; it and was eventually sold at Heseltine's sale, Sotheby's 25 March 1920 (183), and bought by Gooden for £100 for William Lever, First Viscount Leverhulme).

John Postle Heseltine was a member of the Arts Club from 1868 to 1892.

He lived at 196 Queen's Gate from 1877-1925, and at Eaton Square from 1925 until his death. Norman Shaw designed his country house, Walhampton House, Hampshire, as well as 196 Queen's Gate.

Bibliography:

Lugt, Frits, Les marques de collections de dessins et d'estampes: marques estampillèes et écrites de collections particulières et publiques; marques de marchands, de monteurs et d'imprimeurs; etc..., Amsterdam, 1921, no. 1507, 1508;

Thieme, Ulrich, Felix Becker, and Hans Vollmer, Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, 1960;

Survey of London. The Museums area of Kensington and Westminster, London, 1975, pp. 331-333;

Sources of information:
http://www.agnewsgallery.co.uk/pages/wc_turner_fishingboats.html http://www.newforesttoday.org/stbarbe.html
(Both sources accessed 2004)

I am also much indebted to the information at http://www.whistler.arts.gla.ac.uk/biog/Hese_JP.htm,
which is incorporated in the above.  Enquiries to:  enquiries@whistler.gla.ac.uk in respect of his connection with Whistler

The following are links to other sites where his pictures are featured (correct as at 12th November 2004):

Thieme-Becker XVI (1923), 573; Vollmer VI (1962), 51. – Printed in brown on toned strong hand-made paper. – According to Leporini (erroneously "1843-1912") Heseltine was besides Esdaile "the greatest collector of drawings in England since Lawrence". – Thieme-Becker:

" Money-broker by profession he came as collector to the art educating himself autodidactically in the etching (since 1862/63). Exhibited 1869-1916 frequently in the Royal Academy. H. has worked a long series of landscape etchings with motifs from England, France and Italy. He loves vast spaces and surfaces of water and depicts with pleasure unpretentious motifs, river banks, isolated farms ... The practice is skilful, but a little dry. "

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