THE TRIST FAMILY: Pre-Raphaelite art collectors from Brighton

John Trist
The Trist family can be traced back to the early 1820s when John Trist was living at 57-58 St James’s Street and was called Collector of Assessed Taxes and a wine merchant. By 1833 he had an address at 111 Edward Street whilst a Mrs Trist ran Fox Cottage School for Young Ladies at 112 Edward Street. John Trist and his wife gave birth to John Hamilton Trist on 3 December 1811. He appears to have had another son called William.

By 1846 John had expanded his premises and his sons were working for him; a wine merchants called John Trist & Sons was established at 59/60 St James’s Street whilst John was living next door, at 1 Upper Rock Gardens. By 1850, 58 St James’s Street was recorded as the home of Mrs Trist so perhaps John had died by then.

In 1854 William Trist was living at 1 Upper Rock Gardens although he appears to have moved to 58 St James’s Street by 1856 and he stayed there until at least 1873. Meanwhile his brother, John Hamilton, seems to have taken over the house at 1 Upper Rock Gardens and stayed there until at least 1870.

John Hamilton Trist
John Hamilton Trist (J H Trist) married Harriet Susanna and they gave birth to Herbert Hardwick Trist who was christened on 1 September 1852 at the Chapel Royal Brighton. John Hamilton seems to have started collecting in the 1860s. He was a patron of the Pre-Raphaelite artist, Arthur Hughes, and funded Hughes ‘grand tour’ in 1863. He amassed a large collection including Albert Moore’s Pomegranates (1866), Burne-Jones’s The Lament (1866)1, Arthur Hughes’s Home from Sea (1856-62), Ford Madox Brown’s Elijah and the Widow’s Son (1864) and also works by Rossetti, Leighton and Alma Tadema. His pictures were sold at Christie’s in April 1892, presumably on his death, and The Lament subsequently belonged to the artist Frank Brangwyn.

Herbert Hardwick Trist
Herbert Hardwick Trist (H H Trist) was a collector in his own right and later probably inherited or bought some of his father’s paintings in 1892. He acquired some works by Rossetti: Miss Herbert (1863), King René’s Honeymoon (1864, The Dancing Girl (1866) and Regina Cordium (1866) (a painting once owned by Fanny Cornforth). H Trist was recorded as living at 63 Buckingham Place in 1873 until at least 1879 and later recorded as living at 7 Beaconsfield Villas in 1887 but he may not have been from the same family. Herbert Hardwick Trist had at least one son, John R Trist (1881 census).

In 1899 H C Marillier wrote Dante Gabriel Rossetti: An Illustrated Memorial of his Art and Life and two illustrations were printed by permission of Mr H H Trist (The Dancing Girl, Michael Scott’s wooing). Marillier discusses the painting of Bocca Baciata (The model for this was Fanny Cornforth) which was sold to George Price Boyce; ‘Rossetti painted several heads later after much the same pattern as Bocca Baciata, of which two, a Regina Cordium done for the late Mr Trist of Brighton and a water-colour of 1868 called Bionda del Balcone, may be regarded as inferior replicas.’ Marillier later writes that Rossetti produced ‘a bright little water-colour drawing for a window representing Christ Crowned, with a regal globe in his hand and above and below two pairs of winged angels. This was formerly in the possession of Mr Trist ...’ and ‘two small paintings and a crayon were produced for Mr J Hamilton Trist, or bought by him in 1866, these are the head of Miss Wilding called Regina Cordium and a nearly circular head of a Dancing Girl sometimes called the Daughter of Herodias’ .... the crayon design is still in the possession of Mr H H Trist.’

At the end of the book there is a list of paintings with their provenance and there are seven paintings connected to the Trist family.

Christ in Glory: ’formerly in possession of J H Trist’
King Rene’s Honeymoon(1864): ‘painted for J H Trist and purchased by him in 1864. Sold at his sale April 1892.
The Dancing Girl(1866): ‘In the possession of H H Trist. Bought from the artist by J H Trist.’
Regina Cordium(1866): ‘in the possession of H H Trist’
Michael Scott’s Wooing: ‘Owner H H Trist’
Lilith: ‘in possession of H H Trist’
Miss Herbert(1863): ‘In the possession of H H Trist. Bought from the artist in 1866’


John Trist & Sons, wine merchants, were still in St James’s Street in 1914 but they had disappeared after the Second World War. The building, 59-60 St James’s Street Brighton, stands today and has a memorial plaque (HT 1815-1914).