James Hayllar (1829–1920) was an English genre, portrait and landscape painter. Life and work Hayllar was born in Chichester in Sussex (now West Sussex), and received his training in art at Cary's Art Academy in London; he painted Cary's portrait in 1851. He went on to study at the Royal Academy. Hayllar travelled in Italy from 1851–53. He was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy from 1851–98, and also showed work at the British Institution and the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) - of which he was a member. He first became known as a portrait painter but later turned his brush to genre art, often featuring pretty young girls (see first painting); his work became very popular. With George Dunlop Leslie (who also lived in Wallingford at the same time), he painted a large portrait of Queen Victoria to celebrate her Golden Jubilee in 1887 - the painting now hangs in Wallingford Town Hall. along with another 10 of his paintings. The Art UK website also indicates the location of further works by Hayllar in other UK public galleries.The Victoria and Albert Museum possesses his oil painting Granville Sharp the Abolitionist Rescuing a Slave from the Hands of His MasterHayllar's work was also used for advertising purposes. In 1887 Thomas J. Barratt bought the painting Soap Suds for use as an advertisement for Pears (soap). It was renamed This is the way we wash our hands. It is interesting to note that Hayllar could sometimes receive rather mixed criticism as shown in The Atheneum's report on the entries in the 1861 exhibition of the RBA. It is an expression of regret at the large number of minor works submitted by such an able artist The local press could be more positive, particularly where a full-sized painting is described, as shown by the Reading Mercury's reasonably accurate description of The first born at the cottage in 1881. There is a photograph of the painting, which was displayed at the Royal Academy exhibition in 1881, in an article by Christopher Wood, in the April 1974 edition of The Connoisseur. It is thought that the two women admiring the baby are Jessica and Edith Hayllar. He married Edith Phoebe Cavell (1827–1899), the aunt of Edith Cavell - the famous British nurse who was to be shot by the Germans for "treason" during World War I. They lived at a house