Becoming acquainted with William Day, the publisher in Gate Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, he entered into a kind of partnership with him. A series of works were produced by them, which raised lithography to perhaps the highest point to which it ever attained. Haghe was a first-rate draughtsman, and his facility and ingenuity made his lithographs works of art in themselves, and not mere reproductions of the original paintings. Among the works published by him and Day were Vivian's ‘Spanish Scenery’ and ‘Spain and Portugal,’ Lord Monson's ‘Views in the Department of the Isere,’ Atkinson's ‘Views and Sketches in Afghanistan,’ and David Roberts's ‘Holy Land and Egypt’ (a work which occupied from eight to nine years). He often visited Belgium, and many of the architectural sketches which he brought back were published in lithography, in three sets, entitled ‘Sketches in Belgium and Germany.’ His last work in lithography was published in 1862, being a set of views of St. Sophia at Constantinople. He had just before completed a large and elaborate lithograph of David Roberts's ‘Destruction of Jerusalem,’ which unfortunately failed in the printing.
Haghe was also continually occupied in water-colour painting, and in 1835 was elected a member of the New Society (now the Royal Institute) of Painters in Water-colours. He was the society's chief supporter in its early years, but did not produce any important work till 1852. At that date he forsook lithography altogether for water-colour painting, and rapidly won for himself as high a place among water-colour painters as he already held among lithographers. In 1854 he exhibited ‘The Council of War at Courtray,’ which passed into the Vernon collection, was engraved in the ‘Art Journal’ for 1854 (by J. Godfrey), and is now in the National Gallery. He continued to exhibit regularly until his death. His favourite subjects were old Flemish interiors, which gave plenty of scope for his architectural training, but at the same time he was often occupied by Italian subjects and scenes from English history. He was president of the society from 1873 till 1884. In 1856 he made his first venture in oil, sending to the British Institution ‘The Choir of Santa Maria Novella at Florence,’ but he never attained the same success in that method. Haghe received in 1834 the gold medal at Paris for lithography, in 1847 was elected an associate member of the Belgian Academy, and later a member of the Antwerp Academy; he also received the cross of the order of Leopold, the second-class gold medal at Paris in 1855 for water-colour painting, and the gold medal of the Manchester Academy. He died at Stockwell Green, Brixton, 9 March 1885, leaving two sons and a daughter. Hague's personal character secured for him the affection of his fellow-artists. Examples of his work are at the South Kensington Museum and in the print room at the British Museum. A fine set of drawings by him of St. Peter's, Rome, are in the Bethnal Green Museum.
Charles Hague (d. 1888), lithographer, an artist of great merit, was younger brother of the above, and devoted his life to helping in his brother's work. He died 24 Jan. 1888.
[Art Journal, 1859, p. 13; Printing Times and Lithographer, 15 Oct. 1877; Athenæum, 14 March 1885; Champlin and Perkins's Dict. of Artists; Immerzeels Dict. of Dutch and Flemish Artists, and Kramm's continuation of the same; Ottley's Dict. of Recent and Living Painters; Arnold's Library of the Fine Arts, i. 201.]
HAGTHORPE, JOHN (fl. 1627), poet, was undoubtedly the son of Rowland Hagthorpe (d. 1593) of Nettlesworth in the parish of Chester-le-Street, Durham, by his first wife, Clare, daughter of Sir Ralph Hedworth, knt., of Harraton in the same county. He was baptised 12 Feb. 1585 (Surtees, Durham, ii. 204). In his writings he refers to the time when he lived in Scarborough Castle, Yorkshire. He married Judith, daughter of Anthony Wye, who had a lawsuit in 1605 with Elizabeth Saltonstall, mother of Wye Saltonstall, the poet (Hunter, Chorus Vatum, i. 105). In 1607 he sold his manor and estate of Nettlesworth to John Claxton. On 27 Feb. 1608, being then of Whixley, Yorkshire, he surrendered certain copyhold lands in Chester-le-Street to the use of Henry Thompson and Jane his wife, who was his father's widow. In 1611 license was granted to him and Judith, his wife, to alienate to Francis Wright the half of Greenbury Grange in the parish of Scorton, near Scarborough. He does not seem to have profited by these transactions, for he complains bitterly in the dedication of his ‘Divine Meditations’ to James I of poverty caused by lawsuits in which he had been worsted. Fearing that he might be compelled to emigrate with his family to Virginia, he entreated the king to procure for his son a presentation to Charterhouse School. He added that there was not a man named Hagthorpe in England 'beside myself and mine.' If this statement be literally true he must be identical with the Captain John Hagthorpe who, on 22 April 1626, was certified by Robert Hemsworth as a fit person to
