The Fortune Teller – Herbert Ashwin Budd (1881–1950)

Rendered in an almost autumnal colour palette, Budd’s oil painting depicts a Romani Gypsy engaging in the practice of fortune-telling whilst an enraptured crowd watches on. Clasped in the fortune-teller’s hand is a crystal ball, whilst behind him is a wall on which a deck of cards is pinned. Crystallomancy and cartomancy are two ways in which fortunes have historically been told, and are two practices particularly associated with Roma communities.

In communities where Romani people have historically been confined to the periphery, fortune-telling - or dukkering, as it is called in the Romani language - provided an opportunity to earn money whilst practicing their own culture.

Budd was known for his paintings depicting scenes of life from London, so it is likely that the setting of this painting is an anonymous London street. It is easy to see a continuity between the performer depicted in this work from the early 20th century, and the variety of magicians and acrobats enticing crowds in today’s world.

Herbert Ashwin Budd

Herbert Ashwin Budd was born in Staffordshire in 1881. In his twenties, he was an apprentice lithographer at Allbut & Stanley, and was eventualy elected a member of the Amalgamated Society of Lithographic Artists in 1901. Between 1903 and 1907, Budd studied at the Hanley School of Art before winning a scholarship to study at South Kensington’s Royal College of Art.

Budd was an Associate of the Royal College of Arts and a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. His works were exhibited at the Royal Academy, the New English Art Club, and the Ipswich Art Club - he was also given an Honourable Mention at the 1927 Paris Salon. In the 1930s, he worked for London Transport and designed their travel posters, whilst also teaching at St Martin’s School of Art until 1949.

Herbert Ashwin Budd passed away in 1950, leaving behind a wonderful artistic legacy with his striking oil paintings of London scenes. His works are now displayed in the collections of the Imperial War Museum, City of London Corporation, Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, and the Royal Society of Chemistry amongst others.