Jack the Ripper: Case Study

Lesson 6: A look at Pat Cornwell's book: Portrait of a Killer and Suspect Walter Sickert

A Profile of Walter Sickert-Eccentric Artist or Psychopathic Killer?

In her book, Portrait of a Killer Jack the Ripper: Case Closed, Pat Cornwell paints a disturbing psychological profile of Walter Sickert. She characterizes him as being self-absorbed, clever, manipulative, deceptive, brilliant, with a volatile temper, and a lack of empathy for others.

According to Cornwell, Sickert displayed many of the traits common to people known as sociopaths or psychopaths. "Sickert had a contempt of all people, he thought he was smarter than anybody." Cornwell states. She compares his attitude to that of the author of letters sent to the police believed to have been written by Jack the Ripper, who was "a mocking arrogant spiteful man who thought everyone was an idiot or a fool."

In appearance, Sickert was described as being a handsome, slender man with a strong upper torso, thick blond hair and blue eyes. He was approximately 5'9 or 5'10 in height. Sickert was believed to be brilliant, possibly a genius. He was known to have an incredible memory and could recite long passages by heart without flaw years after he had heard them. Contrary to Cornwell's assessment of him, friend and artist Edgar Degas described Sickert as "young and beautiful with well known charm."

So who was the real Walter Sickert? During his lifetime, Sickert was also often described by his contemporaries as being arrogant, cold and manipulative. He could also be obsessive in his affections for the men and women he admired.

He and James Whistler were good friends, but Whistler grew tired of his obsessive hero-worship of him, and Sickert resented his dropping their friendship and became spiteful.

According to the people who knew him, Sickert was perceived as being self-centered, egotistical and secretive--a kind of temperament that may very well be common among the artistic community. Though Cornwell portrays Sickert as simmering with rage, she shows no specific examples of violent behavior to back this up. Cornwell assumes that friends and family may have glossed over his flaws, especially when he started to become famous.

Sickert made no secret of his fascination for the Jack the Ripper murders. Because of his obsession with Jack the Ripper, some feel it's possible that Sickert was more likely to be an attention-grabber rather than a murderer. He may have purposefully cast a shadow of doubt upon himself as a sort of game.

He was known as a prolific letter-writer and may even have written some of the Ripper letters to match wits with the police. If that was the game Sickert was playing, becoming an actual murder suspect so far in the future may have made his ploy work beyond his wildest dreams.

Suggested Reading: Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper: Case Closed. Chapter 5

Casebook: Jack the Ripper

Patricia Cornwell and Walter Sickert: A Primer by Stephen P. Ryder

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