English painter, born in London, the son of a decorative artist. He attended the design classes at the South Kensington schools from 1867–1873 with great success. He then worked in the studio of Edwin Long, R.A., and subsequently in Paris under Bouguereau and Robert-Fleury. He became one of the foremost modern painters of landscape and of peasant life, influenced to a certain extent by the impressionists with whom he shared the view that light is the real subject of landscape art. His pictures excel in rendering the appearance of things under flecking outdoor sunlight, or in the shady shelter of a barn or stable. His “Girl at the Gate” was acquired for the nation by the Chantrey Trustees and is now at the National Gallery of British Art (Tate Gallery). He was elected associate of the Royal Academy in 1895, and as professor of painting gave a memorable series of lectures to the students of the schools,—published as Six Lectures on Painting (1904) and Aims and Ideals in Art (1906).
His recent work has been chiefly landscapes, such as “The Fields in June” (1914), now in the Cardiff gallery, and “Midsummer Dawn” (1921), but has also included portraits and figure work such as “The Window” (1912), now in Cape Town gallery. For the Imperial War museum he painted the large “Gun Factory at Woolwich Arsenal” (1919), broadly decorative but very refined in handling. His decorative work also includes “Renaissance” (1915) and decorations for the Hall at High Royd, Huddersfield, consisting of life-size figures in lunettes. He was elected R.A. in 1908, and is a member of the R.W.S. He is represented in the Tate Gallery by “The Girl at the Gate” (1890) and “The Gleaners Returning” (1908).
