Impressionist painting in Britain: 0 Artists and contents

When I started this series three months ago, my aim was “to discover whether there was any coherent Impressionist movement in Britain, in the period from the death of Turner to the First World War.” I’ll let you be the judge of that. Here is all my evidence, each artist covered in the series, arranged in rough chronological order, as a table of contents of the whole series.

Introduction

James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), American, based in London from 1858. Father of the movement.

whistlernocturnebluegold — James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), Nocturne: Blue and Gold — Southampton Water (1872), oil on canvas, 50.5 x 76 cm, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL. Wikimedia Commons.

Walter Sickert (1860–1942), migrant to Britain as a child, trained at the Slade School, then as an assistant to Whistler.

sickertcaftribunauxdieppe — Walter Richard Sickert (1860–1942), Café des Tribunaux, Dieppe (1890), oil on canvas, 67.6 x 50.6 cm, Musée des Beaux-Arts du Canada, Ottawa, Canada. Wikimedia Commons.

The New English Art Club, including Hercules Brabazon Brabazon (1821-1906) and Philip Wilson Steer.

Philip Wilson Steer (1860-1942), British, trained in Paris, returned to Britain in 1884.

Southwold c.1889 by Philip Wilson Steer 1860-1942 — Philip Wilson Steer (1860–1942), Southwold (c 1889), oil on canvas, 50.5 x 61 cm, The Tate Gallery (Purchased 1942), London. © The Tate Gallery and Photographic Rights © Tate (2016), CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported), https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/steer-southwold-n05374

Elizabeth Adela Forbes (1859–1912), Canadian, trained in London, New York and Munich, member of the Newlyn School, wife of Stanhope Alexander Forbes (1857–1947).

forbesvillagelane — Elizabeth Adela Forbes (1859–1912), The Village Lane (date not known), oil on canvas, 45.5 x 30.5 cm, location not known. Wikimedia Commons.

Sir John Lavery (1856–1941), Irish, one of the ‘Glasgow Boys’ who trained in Glasgow and Paris.

laverylandscape2 — John Lavery (1856–1941), Title not known (date not known), further details not known. Wikimedia Commons.

Jacques-Émile Blanche (1861–1942), French, self-taught, frequent visitor to London from 1884, resident 1905-11, entertained British artists in Dieppe.

blanchecrystalpalace — Jacques-Émile Blanche (1861–1942), Crystal Palace, Sydenham, London (1907), oil on board, 50 x 63.1 cm, Museum of London, London. Wikimedia Commons.

Algernon Talmage (1871–1939), British, trained in London, member of St Ives School, war artist.

talmagesunset — Algernon Talmage (1871–1939), Sunset (1918), oil on canvas, 27.5 x 35.4 cm, Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Canada. Wikimedia Commons.

Edward Stott (1855–1918), British, trained in Manchester and Paris.

stottoldgate — Edward Stott (1855–1918), The Old Gate (1896), oil on canvas, 81.6 x 97.6 cm, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, England. Wikimedia Commons.

Paul Fordyce Maitland (1863–1909), British, trained in London.

The Gardens, Chelsea Embankment circa 1889 by Paul Maitland 1863-1909 — Paul Fordyce Maitland (1863–1909), The Gardens, Chelsea Embankment (c 1889), oil on wood, 28 x 26.5 cm, The Tate Gallery (Presented anonymously in memory of Sir Terence Rattigan 1983), London. © The Tate Gallery and Photographic Rights © Tate (2016), CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported), https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/maitland-the-gardens-chelsea-embankment-t03625

Sir William Nicholson (1872–1949), British, trained in London and Paris.

Harbour in Snow, La Rochelle 1938 by Sir William Nicholson 1872-1949 — Sir William Nicholson (1872–1949), Harbour in Snow, La Rochelle (1938), oil on canvas, 35.3 x 45.4 cm, The Tate Gallery (Presented by the Friends of the Tate Gallery 1983), London. © The Tate Gallery and Photographic Rights © Tate (2016), CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported), https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/nicholson-harbour-in-snow-la-rochelle-t03792

Sir George Clausen (1852–1944), British, trained in London and Paris, Professor at Royal Academy Schools.

clausenfrostymarchmorning — Sir George Clausen (1852–1944), A Frosty March Morning (1904), oil on canvas, 63.5 x 76.2 cm, The Tate Gallery (Presented by C.N. Luxmoore 1929), London. Photographic Rights © Tate 2016, CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported), http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/clausen-a-frosty-march-morning-n04485

Henry Tonks (1862-1937), British, former surgeon, trained in London, Slade Professor of Fine Art.

tonkswomanwalkingonsand — Henry Tonks (1862-1937), Walking on Sand (c 1910), further details not known. Wikimedia Commons.

Wynford Dewhurst (1864-1941), British, trained in Paris and with Monet, author of 1904 book on Impressionism.

dewhurstappleblossom — Wynford Dewhurst (1864-1941), Apple-Blossom Time in Arc-la-Bataille (date not known), oil on canvas, 38.3 x 55.4 cm, location not known. Wikimedia Commons.

Henry Herbert La Thangue (1859–1929), British, trained in London and Paris.

lathangueautumnmorning — Henry Herbert La Thangue (1859–1929), An Autumn Morning (date not known), oil on canvas, dimensions and location not known. Wikimedia Commons.

John Singer Sargent (1856–1925), American, trained in Paris, resident in London 1886-1907, and much of the time thereafter until his death.

Claude Monet Painting by the Edge of a Wood ?1885 by John Singer Sargent 1856-1925 — John Singer Sargent (1856–1925), Claude Monet Painting by the Edge of a Wood (c 1885), oil on canvas, 54 x 64.8 cm, The Tate Gallery (Presented by Miss Emily Sargent and Mrs Ormond through the Art Fund 1925), London. © The Tate Gallery and Photographic Rights © Tate (2017), CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported), http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/sargent-claude-monet-painting-by-the-edge-of-a-wood-n04103

Alice Fanner (1866-1930), British, trained at the Slade School.

fannerhydepark — Alice Maud Fanner (1866-1930), Hyde Park (c 1900), further details not known. Image by Leonard Bentley, via Wikimedia Commons.

Towards a history

tonkssodales — Henry Tonks (1862-1937), Sodales – Mr Steer and Mr Sickert (1930), oil on canvas, 34.9 x 46 cm, The Tate Gallery (Bequeathed by Mrs Violet Ormond 1955), London. © The Tate Gallery and Photographic Rights © Tate (2016), CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported), http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/tonks-sodales-mr-steer-and-mr-sickert-t00040

Philip Wilson Steer dozing when Walter Sickert was visiting him in London in 1930, painted by Henry Tonks.

6Comments

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1

Jim G. Buffalo on December 2, 2021 at 8:56 am

Wonderful!

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- 2
  
  hoakley on December 2, 2021 at 12:57 pm
  
  Thank you.
  Howard.
  
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3

markbot2zero on December 2, 2021 at 9:09 pm

Thank you, Howard.

I like all of these — it’s amazing how many competent but little-known artists there are — but the La Thangue, “Autumn Morning,” is especially striking. The young woman’s face and upper torso are of almost photographic quality, but the rest is almost violently kinetic — impressionistic? An interesting contrast.

I didn’t mention this when you presented Henry Tonks a few weeks ago, but I admired a man — a trained surgeon, no less — who risked his life behind the front lines as a orderly. His grim paintings of that experience are remarkable. There aren’t too many of mass casualty clearing stations.

I don’t know if you’ve had the chance, but I’ve recently seen two good WWI movies, “1917,” and “Journey’s End.” The latter was particularly moving — and tragic. There was also an excellent BBC series called “Our World War,” as well as Peter Jackson’s, “They Shall Not Grow Old.”

Finally, if you navigate today to Google’s main search page, there’s a clever tribute to Georges Seurat.

-Mark

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- 4
  
  hoakley on December 2, 2021 at 10:07 pm
  
  Thank you.
  Yes, I really envy that selective detail. It really dates back to Vermeer, who used it with focus and sharpness, but was used to control the level of detail by many of the best painters. I think it was probably Jules Bastien-Lepage who was most skilled with it in the nineteenth century, and the source of the technique in these.
  Next year will be the fortieth anniversary of the Falklands War, something I was reminded of a week ago when I was asked to do a long interview with a BBC researcher. I too worked in similar conditions ashore in the Falklands during the war there. Much less intense and shorter, and I wasn’t an orderly but a young doctor. So many memories.
  Howard.
  
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5

Joel Sciamma on December 2, 2021 at 9:41 pm

I was not familiar with the work of Alice Maud Fanner, whose work here is spectacular. Thank you for introducing me to her.

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- 6
  
  hoakley on December 2, 2021 at 10:08 pm
  
  Thank you. I’m indebted to Simon, who was kind enough to provide all the information and images (except one).
  Howard.
  
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