Sir Augustus Wall Callcott (20 February 177925 November 1844) was an English

landscape painter Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composi ...

Life and work

Callcott was born at Kensington Gravel Pits, a village on the western edge of London, in the area now known as Notting Hill Gate. His first study was music and he sang for several years in the choir of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. But at the age of twenty he had determined to give up music, became a student of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, and began his artistic career as a painter of portraits under the tuition of

John Hoppner John Hoppner (4 April 175823 January 1810) was an English portrait painter, much influenced by Reynolds, who achieved fame as a brilliant colourist. Early life Hoppner was born in Whitechapel, London, the son of German parents – his moth ...

. The first picture he exhibited was a portrait of ''Miss Roberts'', and its success at the Royal Academy in 1799 is said to have led to his final choice of painting as a profession. His preference for landscape, including river and coast scenery, soon showed itself, and after 1804 he exhibited nothing but landscapes for many years. The skill of his execution, the elegance of his design, and the charming tone of his works caused his reputation to rise steadily. In 1806 he was elected an associate of the Royal Academy, and in 1810 a full Academician. The care which he bestowed upon his pictures restricted their number. From 1805 to 1810 he exhibited about four pictures a year, in 1811 ten pictures, and in 1812, six. From that year to 1822 he exhibited only seven works in all, but among these were some of his best and largest, such as ''The Entrance to the Pool of London'' (1816), ''The Mouth of the Tyne'' (1818), and ''A Dead Calm on the Medway'' (1820). Another important picture was ''Rochester'' (1824). Though his subjects down to this time were generally taken from the scenery of his own country, he had visited

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and had painted some Dutch and Flemish scenes before 1827, the year he married and went to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

for the first time. His wife, Maria Graham, the widow of Captain Graham, R.N., had already attained considerable literary reputation. On their return from Italy they took up their residence at Kensington Gravel Pits, where he lived until his death, enjoying great popularity. In 1830 he began to exhibit Italian compositions, and after this year the subjects of his pictures were generally foreign. Though to the last his works were marked by charm of composition and sweetness of execution, those produced before 1827 are now held in most esteem. On the accession of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

in 1837, Callcott received the honour of

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

. In that year he departed from his usual class of subjects, and exhibited a picture of ''Raffaelle and the Fornarina'', with life-size figures, finished with great care, which was engraved by

Lumb Stocks Lumb Stocks (29 November 1812 – 28 April 1892) was a British engraver. In a long career he produced engravings from paintings by notable artists of the day. Early life Stocks was born at Gawbert Hall, Lightcliffe, near Halifax, Yorkshire, th ...

for the

Art Union of London The Art Union of London, established in 1837, was an organisation which distributed works of art amongst its subscribers by lottery. Art unions Art unions were organisations created to function as patrons of art. Members would pay a small annual s ...

in 1843. This and ''Milton dictating to his Daughters'', exhibited in 1840, were the most important of his figure paintings, of which rare class of his work the South Kensington Museum (Sheepshanks Collection) (now the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

) contains two specimens, ''Anne Page and Slender'' and ''Falstaff and Simple''. The museum also possesses several landscapes in oil and sketches in watercolour, etc. The figures in his landscapes were often important parts of the composition, and were always gracefully designed and happily placed, as, for instance, in ''Dutch Peasants returning from Market''. In 1843 Callcott succeeded William Seguier as

Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures The office of the Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Pictures, in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of pictures owned by ...

. He died on 25 November 1844 and was buried in

Kensal Green cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

. There are qualities in Callcott's work which gained the admiration of

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbul ...

and

Thomas Stothard Thomas Stothard (17 August 1755 – 27 April 1834) was an English painter, illustrator and engraver. His son, Robert T. Stothard was a painter ( fl. 1810): he painted the proclamation outside York Minster of Queen Victoria's accession to the ...

in his day. He was generous in his patronage of younger artists.

Family

His wife,

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

was a writer on art and travel. His brother, John Wall Callcott, was a noted composer.

References

External links

*
A W Callcott online
(ArtCyclopedia)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Callcott, Augustus Wall 18th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English painters English landscape painters Royal Academicians 1779 births 1844 deaths People from Kensington Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Surveyors of the Queen's Pictures Knights Bachelor 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists