Frederick Richard Pickersgill (25 September 1820 – 20 December 1900) was an English painter and book
illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...
. Born in London into a family of artists, he was admitted to the
Royal Academy Schools
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
in 1840. He exhibited regularly at the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
between 1839 and 1875. Most of these works depicted scenes drawn from literature (including
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser (; – 13 January 1599 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the House of Tudor, Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is re ...
and
John Milton
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...
), religion, and history.
Pickersgill's ''The Burial of
Harold
Harold may refer to:
People
* Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name
* Harold (surname), surname in the English language
* András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold"
Arts ...
'' was accepted as a decoration for the
Houses of Parliament
The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
in 1847 for the sum of £500. He also did some
landscapes
A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...
under the influence of the
Pre-Raphaelites
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti ...
.
In 1856 Pickersgill was photographed at The Photography Institute by
Robert Howlett
Robert Howlett (3 July 1831 – 2 December 1858) was a British pioneering photographer and founding member of the 27 Club, whose pictures are widely exhibited in major galleries. Howlett produced portraits of Crimean War heroes, genre scenes an ...
, as part of a series of portraits of artists. The picture was among a group exhibited at the
Art Treasures Exhibition
The Art Treasures of Great Britain was an exhibition of fine art held in Manchester, England, from 5 May to 17 October 1857. In addition, Pickersgill seems to have experimented with photography himself.
Pickersgill was elected an
Associate of the Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
in 1847 and a full
Royal Academician
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
in June 1857, but retired in 1888. He was keeper of the Royal Academy Schools from 1873 to 1887.