Harold Speed (11 February 1872 – 20 March 1957) was an English

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

and

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

of portraits, figures and historical subjects. He also wrote instructional books for artists that remain in print. Born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the son of Edward Speed, an architect, he studied architecture at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

, but soon took up painting, and continued his studies at 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 ...

between 1891 and 1896, winning a gold medal and a travelling scholarship in 1893. In 1896, he was elected as a member of the

Royal Society of Portrait Painters The Royal Society of Portrait Painters is a charity based at Carlton House Terrace, SW1, London that promotes the practice and appreciation of portraiture art. Its Annual Exhibition of portraiture is held at Mall Galleries, and it runs a commi ...

. Speed was a member of the

Art Workers' Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of al ...

and was elected as its Master in 1916. Later, he was elected a member of the

New Society of Artists The New Society of Artists was formed in London in 1921. Its primary aim was to give a chance for artists whose work had not been accepted by the Royal Academy (RA) to exhibit their work in London and, later, in the provinces. In 1932 it became the ...

. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1893, and held his first one-man exhibition in 1907 at the

Leicester Galleries Leicester Galleries was an art gallery located in London from 1902 to 1977 that held exhibitions of modern British, French and international artists' works. Its name was acquired in 1984 by Peter Nahum, who operates "Peter Nahum at the Leiceste ...

. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

. In 1930 he provided paintings for the new chapel of

Wesley House Wesley House was founded as a Methodist theological college in Jesus Lane, Cambridge, England. It opened in 1921 as a place for the education of Methodist ministers and today serves as a gateway to theological scholarship for students and sch ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. Speed lived in

Watlington, Oxfordshire Watlington is a small market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, about south of Thame. It is near Oxfordshire's eastern edge and less than from its border with Buckinghamshire. The parish includes ...

and London, where he died on 20 March 1957. Because of their intelligent combination of useful advice and sensitive reflection on the nature and meaning of artistic practice, Harold Speed's instructional manuals on drawing and painting have long been considered valuable resources for artists. There are editions of his manual "The Practice and Science of Drawing" (1913) in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

. His other publications include ''The Science and Practice of Oil Painting'' (1924) and ''What is the Good of Art?'' (1936).National Portrait Gallery website

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Speed, Harold 1872 births 1957 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters English watercolourists English portrait painters People from Watlington, Oxfordshire Art competitors at the 1928 Summer Olympics Masters of the Art Worker's Guild 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists