Helen Allingham (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Paterson; 26 September 1848 – 28 September 1926) was a British watercolourist and illustrator of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

Biography

Helen Mary Elizabeth Paterson was born on 26 September 1848, at

Swadlincote Swadlincote is a historic mining town in the district of South Derbyshire, in the county of Derbyshire, England. It lies within The National Forest (England), The National Forest area. It borders the counties of Leicestershire and Staffordshire ...

in Derbyshire, the daughter of Alexander Henry Paterson, a medical doctor, and Mary Herford Paterson. Helen was the eldest of seven children. The year after her birth the family moved to

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

in Cheshire. In 1862 her father and her three-year-old sister Isabel died of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

during an epidemic. The remaining family then moved to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, where some of Alexander Paterson's family lived. Paterson showed a talent for art from an early age, drawing some of her inspiration from her maternal grandmother Sarah Smith Herford and aunt Laura Herford, both accomplished artists of their day. Her younger sister Caroline Paterson also became a noted artist. She initially studied art for three years at the Birmingham School of Design. She spent a year at the

Royal Female School of Art The Royal Female School of Art was a professional British institution for the training of women in art and design. It was founded in London in 1842, as part of the Government School of Design, predecessor of the Royal College of Art. It was mer ...

in London, before following her aunt Laura Herford to the National Art Training School. In 1867 she enrolled in the Royal Academy School, which would later become 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 ...

. There, Frederick Walker encouraged her work in watercolors.

Career

While studying at the National Art Training School, Paterson worked as an illustrator, eventually deciding to give up her studies in favor of a full-time career in art. She painted for children's and adult books, as well as for periodicals, including ''

The Graphic ''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company, Illustrated Newspapers Ltd with Thomas's brother, Lewis Samuel Thomas, as a co-founder. The Graphic was set up as ...

'' newspaper. One highlight was her commission to provide twelve illustrations for the 1874 serialisation of

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

's novel '' Far from the Madding Crowd'' in ''

Cornhill Magazine ''The Cornhill Magazine'' (1860–1975) was a monthly Victorian literature, Victorian magazine and literary journal named after the street address of the founding publisher Smith, Elder & Co. at 65 Cornhill, London, Cornhill in London.Laurel ...

''. Her illustrations from this era were signed either "H. Paterson" or "H. Allingham". She became a lifelong friend of

Kate Greenaway Catherine Greenaway (17 March 18466 November 1901) was an English Victorian artist and writer, known for her children's book illustrations. She received her education in graphic design and art between 1858 and 1871 from the Finsbury School of ...

whom she met at evening art classes at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

. While

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

was developing as an artist by studying English illustrated journals he was struck by Paterson's work in ''The Graphic''. Although women could not gain the same recognition as men at the time, Helen Allingham was one of the women artists who made a considerable impact, as artists like Van Gogh were influenced by her. On 22 August 1874 she married

William Allingham William Allingham (19 March 1824 – 18 November 1889) was an Irish poet, diarist and editor. He wrote several volumes of lyric verse, and his poem "The Faeries" was much anthologised. But he is better known for his posthumously published ''Di ...

, Irish poet and editor of ''

Fraser's Magazine ''Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country'' was a general and literary journal published in London from 1830 to 1882, which initially took a strong Tory line in politics. It was founded by Hugh Fraser and William Maginn in 1830 and loosely direc ...

'', who was almost twice her age. After her marriage, she gave up her career as an illustrator and turned to watercolour painting. In 1881 the family moved from Chelsea to

Witley Witley is a village in the civil parish of Witley and Milford in the Waverley (borough), Waverley district in Surrey, England. It is centred south west of the town of Godalming and southwest of Guildford. The land is a mixture of rural (ran ...

in Surrey. Her first son, Gerald Carlyle, was born in November 1875. Her daughter was born on 21 February 1877 and her last son on 11 May 1882. Helen started to paint the countryside around her and particularly the picturesque farmhouses, cottages and gardens of Surrey and Sussex, for which she became famous. In 1889, her husband died. Aged 41, she felt the pressure to support her 3 young children (14, 12, and 7) and stepped up the production of watercolour. These were done with great attention to detail and avoiding any sense of squalor or hardship. They became wildly popular, possibly because of the nostalgic needs of ex pats who went to faraway colonies or of those living in industrialising cities.Minneapolis Institute of Art, n.d, Description of "Wiltshire cottage" (Watercolour over graphite) by Helen Paterson Allingham However, her works were also criticised as "overly sentimental, conservative vision of the area". She went on to paint rural scenes in other parts of the country –

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, Kent, the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

and the

West Country The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...

– and abroad in Venice, Italy. As well as landscapes, she completed several portraits, including one of

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

In 1890, Allingham became the first woman to be admitted as a full member of the

Royal Watercolour Society The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wa ...

. At the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

in Chicago, Illinois she exhibited her work at the

Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally built for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to 197 ...

Legacy

The Helen Allingham Society was founded in 2000. Her time in Altrincham is commemorated by blue plaques at 16 Market Street, Altrincham and at Levenhurst, St. John's Road, Bowdon. Burgh House,

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, has the world's largest archive and collection of her work.

Paintings

File:WilliamAllingham1876.jpg,

1876 Image:Allingham Helen Irish Cottage.jpg, Irish Cottage File:Helen Allingham - A Herbaceous Border.jpg, A Herbaceous Border File:Helen Allingham - Harvest Moon.jpg, Harvest Moon File:Allingham Helen A Cottage With Sunflowers At Peaslake.jpg, A Cottage With Sunflowers At Peaslake File:Helen Allingham - The Lady of the Manor.jpg, The Lady of the Manor File:Helen Allingham - Morning at the Quay Venice.jpg, Morning at the Quay in Venice File:Mrs Helen Allingham - Thomas Carlyle, 1795 - 1881. Historian and essayist - Google Art Project.jpg,

, historian and essayist (1795–1881)

Bibliography

;Illustrated by Helen Allingham: * * Paterson, Arthur Henry (1905).
The homes of Tennyson
' (Adam & Charles Black). Paterson was Helen Allingham's brother. * ;Written by Helen Allingham:
Seedtime and reaping
(Samuel Tinsley, 1877).

Notes

External links

* * * http://www.chrisbeetles.com/artists/allingham-helen-rws-1848-1926.html * http://www.spacial-anomaly.com/helen-allingham-and-her-cottages/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Allingham, Helen 1848 births 1926 deaths 19th-century English painters 20th-century English painters Alumni of the Birmingham School of Art Alumni of the Royal College of Art English illustrators English landscape painters English watercolourists People from Altrincham People from Swadlincote Women of the Victorian era English women watercolourists 20th-century English women painters 19th-century English women painters