James Aumonier Where the Water Lilies Grow

James Aumonier (1832–1911) was an English

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

Life

Born in

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

, London on 9 April 1832, he was son of Henry Collingwood Aumonier, a jeweller, by his wife, Nancy Frances, daughter of George Stacy; a younger brother worked as an engraver, and a nephew Stacy Aumonier became a landscape painter and decorative designer. He was brought up at

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

and

High Barnet Chipping Barnet or High Barnet is a suburban market town in north London, forming part of the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a suburban development built around a 12th-century settlement, and is located north-northwest of Charing C ...

, and at 14 was hired by a business. He attended evening classes, first at the

Birkbeck Institution Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

, then known as the Mechanics' Institute, and subsequently at

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...

, where he found employment as a designer of

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

es in a London firm. In 1891 Aumonier visited

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and the

Venetian Alps The Venetian Prealps (''Prealpi Venete'' in Italian) are a mountain range in the south-eastern part of the Alps. They are located in Triveneto, in the north-eastern part of Italy. Geography Administratively the range is divided between the Ital ...

. He became associate of the

Royal Institute of Painters in Water-colours The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI), initially called the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, is one of the societies in the Federation of British Artists, based in the Mall Galleries in London. History In 1831, the ...

in 1876, and was one of the original members of the

Institute of Oil Painters The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, also known as ROI, is an association of painters in London, England, and is the only major art society which features work done only in oil. It is a member society of the Federation of British Artists. Histor ...

. In 1889 he was awarded a gold medal for water-colour in Paris, and a bronze medal for oil painting at

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. He also received a silver medal at the Brussels exhibition in 1897. There was an exhibition of his water-colour drawings 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 ...

in 1908, and another of his work in oils as well at the

Goupil Gallery Goupil & Cie is an international auction house and merchant of contemporary art and collectibles. Jean-Baptiste Adophe Goupil founded Goupil & Cie in 1850. Goupil & Cie became a leading art dealership in 19th-century France, with its headquart ...

in March 1912. Aumonier died in London on 4 October 1911, and his remains were cremated at

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

Works

Aumonier exhibited for the first time 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 ...

in 1871, but continued his work on calico until after 1873, when Sir Newton Mappin purchased a picture shown by him at the

, ''An English Cottage; Home.'' He concentrated himself on peaceful scenes of the English countryside, especially with autumn tints or during late afternoon. His pictures included ''When the Tide is Out'', ''The Silver Lining of the Cloud'' (both in the Royal Academy of 1895), ''In the Fen Country'', ''The Old Sussex Farmstead'', and ''Sunday Evening''. ''Sheep Washing'' was in the Chantrey bequest collection at the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

, which also owned his painting ''Black Mountains''. Aumonier exhibited at th
third annual exhibition held at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh
in 1898/9 his landscape "A Sussex Hayfield".

Family

Aumonier married on 8 August 1863 at St. George's, Bloomsbury, Amelia, the daughter of James Wright, a gold beater,London Metropolitan Archives P82/GEO1/40, p.123 and had two sons and two daughters.

Notes

External links

* * Nancy Bell, "James Aumonier and his work", ''The Studio''
archive.org
Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Aumonier, James 1832 births 1911 deaths English landscape painters English watercolourists 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters People from Camberwell Painters from London 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists