Theodore Lane (c. 1800–1828) was an English painter and engraver.

Life

Lane was the son of a poor drawing-master from

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

. At 14 he was apprenticed in London to John Barrow of Weston Place, St. Pancras, an artist and colourer of prints. Lane first came into notice as a painter of water-colour portraits and miniatures. About 1825 he took up oil painting. He was left-handed, but with the help of

Alexander George Fraser Alexander George Fraser (1786–1865) was a Scottish genre and domestic painter who exhibited his paintings at the Royal Academy in London for many years.Entry for 'Alexander George Fraser' in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', (e ...

became proficient. Lane died in an accident: while waiting for a friend at the horse repository in

Gray's Inn Road Gray's Inn Road (or Grays Inn Road) is an important road in Central London, located in the London Borough of Camden. The road begins at its junction with Holborn at the City of London boundary, passes north through the Holborn and King's Cross ...

he by mistake stepped upon a skylight, and, falling on the pavement below, was killed, 21 May 1828. He was buried in Old St. Pancras church-yard.

Works

Lane exhibited water-colours and miniatures 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 1819, 1820, and 1826. He had a talent for humorous subjects, and a series of thirty-six designs by him, entitled ''The Life of an Actor'', with letterpress by

Pierce Egan Pierce Egan (1772–1849) was a British journalist, sportswriter, and writer on popular culture. His popular book '' Life in London'', published in 1821, was adapted into the stage play '' Tom and Jerry, or Life in London'' later that year, wh ...

, was published in 1825. Lane also etched some prints of sporting and social life: ''Masquerade at the

Argyll Rooms The Argyll Rooms (sometimes spelled Argyle) was an entertainment venue on Little Argyll Street, Regent Street, London, England, opened in 1806. It was rebuilt in 1818 due to the design of Regent Street. It burned down in 1830, but was rebuilt, b ...

'', ''Scientific Pursuits, or Hobby Horse Races to the Temple of Fame'', and ''A Trip to Ascot Races'', a series of scenes on the road from

Hyde Park Corner Hyde Park Corner is between Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair in London, England. It primarily refers to a major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park, that was originally planned by architect Decimus Burton. The juncti ...

to Ascot Heath, which he dedicated to the king, 1827. He illustrated with etchings and woodcuts ''A Complete Panorama of the Sporting World'', and Egan's ''Anecdotes of the Turf'', 1827. In 1827 Lane sent to the Academy ''The Christmas Present'', and to the

British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it ...

''An Hour before the Duel''. In 1828 his ''Disturbed by the Nightmare'' was exhibited at the Academy, ''Reading the Fifth Act of the Manuscript'' at the British Institution, and ''The Enthusiast'' at the Suffolk Street Gallery. The Enthusiast Lane

Theodore Lane was a political lampoonist and in 1820 created a series of satirical images of Queen Caroline at the time of her return to England to claim her rights as consort to

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

. Lane caricatured the queen as a grotesque, overdressed and overweight, accompanied by her Italian lover, Bartolomeo Pergami and the then Lord Mayor of London, Matthew Wood. Images included ''Returning Justice lifts aloft her Scale'',''The Man of the Woods & the Cat-o'-Mountain'', ''Delicious Dreams'', ''The Queen's A-s in a Bandbox'' and ''Moments of Pleasure''. Lane left a widow and three children, for whose benefit his best-known work, ''The Enthusiast'', representing a gouty angler fishing in a tub of water, was engraved by

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...

; it was subsequently purchased by Robert Vernon, was engraved by Henry Beckwith for the '' Art Journal'' in 1850, and went to the National Gallery, ending in the Tate collection.tate.org.uk, ''Enthusiast ('The Gouty Angler')''.
/ref> His picture ''Mathematical Abstraction'', which he left unfinished, was completed by Fraser, and purchased by

John Rushout, 2nd Baron Northwick John Rushout, 2nd Baron Northwick (16 February 1770 – 20 January 1859) was an English peer, landowner and collector of art works. Rushout was the son of John Rushout, 1st Baron Northwick and his wife Rebecca Bowles. He was born at St James', ...

; it also was engraved by Graves. In 1831 Pierce Egan published ''The Show Folks'', illustrated with woodcuts designed by Lane. It was accompanied by a memoir of him.

Notes

External links

* *
Theodore Lane (1800-1828), Painter and etcher

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Theodore 1800s births 1828 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English engravers 19th-century English male artists