William Logsdail (25 May 1859 – 3 September 1944) was a prolific English landscape, portrait, and genre painter. He exhibited 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 ...
, the
Royal Society of British Artists
The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy.
History
The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fi ...
, the
Grosvenor Gallery
The Grosvenor Gallery was an art gallery in London founded in 1877 by Sir Coutts Lindsay and his wife Blanche. Its first directors were J. Comyns Carr and Charles Hallé. The gallery proved crucial to the Aesthetic Movement because it provid ...
plein air
''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors.
This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting is c ...
'' style.
Early life
He was born in the Close of
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster, and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, is a Church of England cathedral in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lincoln and is the Mo ...
, in
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincoln (na ...
, England, May 1859. He was one of seven children, six boys and one girl. His father was a verger at the cathedral.Cooper, Francis J.. ''William Logsdail of Lincoln (1859-1944): Memorial Exhibition, 1952'', (Usher Art Gallery, 1952), p. 5 As a boy, William attended Lincoln School (now
Lincoln Christ's Hospital School
Lincoln Christ's Hospital School is an English state secondary school with academy status located in Wragby Road in Lincoln. It was established in 1974, taking over the pupils and many of the staff of the older Lincoln Grammar School and Chri ...
), and also earned money by guiding visitors up the central tower of the cathedral.
Training
Logsdail attended the Lincoln School of Art, where he initially showed an aptitude for architecture, but with the encouragement of his art master,
Edward R. Taylor
__NOTOC__
Edward Richard Taylor RBSA (14 June 1838 – 14 January 1911) was an English artist and educator. He painted in both oil painting, oils and watercolours. He became a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists in 1879.
Biograph ...
, (who was also Head of the School) he took to painting. While there, he won the Gold Medal for his work in competition with students at other English art schools.Cooper, Francis J.. ''William Logsdail of Lincoln (1859-1944): Memorial Exhibition, 1952'', (Usher Art Gallery, 1952), p. 6 He went on to study in Antwerp, at the École des Beaux-Arts, under
Charles Verlat
Charles Verlat or Karel Verlat (25 November 182423 October 1890) was a Belgian painter, watercolorist, engraver (printmaker), art educator and director of the Antwerp Academy. He painted many subjects and was particularly known as an animalier ...
.'A Celebrated Lincoln Artist', ''Lincoln Gazette'', June 1883 While there, he became the first Englishman to win first prize at the School.Cooper, Francis J.. ''William Logsdail of Lincoln (1859-1944): Memorial Exhibition, 1952'', (Usher Art Gallery, 1952), p. 7 One of his works from this period, ''The Fish Market'' (1880), was bought on behalf of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
for
Osborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. Albert designed the house in the style ...
., When told of this, Logsdail supposedly commented, 'Shows her Majesty's good sense'.
Career
In the autumn of 1880, Logsdail visited Venice where he was to remain, with occasional visits to England, the Balkans, Egypt and the Middle East, until 1900. During this early period in his career, he gravitated towards architectural and subject paintings. His ''The Piazza of St. Mark's, Venice'', painted in 1883, was judged by the Royal Academy to be the 'picture of the year' when it was exhibited in London although he appears to have been dissatisfied by it, and seriously considered cutting the painting up during its composition.
He also painted some sixty-nine small paintings for the
Fine Art Society
The Fine Art Society is a gallery based in both London and in Edinburgh's New Town (originally Bourne Fine Art, established 1978). The New Bond Street, London gallery closed its doors in August 2018 after being occupied by The Fine Art Society ...
on the subject of the French and Italian Riviera. Seven of these were sold to the
Duke of Westminster
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...
. In 1893, Logsdail was awarded a medal for oil painting at the
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 ...
(also known as the Chicago World's Fair).
After spending two years at Taormina in Sicily, he and his family returned to England, settling in West Kensington, London, where his ''The Early Victorian'' (1906) (a costume portrait of his daughter Mary) was well received. This marked the beginning of a period of portrait painting for Logsdail, who was offered so many commissions that he was able to pick and choose his sitter at will.
In 1912, 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 ...
. As his career progressed, he turned to flower studies.
Personal life and death
In 1892, Logsdail met May Ashman of Necton, near Swaffham in Norfolk, marrying her in the same year. He had three children with her
In 1922, he and his family moved to the Manor House at
Noke
NOKE () is a shopping mall in the Dazhi area of Zhongshan District, Taipei, Taiwan that began trial operations on 29 April 2023. With a total floor area of , it has 7 floors above ground and 3 floors below ground. Main core stores include Tsutay ...
, near
Islip, Oxfordshire
Islip () is a village and civil parish on the River Ray, just above its confluence with the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England. It is about east of Kidlington and about north of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population ...
, where Logsdail remained until his death at the age 85. A plaque on the house commemorates his time there.
Relations with other painters
Logsdail was a friend of
Frank Bramley
Frank Bramley RA (6 May 1857 – 9 August 1915) was an English post-impressionist genre painter of the Newlyn School.
Personal life
Bramley was born in Sibsey, near Boston, in Lincolnshire to Charles Bramley from Fiskerton also in Lincol ...
, who also attended Lincoln School of Art and went on to co-found the
Newlyn School
The Newlyn School was an art colony of artists based in or near Newlyn, a fishing village adjacent to Penzance, on the south coast of Cornwall, from the 1880s until the early twentieth century. The establishment of the Newlyn School was remini ...
and be elected to 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 ...
.
While Logsdail was still studying, the art critic
John Ruskin
John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...
saw his painting of Lincoln Cathedral's south porch and expressed a favourable opinion of the work, later writing to him and suggesting that he go to
Verona
Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
once his studies had reached a conclusion, advice the young artist ignored.
While in Venice, Logsdail moved in a social circle that included Harper Pennington, Robert Frederick Blum, Martin Rico y Ortega,
Frank Duveneck
Frank Duveneck (né Decker; October 9, 1848 – January 3, 1919) was an American figure and portrait painter.
Early life
Duveneck was born in Covington, Kentucky, the son of German immigrant Bernhard Decker. Decker died in a cholera epidemic whe ...
,
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...
and
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era, Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil ...
, the latter of whom inscribed a picture to Logsdail.
While not inclined to openly criticise other artists, Logsdail did, in his memoirs, relate a story concerning
Walter Sickert
Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...
. As he worked on his ''Ponte della Paglia'' (1898), Sickert arrived and set up his easel nearby. He then 'began to caper like a master of fence, backing and lunging with sudden stabs at his canvas'. An American passing by noticed a button on the pavement, retrieved it and, offering it to Sickert, said, 'Excuse me, sir, but I think this has worked loose!'.Cooper, Francis J.. ''William Logsdail of Lincoln (1859-1944): Memorial Exhibition, 1952'', (Usher Art Gallery, 1952), p. 9
Style
Logsdail cultivated a tight objective and realistic style, although his later portraiture and the works painted while in Sicily demonstrate a relaxation of this style.
His Venice-based works exhibit a high degree of draughtsmanship described as beautiful and nearly photographic. There is a cool proficiency in his architectural work and street scenes that express what was actually there before him. For example, in the winter in which he came to paint his ''
St. Martin's-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...
'' (1888), he hoped for a snow scene, but when faced with only rain and sleet, Logsdail, with his feet buried in straw to keep them warm, painted the scene without snow.
Contemporary criticism
''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', in its review of the Royal Academy's 1881 exhibition, called Logsdail's work technically almost faultless, resembling a first-rate mosaic, rather than possessing those qualities understood by artists as painting and lacking 'delicacy of gradation'.
The Standard
The Standard may refer to:
Entertainment
* The Standard (band), an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon
* ''The Standard'' (novel), a 1934 novel by the Austrian writer Alexander Lernet-Holenia
* ''The Standard'' (Tommy Flanagan album), 1980
* ...
, in their review of the Royal Academy's 1883 exhibition described his ''The Piazza of St. Mark's, Venice'' as possessing a 'vivacity of characterisation' and a 'brilliancy of painting'.
In its review of London art exhibitions in 1887, ''The Times'' commented that his 'eastern' works, such as ''Arch of the Khalif – Cairo'' and ''Doorway of a Mosque'', painted while in Egypt, were admirable and suited his talents as a colourist. Commenting on his ''The Ninth of November (The Lord Mayor's Procession, London, 1888)'' (1890), the ''
Birmingham Daily Post
The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a succession of distinguished ...
'' pointed out its success in its accurate portrayal of the 'vigour, variety, humour, and incident of a London crowd'.
''
The Morning Post
''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''.
History
The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning ...
'', in its review of the Royal Academy's 1897 exhibition, highlighted the 'sincerity' and 'judicious combination' of colour hues demonstrated in his ''Bronze Horses of St. Mark's, Venice'' (1897).
Posthumous sales
The record auction price is for a picture of The Bank and the Royal Exchange which made £420,000 at Duke's auctions.
The Gates of Khalifa, Cairo realised £200,000 at Sotheby's in October 2019.
St. Martin-in-the-Fields achieved $214,200 in the sale of The Ann & Gordon Getty Collection at Christie's in New York in October 2022.
Bank and the Royal Exchange was offered with an estimate of £600,000 – £800,000 at Sotheby's in July 2010 but was unsold.
His portrait of his daughter "An Early Victorian" which launched his career as a portraitist made £30,000 at Christie's in 2011.
Selected works
*''The Fish Market'' (1880)
*''Courtyard of the Plantin-Moretus House, Antwerp'' (1882)
*''The Piazza of St. Mark's, Venice'' (1883)
*'' St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London'' (1888)
*''The Ninth of November (The Lord Mayor's Procession, London, 1888)'' (1890)
*''A Street in Taormina'' (1901)
*''Elisabeth, daughter of His Honour the late Judge Eustace Hills, KC'' (1907)
*''Portrait of T. Hampson Jones, Esq.'' (1916)
*''Portrait of Stanley George Lutwyche, Master of the Leathersellers' Company 1906-07'' (1912, Leathersellers' Hall)Worshipful Company of Leathesellers, ref ART/39