John Atkinson Grimshaw
Born: 1836 - Died: 31st October 1893
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| The artist John Atkinson Grimshaw was a Victorian-era painter, born in
Leeds, England,
living from 1836 to 1893. At the age of
twenty-four, to the dismay of his parents, John Atkinson Grimshaw departed from his first job as a
clerk for the Great
Northern Railway to pursue a career in art. |
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After his marriage in 1858, John Atkinson Grimshaw was able to devote himself
to painting. By 1870, he was successful enough to rent Knostrop Old Hall,
a 17th century mansion near Temple Newsam, which features
in many of his pictures.
| Grimshaw, who lived in Leeds, often spent
considerable time during the summer staying at Scarborough.
He first rented a house in the town in the late 1870s, following the death
of three of his children at his Leeds home. He called it
Castle-by-the-Sea. Perched on the cliff top just below
Scarborough
Castle, near St
Mary's Church, it has magnificent views of both the north and south
bays. The name of his Scarborough house
came from the eponymous poem by Longfellow. The move to the coast inspired
much of the artist’s most attractive work, as throughout his career he
was always attracted by ships, the sea, and docks, in fact all things
maritime. |
Castle By The Sea - Scarborough |
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John Atkinson Grimshaw is best known for his powerfully
atmospheric paintings of twilight, night-time, and autumnal scenes, and his
pictures in the Scarborough Art Gallery reflect this.
Scarborough Lighthouse |
Whitby Harbour by Moonlight |
Forge Valley near Scarborough |
Pictures in the Scarborough Galley are:
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The Burning of the Spa Saloon 1876
The artist looks down from the town at
the burning Spa Building on the lower promenade. The reflected glow of the
fire lights up the hill to the town, and illuminates the buildings there.
The light of the fire also reflects onto the beach, and the sea, spreading
towards the painter’s vantage point. In the background the moon shines
on the sea, whilst above is one of Grimshaw’s
moody, and subtly painted skies. |
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| Lights in The Harbour 1879
This painting consists of a nocturnal view across the
bay at Scarborough, with the Grand Hotel, the one of the largest brick
built buildings in the world in the background. The lights of the
foreshore flicker beneath the large hotel building. In the foreground are
fishing boats ,and drying nets. The calm sea reflecting the lights, is
beautifully done. The clear night sky reflects the lights of the town.
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Burning Off A Fishing Boat at
Scarborough 1877
A crowd of onlookers on the wet
harbour-side watch the destruction of the boat. The sky is cloudy and
threatening, with the moon peeping out from behind the clouds. The
reflections of the spectators on the wet stone is wonderfully realised. A
sailing boat crosses the sea in the background. |
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Grimshaw painted mostly for private patrons, and
exhibited only 5 works at the Royal Academy between 1874 and 1886, and one at
the Grosvenor Gallery. The towns and docks that he painted most
frequently were Glasgow, Liverpool,
Leeds's, Scarborough,
Whitby and London.
Old Mill - Robin Hoods Bay |
The Bowler Stone |
Old Customs House - Liverpool |
Grimshaw's style and subject matter changed little during his
career; he strove constantly to perfect his own very individual vision. He was
interested in photography, and sometimes used a camera obscure to project
outlines on to canvas, enabling him to repeat compositions several times. He
also mixed sand and other ingredients with his paint to get the effects he
wanted. Even though he established no school, Grimshaw's pictures were forged
and imitated in his lifetime, notably by Wilfred Jenkins and H. Meegan.
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Midsummer Night
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Although his moonlit town views are his most popular
works, he also painted landscapes, portraits, interiors, fairy pictures
and neo-classical subjects.
Grimshaw's primary influence was the Pre-Raphaelites.
True to the Pre-Raphaelite style, he put forth landscapes of accurate colour and
lighting, and vivid detail. He would often paint landscapes that typified
seasons, or that typified a kind of weather. By applying his skill in lighting
effects, and unusually careful attention to detail, he was often capable of
intricately describing a scene, while strongly conveying its mood. He died of cancer in 1893.
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Plague on Castle by the Sea - Scarborough
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Views behind his home in Scarborough |
From Wikipedia and Victorian Art.