Edward Henry Corbould
Encyclopedia
Henry Corbould
Henry Corbould was an English artist.-Life:The third son of Richard Corbould, he was born in London. He studied painting with his father, and was at an early age admitted as a student of the Royal Academy, under Fuseli, where he gained the silver medal for a study from the life...
, F.S.A. (1787-1844), who was the designer of the first "Penny Black
Penny Black
The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was issued in Britain on 1 May 1840, for official use from 6 May of that year....
" postage stamp. He was educated at the Palace School, Enfield. Descended from his forefathers who had for three generations been well-known artists, he adopted art as a profession and became one of the most distinguished historical painters of his time. He was a pupil of Henry Sass
Henry Sass
Henry Sass was an English artist and teacher of painting, who founded an important art school, Sass's Academy , in London, to provide training for those seeking to enter the Royal Academy. Many distinguished British painters received their early training here...
and a student at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
.
Early designs
His first original design was a water-colour of; "The Fall of Phaeton from the Chariot of the Sun," for which he was awarded the gold Isis medal of the Society of Arts in 1834. In the following year he won the same prize for a model of a chariot race as described by HomerHomer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
. These designs were then exhibited at the Royal Academy. At this time he had already shown a design from spenser's "Faerie Queene," at the exhibition of the Society of British Artists. In 1837, Mr. Corbould joined the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, and contributed works to that gallery for many years, chiefly subjects from Chaucer, Spenser
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
and Shakespeare. One of the earliest was "The Assembling of the Pilgrims in the Yard of the Tabard Inn, Southwark." He executed four large sepia drawings (I) "Boadicea calling on the Gods of Pridain to succour her against the Romans", (2) "King Richard meeting the Kentish Insurgents under Wat Tyler
Wat Tyler
Walter "Wat" Tyler was a leader of the English Peasants' Revolt of 1381.-Early life:Knowledge of Tyler's early life is very limited, and derives mostly through the records of his enemies. Historians believe he was born in Essex, but are not sure why he crossed the Thames Estuary to Kent...
", (3) "King Henry's welcome to London after Agincourt", (4) "Queen Elizabeth going to Tilbury". These designs were made for proposed statuary to occupy the four pedestals on Blackfriars Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is near the Inns of Court and Temple Church, along with Blackfriars station...
. They were to have been 32 feet in length; but the cost prevented their execution, although their designer offered to help the Corporation of the City of London to the extent of modelling them himself. The pedestals remain unoccupied to this day. W. H. Corbould bought these drawings and presented them to the Australian Club at Sydney, where they were hung in the library. He also presented E. H. Corbould's "Knight of King Arthur's Court - from Chaucer" to the Queensland Club, Brisbane. Between 1835 and 1874, he exhibited 17 paintings in the Royal Academy. He sent 250 drawings to the Institute, and also exhibited his "The Marquis of Waterford at the Eglinton Tournament," watercolour, signed with an artist's pallet enclosing the initials RI and dated 1894, at The Victorian Era Exhibition 1897
Victorian Era Exhibition 1897
The Victorian Era Exhibition 1897; was held to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee, and the overall Victorian Era of Queen Victoria, celebrating her 60th year on the Throne. , the exhibition was held at Earls Court, and was opened by HRH The Duke of Cambridge, May 24, 1897...
, at Earls Court, (no. 209). In 1898 he retired from active membership, when his colleagues placed him on the honorary list. It is as an illustrator that he will be remembered. He was one of a group who made wood-drawing and book illustration a living and moving art in the middle of the 19th century.
Royal patronage
In 1842 Queen Victoria and the Prince ConsortPrince Albert
Prince Albert was the husband and consort of Queen Victoria.Prince Albert may also refer to:-Royalty:*Prince Albert Edward or Edward VII of the United Kingdom , son of Albert and Victoria...
visited the galleries of the Royal Institute
Royal institute
Royal Institute may refer to the following, among other institutions:* Royal Institute of Technology* Royal Institute of British Architects* Royal National Institute of Blind People* Royal Institute of Thailand* Royal Archaeological Institute...
, opposite Marlborough House
Marlborough House
Marlborough House is a mansion in Westminster, London, in Pall Mall just east of St James's Palace. It was built for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the favourite and confidante of Queen Anne. The Duchess wanted her new house to be "strong, plain and convenient and good"...
, and purchased a water-colour painting by Mr. Corbould, then a young member of the Institute. Many of his works were subsequently purchased by Queen Victoria and went to Osborne House
Osborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....
and Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
. He was a prizewinner at two exhibitions in Westminster Hall. His picture of "Floretta de Nerac" - the first love of Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
, was purchased by Queen Victoria, and presented by her to the Emperor William, then King of Prussia
King of Prussia
King of Prussia may refer to:* A ruler of the former German state of Prussia**List of rulers of Prussia* Place names** King of Prussia, Pennsylvania* Shopping Centers** King of Prussia Mall...
. Two pictures were acquired by the Princess Royal (Empress Frederick). The painting from Tennyson
Tennyson
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the first Baron Tennyson, was an English poet.Tennyson may also refer to:-People:* Baron Tennyson, the barony itself** Alfred, Lord Tennyson , poet...
's "Morte d'Arthur" was purchased in 1864 by Queen Victoria, and presented by her to the Princess Louise
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
The Princess Louise was a member of the British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.Louise's early life was spent moving between the various royal residences in the...
. In that year, Mr. Corbould made, under the immediate superintendence of Her Majesty, a design for a piece of plate, to stand three feet high, as a christening present to the late Duke of Clarence
Duke of Clarence
Duke of Clarence is a title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the English and British Royal families. The first three creations were in the Peerage of England, the fourth in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the fifth in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.The title was first...
.
In 1851, Sir Charles Phipps called on Mr. Corbould at his house in Rutland Gate, asking him to accept the post of drawing master to the Royal children. He commenced work at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
on the first anniversary of the Duke of Connaught's birthday. "I remember," said E.H.C., "the Duke of Wellington
Duke of Wellington
The Dukedom of Wellington, derived from Wellington in Somerset, is a hereditary title in the senior rank of the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first holder of the title was Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , the noted Irish-born career British Army officer and statesman, and...
coming across from Apsley House
Apsley House
Apsley House, also known as Number One, London, is the former London residence of the Dukes of Wellington. It stands alone at Hyde Park Corner, on the south-east corner of Hyde Park, facing south towards the busy traffic interchange and Wellington Arch...
, and presenting the little Prince Arthur
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a member of the shared British and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha royal family who served as the Governor General of Canada, the 10th since Canadian Confederation.Born the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and...
with a sword he had worn during the Peninsular campaign, saying : 'Take this, my little Prince, for I am sure you will become a soldier.' "He painted the Prince Consort's portrait while staying with the Court at Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and east of Braemar. Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and her...
. He retained the post of Instructor of Drawing and Painting to the Royal Family for 20 years. King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
made his first purchase of a work of art in the acquisition of a picture by E. H. Corbould. King Edward VII accepted a picture of "Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
and his tutor, Richard Cox
Richard Cox
Richard Cox may refer to:*Dick Cox , American baseball player*Richard Cox , American actor*Richard Cox , English clergyman, Dean of Westminster and Bishop of Ely...
, Bishop of Ely
Bishop of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...
," sending E.H.C. in return a signed portrait of himself, with a letter which is now in the library of the Australian Club, Sydney, to which it was presented by Dr. Victor Corbould. "Nine water-colours, being scenes from the Opera "Undine", as well as two others; "Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
" and "The Iconoclasts of Basle," remained in the possession of the Ex-Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany at Doorn, Holland; but the German Government took possession of Corbould's "Floretta de Nerac," which is now at the Castle of Babelsberg. His Majesty the King has many of Mr. Corbould's works. Fourteen watercolours and an oil painting are in Buckingham Palace, a portrait of the Prince Consort (by H. L. Smith after Corbould) and two pictures are at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
, and there are three pictures at Osborne House
Osborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....
. In the summer of 1904, in his 90th year, Mr. Corbould fell down a of stone steps, and died as a result of his injuries at Kensington on 18th January 1904. In his will he desired the Queen to accept the best water-colour painting in his possession.