George Dunlop Leslie
Encyclopedia
George Dunlop Leslie RA (2 July 1835 – 21 Feb 1921) was an English genre painter, author and illustrator.
, the son of notable genre painter Charles Robert Leslie
, R.A. His uncle Robert Leslie was a marine artist. He studied art first at "Cary's art academy
", then from 1854 at the Royal Academy
. His first exhibition at the Academy was in 1859, and he showed his work every year thereafter. He became an Associate (ARA) in 1868 and a full Royal Academician (RA) in 1876.
Leslie lived early on in St John's Wood
(London), and was part of the St John's Wood Clique
, a group of artists who favoured light-hearted genre subjects. From 1884-1901 he was resident at "Riverside", St. Leonard's Lane, Wallingford, Oxfordshire. His sister Mary Leslie (1833-1907), also an artist, lived at "Cromwell Lodge" next door. Fellow artist, James Hayllar
, was also a resident of the village and they painted a portrait of Queen Victoria together for her Golden Jubillee in 1887. From 1906 he lived at "Compton House" in Lindfield
, Sussex
His early works, such as "Mathilda" (1860) showed the strong influence of the Pre-Raphaelites, but he settled into a more academic, aesthetic, style of painting with the aim of showing "pictures from the sunny side of English domestic life". He often used children as subjects and his work was praised by John Ruskin
for its portrayal of the "sweet quality of English girlhood". One of his pictures, "This is the Way we Wash our Clothes" was used as a poster in an advertising campaign for soap. Despite its apparently trivial subject matter, however, Leslie's work was highly regarded by critics of the time.
Leslie was also an author and had several books published. "Our River" (1888), "Letters to Marco" (1893) and "Riverside letters" (1896) were all illustrated by him in black and white, and based on personal observations of life and nature in his local area. He also wrote a history of the early years of the Royal Academy - "The inner life of the Royal Academy".
Leslie was married to Lydia. They had a daughter Alice (depicted in his painting "Alice in Wonderland") and a son Peter Leslie (1877-1953) who was also an artist. Amongst Leslie's artistic friends and acquaintances were Sir Edwin Landseer
, Frederick Walker
and Henry Stacy Marks
.
In June 2000, "The Daughters of Eve", considered to be one of Leslie's finest paintings, and which had hung unnoticed for 40 years in a south Wales school (Llantarnam Comprehensive), was sold for £170,000 to a private collector. The money raised was used to fund much needed building work to the school.
This picture was painted in 1890, from one of the windows of the artist's drawing-room at Wallingford, looking out over the garden to the meadow on the opposite bank of the river. According to Dunlop: "I arranged the two girls by the window. One is seated on a stool on the ground, and the other is on the seat of the deeply recessed window. The whole was painted direct from nature. A young lady friend posed for one of the figures, while .. the other is from Kitty Lambert, a favourite model of mine. The two girls are arranging sunflowers in a vase. In the picture some of the sunflowers are the usual bright yellow ones, and others, which I call moonflowers, are far paler. It is painted on canvas, very simply..."
Life and work
Leslie was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the son of notable genre painter Charles Robert Leslie
Charles Robert Leslie
]Charles Robert Leslie , was an English genre painter. Born in London, his parents were American, and when he was five years of age he returned with them to their native country. They settled in Philadelphia, where their son was educated and afterwards apprenticed to a bookseller...
, R.A. His uncle Robert Leslie was a marine artist. He studied art first at "Cary's art academy
Francis Stephen Cary
Francis Stephen Cary was an English painter and art-teacher, who succeeded Henry Sass as the head of Sass's art academy.-Life and work:...
", then from 1854 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...
. His first exhibition at the Academy was in 1859, and he showed his work every year thereafter. He became an Associate (ARA) in 1868 and a full Royal Academician (RA) in 1876.
Leslie lived early on in St John's Wood
St John's Wood
St John's Wood is a district of north-west London, England, in the City of Westminster, and at the north-west end of Regent's Park. It is approximately 2.5 miles north-west of Charing Cross. Once part of the Great Middlesex Forest, it was later owned by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem...
(London), and was part of the St John's Wood Clique
St John's Wood Clique
The St John's Wood Clique was a group of Victorian artists who mostly lived in the St John's Wood area of London. Their ideas were broadly similar to an earlier group also called The Clique...
, a group of artists who favoured light-hearted genre subjects. From 1884-1901 he was resident at "Riverside", St. Leonard's Lane, Wallingford, Oxfordshire. His sister Mary Leslie (1833-1907), also an artist, lived at "Cromwell Lodge" next door. Fellow artist, James Hayllar
James Hayllar
James Hayllar was an English genre, portrait and landscape painter.-Life and work:Hayllar was born in Chichester in Sussex , and received his training in art at Cary's art academy in London; he painted Cary's portrait in 1851. He went on to study at the Royal Academy.Hayllar travelled in Italy...
, was also a resident of the village and they painted a portrait of Queen Victoria together for her Golden Jubillee in 1887. From 1906 he lived at "Compton House" in Lindfield
Lindfield, West Sussex
Lindfield is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The parish lies to the north-east of Haywards Heath, of which the village is a part of the built-up area. It stands on the upper reaches of the River Ouse...
, Sussex
His early works, such as "Mathilda" (1860) showed the strong influence of the Pre-Raphaelites, but he settled into a more academic, aesthetic, style of painting with the aim of showing "pictures from the sunny side of English domestic life". He often used children as subjects and his work was praised by John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
for its portrayal of the "sweet quality of English girlhood". One of his pictures, "This is the Way we Wash our Clothes" was used as a poster in an advertising campaign for soap. Despite its apparently trivial subject matter, however, Leslie's work was highly regarded by critics of the time.
Leslie was also an author and had several books published. "Our River" (1888), "Letters to Marco" (1893) and "Riverside letters" (1896) were all illustrated by him in black and white, and based on personal observations of life and nature in his local area. He also wrote a history of the early years of the Royal Academy - "The inner life of the Royal Academy".
Leslie was married to Lydia. They had a daughter Alice (depicted in his painting "Alice in Wonderland") and a son Peter Leslie (1877-1953) who was also an artist. Amongst Leslie's artistic friends and acquaintances were Sir Edwin Landseer
Edwin Henry Landseer
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, RA was an English painter, well known for his paintings of animals—particularly horses, dogs and stags...
, Frederick Walker
Frederick Walker (painter)
Frederick Walker was an English social realist painter and illustrator described by Sir John Everett Millais as "the greatest artist of the century".__NOEDITSECTION__-Early Life and training:...
and Henry Stacy Marks
Henry Stacy Marks
Henry Stacy Marks was an English artist who took a particular interest in painting birds.-Life:Henry Stacy Marks was born in London as the fourth child of John Isaac Marks and Elizabeth née Pally. His father was a solicitor who later became a coach builder...
.
In June 2000, "The Daughters of Eve", considered to be one of Leslie's finest paintings, and which had hung unnoticed for 40 years in a south Wales school (Llantarnam Comprehensive), was sold for £170,000 to a private collector. The money raised was used to fund much needed building work to the school.
Work
Sun and Moon FlowersThis picture was painted in 1890, from one of the windows of the artist's drawing-room at Wallingford, looking out over the garden to the meadow on the opposite bank of the river. According to Dunlop: "I arranged the two girls by the window. One is seated on a stool on the ground, and the other is on the seat of the deeply recessed window. The whole was painted direct from nature. A young lady friend posed for one of the figures, while .. the other is from Kitty Lambert, a favourite model of mine. The two girls are arranging sunflowers in a vase. In the picture some of the sunflowers are the usual bright yellow ones, and others, which I call moonflowers, are far paler. It is painted on canvas, very simply..."
Books
- Our River (Bradbury, Agnew & Co., 1888).
- Letters to Marco (Macmillan and Co., 1893).
- Riverside letters; a continuation of "Letters to Marco" (Macmillan and Co., 1896).
- The inner life of the Royal Academy, with an account of its schools and exhibitions principally in the reign of Queen Victoria (John Murray, 1914)
External links
- G D leslie online (ArtCyclopedia)
- Paintings by Leslie (Art Renewal Center Museum)
- Dunlop's paintings of children ("Children in art history)
- Works depicting Wallingford
- Matilda (1860 painting)
- Alice in Wonderland (1879 painting)
- In the Wizard's Garden (1904 painting)
- In a convent garden (painting, n.d.)
- The Deserted Mill (1906 painting)
- Photo of Leslie (National Portrait Gallery)