Henry Atkins (designer)
Encyclopedia
J. Henry P. Atkins was a designer and co-founder of the San Francisco, California
art gallery Vickery, Atkins & Torrey
.
as soon as he arrived in the Bay area in 1888. Frederic Cheever Torrey joined them a few years later. The business suffered little damage in the 1906 earthquake and they later opened a branch at 550 Sutter Street. From its initial focus on art dealing the business expanded to include art supplies, picture framing, interior design, and decorating.
Atkins designed furniture, fireplace equipment, candlesticks, urns and screens, shop windows, jewelry, garden gates, clocks, crosses, dishes, trays, chests, screens, frames and chandeliers. He also designed complete interiors, including the main reading room of the Doe Memorial Library
at the University of California, Berkeley.
He also designed the concrete staircases at Bancroft Steps and Orchard Lane (1910) at the foot of Panoramic Hill
in Berkeley, California
.
and his Cork
wife. The family left Cork in 1869 to move to Egremont
in Cheshire
, England. The family moved again in 1878 to nearby Liverpool with its greater Irish population. Henry himself left home just a few years later. He arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1888, shortly before his twenty-first birthday. His brother, Arthur
, joined him briefly in 1892 before going to study painting in Paris. Arthur returned with David, another brother, in 1898 but died in January 1899 having established his name as a noted California painter. David became an assayer in Sonora
before starting an import-export firm.
Henry married Daisy Howard, and took her to England in 1900. They returned with two more family members, Elsie and Ernest. Ernest stayed for only eighteen months, returning to England in 1901 for Christmas with the family. He then took a position in Port Said, Egypt for three years, and returned to California in February, 1905. Another brother and sister, Herbert and Avesia, arrived in California in July, 1906. The remainder of the family, including the parents, Georgina and Henry, and the eldest girl, Marion, arrived in 1908.
Among his surviving effects are some poems that he wrote.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
art gallery Vickery, Atkins & Torrey
Vickery, Atkins & Torrey
Vickery, Atkins & Torrey was an interior design firm and art gallery in San Francisco, California, that helped introduce California to Impressionism...
.
Work
He co-founded the art gallery at 236 Post Street, San Francisco with his uncle William Kingston VickeryWilliam Kingston Vickery
William Kingston Vickery was an Irish-American picture dealer who founded the San Francisco interior design firm and art gallery of Vickery, Atkins & Torrey...
as soon as he arrived in the Bay area in 1888. Frederic Cheever Torrey joined them a few years later. The business suffered little damage in the 1906 earthquake and they later opened a branch at 550 Sutter Street. From its initial focus on art dealing the business expanded to include art supplies, picture framing, interior design, and decorating.
Atkins designed furniture, fireplace equipment, candlesticks, urns and screens, shop windows, jewelry, garden gates, clocks, crosses, dishes, trays, chests, screens, frames and chandeliers. He also designed complete interiors, including the main reading room of the Doe Memorial Library
Doe Memorial Library
- External links :*...
at the University of California, Berkeley.
He also designed the concrete staircases at Bancroft Steps and Orchard Lane (1910) at the foot of Panoramic Hill
Panoramic Hill, Oakland/Berkeley, California
Panoramic Hill is a residential neighborhood of the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, California defined by the homes along and within the access corridor defined by Panoramic Way.-Geography:...
in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
.
Life
Henry Atkins was part of a family of nine children born to a Corn Trader from BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
and his Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
wife. The family left Cork in 1869 to move to Egremont
Egremont, Merseyside
Egremont is an area of the town of Wallasey, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is bordered by New Brighton to the north, Liscard to the west and Seacombe to the south.-History:...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England. The family moved again in 1878 to nearby Liverpool with its greater Irish population. Henry himself left home just a few years later. He arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1888, shortly before his twenty-first birthday. His brother, Arthur
Arthur Atkins (Painter)
Arthur Atkins was a tonalist landscape painter who emigrated to San Francisco as a young child. He was essentially self-taught, but studied briefly at the San Francisco School of Design...
, joined him briefly in 1892 before going to study painting in Paris. Arthur returned with David, another brother, in 1898 but died in January 1899 having established his name as a noted California painter. David became an assayer in Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
before starting an import-export firm.
Henry married Daisy Howard, and took her to England in 1900. They returned with two more family members, Elsie and Ernest. Ernest stayed for only eighteen months, returning to England in 1901 for Christmas with the family. He then took a position in Port Said, Egypt for three years, and returned to California in February, 1905. Another brother and sister, Herbert and Avesia, arrived in California in July, 1906. The remainder of the family, including the parents, Georgina and Henry, and the eldest girl, Marion, arrived in 1908.
Among his surviving effects are some poems that he wrote.