Henry Mark Anthony
Encyclopedia
Henry Mark Anthony was an English landscape artist, often favourably compared to John Constable
by critics. He exhibited at many major art institutions and travelled widely, being credited with introducing the en plein air
style of painting to Britain.
, of Welsh ancestry, and was the second son of John Anthony, merchant, and his wife, Phoebe. The family moved to Cowbridge
, Glamorgan
(in Wales
), around 1823.
Anthony was apprenticed to a doctor called Harrison who, being an amateur artist himself, encouraged his artistic leanings. Subsequently he is reported to have been a pupil of his cousin George Wilfred Anthony, a drawing-master in Manchester (later a landscape painter and art critic - as Gabriel Tinto - for the Manchester Guardian).
Anthony moved to London around 1833. Patronage and a legacy received in the 1830s, allowed him to travel. Thus he studied at The Hague
, in Paris
, at the Académie des Beaux-Arts
with Paul Delaroche, Ary Scheffer
, and Horace Vernet
, and in Fontainebleau
in 1837, where he was influenced by the Barbizon school
, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, and Jules Dupré
.
Anthony was among the first British artists to introduce the French style of plein-air
landscape painting to London. He exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy
, between 1837 and 1884, the British Institution
(1841–60), and the Society of British Artists (1841–69). He was elected a member of the latter in 1845, resigning in 1852 in the hope that it would assist his election to associateship of the Royal Academy. In 1843 he showed one of his paintings at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
(RBSA) and in the same year was elected its member. He also exhibited once at the Grosvenor Gallery
and the Liverpool Academy
, winning the 1854 prize of £50 for Nature's Mirror (Wolverhampton Art Gallery
). He travelled and painted in England and Wales, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Spain.
At the time, Anthony was considered the second best British landscape artist after John Constable
. Working directly from nature, he painted on the large scale, introducing into painted landscape melancholic mood, nostalgic feelings, and atmospheric effects often enhanced by the light of dawn or early evening over an old church or castle. However, new developments in British art after 1860, and his failure to be elected to the Royal Academy, led to a solitary later career.
(attending their ‘house-warming’ at Newman Street, London, on 12 January 1850). William Michael Rossetti
praised his landscapes in 'The Spectator' and 'Critic' and later wrote: "The works which Anthony produced between some such dates as 1847 and 1857, were certainly very remarkable, and stood out saliently from the throng." Anthony was a close friend of Ford Madox Brown
, mentioned frequently in Brown's diaries - in 1851, the two artists undertook a walking tour of the Isle of Wight. Dante Gabriel Rossetti
helped to secure Anthony the patronage of the important Newcastle collector James Leathart in the 1860s. At about the same time, Anthony corresponded with the famous Birmingham pen-maker and art patron Joseph Gillott (1799-1872. He intended to buy from Gillott musical instrument in exchange for cash or one of his paintings.
Anthony's art dealer was Sergeant Ralph Thomas who was said to pay Anthony "sixpence a minute" for his pictures and owned about one hundred sketches by him.
Anthony's only known portrait was painted by George Phoenix
(1863–1935). It was on loan from Phoenix to Wolverhampton Art Gallery
until 1931, when it was returned to Anthony's descendants.
, drawing master, landscape painter and art critic.
, on 1 December 1886. A number of his paintings were subsequently purchased by Wolverhampton
postmaster George Fardo. Eventually he passed these paintings to Philip Horsman, Wolverhampton builder and art collector. Today they can be seen in the collection of Wolverhampton Art Gallery
. The local artist George Phoenix
commented on them in 1907: "Whatever he (HM Anthony)considered worth doing, he considered worth doing well; doing with all his heart and with all his soul."
John Constable
John Constable was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection...
by critics. He exhibited at many major art institutions and travelled widely, being credited with introducing the en plein air
En plein air
En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism...
style of painting to Britain.
Life and work
Anthony was born at Rusholme Lane, ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, of Welsh ancestry, and was the second son of John Anthony, merchant, and his wife, Phoebe. The family moved to Cowbridge
Cowbridge
Cowbridge is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, approximately west of Cardiff. Cowbridge is twinned with Clisson in the Loire-Atlantique department in northwestern France.-Roman times:...
, Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
(in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
), around 1823.
Anthony was apprenticed to a doctor called Harrison who, being an amateur artist himself, encouraged his artistic leanings. Subsequently he is reported to have been a pupil of his cousin George Wilfred Anthony, a drawing-master in Manchester (later a landscape painter and art critic - as Gabriel Tinto - for the Manchester Guardian).
Anthony moved to London around 1833. Patronage and a legacy received in the 1830s, allowed him to travel. Thus he studied at The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, at the Académie des Beaux-Arts
Académie des beaux-arts
The Académie des Beaux-Arts is a French learned society. It is one of the five academies of the Institut de France.It was created in 1795 as the merger of the:* Académie de peinture et de sculpture...
with Paul Delaroche, Ary Scheffer
Ary Scheffer
Ary Scheffer , French painter of Dutch and German extraction, was born in Dordrecht.-Life:After the early death of his father Johann Baptist, a poor painter, Ary's mother Cornelia, herself a painter and daughter of landscapist Arie Lamme, took him to Paris and placed him in the studio of...
, and Horace Vernet
Horace Vernet
Émile Jean-Horace Vernet was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist Arab subjects.Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another famous painter, who was himself a son of Claude Joseph Vernet. He was born in the Paris Louvre, while his parents were staying there during the French...
, and in Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
in 1837, where he was influenced by the Barbizon school
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of a movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870...
, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, and Jules Dupré
Jules Dupré
Jules Dupré , French painter, was one of the chief members of the Barbizon school of landscape painters. If Corot stands for the lyric and Rousseau for the epic aspect of the poetry of nature, Dupré is the exponent of her tragic and dramatic aspects.Dupré exhibited first at the Salon in 1831, and...
.
Anthony was among the first British artists to introduce the French style of plein-air
En plein air
En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism...
landscape painting to London. He exhibited regularly 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...
, between 1837 and 1884, the British Institution
British Institution
The British Institution was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it was also known as the Pall Mall Picture Galleries or the British Gallery...
(1841–60), and the Society of British Artists (1841–69). He was elected a member of the latter in 1845, resigning in 1852 in the hope that it would assist his election to associateship of the Royal Academy. In 1843 he showed one of his paintings at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is a learned society of artists and an art gallery based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, England. it is both a registered charity. and a registered company The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is a learned society of artists and an...
(RBSA) and in the same year was elected its member. He also exhibited once at the Grosvenor Gallery
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...
and the Liverpool Academy
Liverpool Academy of Arts
The Liverpool Academy of Arts was founded in April 1810 as a regional equivalent of the Royal Academy, London. Two local art collectors, Henry Blundell and William Roscoe were its first Patron and Secretary, the Prince Regent gave his patronage for the next three years, and it was actively...
, winning the 1854 prize of £50 for Nature's Mirror (Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Wolverhampton Art Gallery is located in the City of Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands, United Kingdom. The building was funded and constructed by local contractor Philip Horsman , and built on land provided by the Council...
). He travelled and painted in England and Wales, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Spain.
At the time, Anthony was considered the second best British landscape artist after John Constable
John Constable
John Constable was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection...
. Working directly from nature, he painted on the large scale, introducing into painted landscape melancholic mood, nostalgic feelings, and atmospheric effects often enhanced by the light of dawn or early evening over an old church or castle. However, new developments in British art after 1860, and his failure to be elected to the Royal Academy, led to a solitary later career.
Relationship with other artists
Anthony was admired by the Pre-Raphaelite BrotherhoodPre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
(attending their ‘house-warming’ at Newman Street, London, on 12 January 1850). William Michael Rossetti
William Michael Rossetti
William Michael Rossetti was an English writer and critic.-Biography:Born in London, he was a son of immigrant Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti, and the brother of Maria Francesca Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Christina Georgina Rossetti.He was one of the seven founder members of the...
praised his landscapes in 'The Spectator' and 'Critic' and later wrote: "The works which Anthony produced between some such dates as 1847 and 1857, were certainly very remarkable, and stood out saliently from the throng." Anthony was a close friend of Ford Madox Brown
Ford Madox Brown
Ford Madox Brown was an English painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painting was Work...
, mentioned frequently in Brown's diaries - in 1851, the two artists undertook a walking tour of the Isle of Wight. Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Rossetti
Rossetti may refer to:* Biagio Rossetti , an architect and urbanist from Ferrara, the first to use modern methods* Carlo Rossetti , an Italian Catholic cardinal* Cezaro Rossetti , a Scottish Esperanto writer...
helped to secure Anthony the patronage of the important Newcastle collector James Leathart in the 1860s. At about the same time, Anthony corresponded with the famous Birmingham pen-maker and art patron Joseph Gillott (1799-1872. He intended to buy from Gillott musical instrument in exchange for cash or one of his paintings.
Anthony's art dealer was Sergeant Ralph Thomas who was said to pay Anthony "sixpence a minute" for his pictures and owned about one hundred sketches by him.
Anthony's only known portrait was painted by George Phoenix
George Phoenix
George Phoenix was a British landscape, figurative and portrait artist and sculptor. He regularly exhibited his works in his native Wolverhampton and nationally...
(1863–1935). It was on loan from Phoenix to Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Wolverhampton Art Gallery is located in the City of Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands, United Kingdom. The building was funded and constructed by local contractor Philip Horsman , and built on land provided by the Council...
until 1931, when it was returned to Anthony's descendants.
Family
Anthony married Eleanor Sophia Marshall (c.1809/1816-1891) and had at least three daughters: Phoebe Grace (1850 – after 1901), Constance (b.1852) and Grace (b. 1853, married 1869). One of his cousins was George Wilfred AnthonyGeorge Wilfred Anthony
George Wilfred Anthony was an English landscape painter, art teacher and art critic.He was born in Manchester, a cousin of Henry Mark Anthony, studied landscape painting under John Ralston , and afterwards under J. V. Barber of Birmingham...
, drawing master, landscape painter and art critic.
Death and legacy
Henry Mark Anthony died in London at The Lawn, HampsteadHampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, on 1 December 1886. A number of his paintings were subsequently purchased by Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
postmaster George Fardo. Eventually he passed these paintings to Philip Horsman, Wolverhampton builder and art collector. Today they can be seen in the collection of Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Wolverhampton Art Gallery is located in the City of Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands, United Kingdom. The building was funded and constructed by local contractor Philip Horsman , and built on land provided by the Council...
. The local artist George Phoenix
George Phoenix
George Phoenix was a British landscape, figurative and portrait artist and sculptor. He regularly exhibited his works in his native Wolverhampton and nationally...
commented on them in 1907: "Whatever he (HM Anthony)considered worth doing, he considered worth doing well; doing with all his heart and with all his soul."
Further reading
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biographies, 2004-2008.
- Christopher Wood. Victorian Painters - 2 vols. (Antique Collectors' Club Ltd, 1995).