Digital Victorian Periodical Poetry

Portrait painter and illustrator. Born in Liverpool. Educated at Chester’s Mechanics’ Institute (1857-1860) and Warrington Art School (1860-1863). Moved to London in 1863 to study at the Government Art Training School and the Royal Academy Schools (1865-1866). Specialized in portraits, periodical illustrations, novel illustrations, and social realist paintings. Contributed to The Quiver, Cornhill Magazine, and Gentleman’s Magazine as well as Charles Dickens’s unfinished final novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870). Married Fanny Woods on 15 July 1874. Frequently visited and painted in Venice after 1874. Elected Royal Academician (1874) and associate of the Royal Academy (1879). Knighted in 1906. Painted official portraits of Edward VII, Queen Alexandra, and George V (1902-1912). Created Knight Commander of the Victorian Order in 1918. Biographical information: ODNB. (AC, CC)