Detail; Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XVIII, Chapter XXI,
She was a great huntress, and daily she used to hunt, and ever she bare her bow with her
Sir William Russell Flint, R.A., P.R.W.S. 1880-1969
THE DAMSEL AND THE SARACEN KNIGHT
Watercolour
22 by 27.5 cm., 8 ¾ by 10 ¾
Sir William Russell Flint RA ROI (4 April 1880 – 30 December 1969) was a Scottish artist and illustrator who was known especially for his watercolours of women. He also worked in oils, tempera, and printmaking.
Sir William Russell Flint, R.A., P.R.W.S. 1880 - 1969
GITANAS QUARRELLING, SALAMANCA
Watercolour
48 by 67cm., 19 by 26½in
Private collection
The Romani in Spain, generally known as gitanos (Spanish pronunciation: [xiˈtanos]), belong to the Iberian Cale group, with smaller populations in Portugal (known as ciganos) and in southern France. Their sense of identity and cohesion stems from their shared value system. More on Gitanos
Flint was educated at Daniel Stewart's College and then Edinburgh Institution. From 1894 to 1900 Flint was apprenticed as a lithographic draughtsman while taking classes at the Royal Institute of Art, Edinburgh. From 1900 to 1902 he worked as a medical illustrator in London while studying part-time at the Heatherley School of Fine Art. He furthered his art education by studying independently at the British Museum. He was an artist for The Illustrated London News from 1903 to 1907, and produced illustrations for editions of several books, including H Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines (1907 edition), W. S. Gilbert's Savoy Operas (1909) (See below), Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (1910–1911) (See above), The Heroes (1912), and Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1912).
William Russell Flint
W. S. Gilbert - Savoy Operas - Princess Ida 5 (Frontispiece)
Illustration to Princess Ida
William Russell Flint
Princess Ida illustrations in the book Savoy Operas: The Gate yields. Hildebrand and Soldiers rush in. c. 1909
Illustration to Princess Ida
Sir William Russell Flint, R.A., P.R.W.S., 1880-1969
The Art of the Illustrator, c. 1918
Lithograph
I have no further description, at this time
Sir William Russell Flint, R.A., P.R.W.S., 1880-1969
The Painted Bridge
Oil on canvas
152.5 by 101.5cm., 60 by 40in.
In The Painted Bridge we find a trio of maidens, disported around an ornamental footbridge in some idyllic water-garden. Stripped to the waist for swimming and basking in the summer sunlight, they are exposed to the viewer like the marble goddesses of the Ancients and are set apart from the modern world. They appear to be daughters of a timeless age of beauty and in comparison to the drawings and watercolours made by Flint, these women are monumental in their fleshy allure.
By choosing to paint an image which is based upon a classical composition and redolent of earlier academic art, it seems that Flint was trying to show that he could paint in a style that was more in keeping with the fashion of the 1920s. In 1923 when he most likely painted The Painted Bridge. Flint was seeking approval from the Academy and by painting large and impressive oils like The Painted Bridge, he gained himself the recognition he desired. In 1924 he was made an Associate of the Royal Academy. More on The Painted Bridge
Sir William Russell Flint, R.A., P.R.W.S., 1880-1969
RAQUEL AND MANUELLA
Oil on board
41 by 51cm., 16 by 20in.
Amongst his early models were professional dancers, actresses and ballerinas but the model he will be forever associated with was Cecilia Green. She so epitomized his ideal of beauty that he seemed to have been painting her long before they first met in 1953. For the next fifteen years or so she became a trusted confidant and critic as well as his muse (See below).
Sir William Russell Flint, R.A., P.R.W.S., 1880-1969
CECILIA INSPECTING HER ARTIST’S HANDIWORK
Model: Cecilia Green
Watercolour
25 by 36 cm., 10 by 14 in.
Private collection
Sir William Russell Flint, R.A., P.R.W.S., 1880-1969
CECILIA
Watercolour
33 by 59cm., 13 by 23¼in.
Private collection
Flint was elected president of Britain's Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours (now the Royal Watercolour Society) in 1936 to 1956, and knighted in 1947.
Sir William Russell Flint, R.A., P.R.W.S., 1880-1969
EVE'S SISTER JULIA
Watercolour
51 by 33 cm., 20 by 13 in.
Private collection
This watercolour was painted as a pendant to Eve with her Net (See below) in which a similarly lissome bare-footed model faces in the opposite direction holding a large shrimping net. Eve with Her Net was printed as part of a limited edition in 1935 whilst Eve's Sister Julia appears never to have been reproduced.
Sir William Russell Flint
'Eve with her Net', 'Araminta'
22cm x 30cm,
Private collection
Sir William Russell Flint, R.A., P.R.W.S., R.S.W. (1880-1969)
The Judgement of Paris
Oil on canvas
47 x 69 ¼ in. (119.5 x 176 cm.)
THE JUDGEMENT OF PARIS was a contest between the three most beautiful goddesses of Olympos--Aphrodite, Hera and Athena--for the prize of a golden apple addressed "To the Fairest."
The story began with the wedding of Peleus and Thetis which all the gods had been invited to attend except for Eris, goddess of discord. When Eris appeared at the festivities she was turned away and in her anger cast the golden apple amongst the assembled goddesses addressed "To the Fairest." Three goddesses laid claim to the apple--Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. Zeus was asked to mediate and he commanded Hermes to lead the three goddesses to Paris of Troy to decide the issue. The three goddesses appearing before the shepherd prince, each offering him gifts for favour. He chose Aphrodite, swayed by her promise to bestow upon him Helene, the most beautiful woman, for wife. The subsequent abduction of Helene led directly to the Trojan War and the fall of the city. More on The judgment of Paris
Sir William Russell Flint R.A., P.R.W.S., 1880-1969
APOLLO FINDS APHRODITE WITH ARIES IN THE MANSION OF HEPHAESTUS
Watercolor and gouache on board
26 by 36 in., 66 by 91.5 cm
Private collection
The most long-standing and significant of all of Aphrodite's lovers was Ares. But one night, the lovers tarried too long together. As Helius hitched up his golden chariot of the sun, he saw the lovers in Ares' palace in Thrace.
When Helius told Hephaestus what he had seen, the smith god forged an unbreakable bronze net and secretly attached it to the posts and sides of his bed. Then he bid Aphrodite adieu, saying he was going to relax on Lemnos for a while.
As soon as he had gone, Aphrodite sent for Ares. When the morning came, Hephaestus walked in??Surprise! Hi, honey, I'm home!??and found the two ensnared in the net. The cuckolded god quickly gathered all the other gods at his bedside to witness the shame of the naked, helpless couple and to heap ridicule upon them. More on APOLLO FINDS APHRODITE WITH ARIES
Sir William Russell Flint, R.A., P.R.W.S. 1880-1969
THREE GRACES
Colored chalk, watercolor and ink on paper
10 1/4 by 15 1/2 in., 26 by 39.4 cm.
Private collection
In Greek mythology, a Charis or Grace is one of three or more minor goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, and fertility, together known as the Charites or Graces. The usual list, from youngest to oldest is Aglaea ("Splendor"), Euphrosyne ("Mirth"), and Thalia ("Good Cheer"). In Roman mythology they were known as the Gratiae, the "Graces". In some variants, Charis was one of the Graces and was not the singular form of their name.
The Charites were usually considered the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, though they were also said to be daughters of Dionysus and Aphrodite or of Helios and the naiad Aegle. Other possible names of their mother by Zeus are Eurydome, Eurymedousa, and Euanthe. Homer wrote that they were part of the retinue of Aphrodite. The Charites were also associated with the Greek underworld and the Eleusinian Mysteries.
The river Cephissus near Delphi was sacred to them. More Three Graces (aka the Charities)
Despite the perennial misconception that he painted many pictures in Spain it was usually to France that he made his annual painting visit. Russell Flint enjoyed painting in the open air, applying beautifully controlled broad washes over the faintest of charcoal outlines. He seldom if ever included figures at the time, preferring to leave precise blank spaces on the paper to be filled in at his leisure upon his return to London.
Sir William Russell Flint, R.A., P.R.W.S. 1880-1969
Sir William Russell Flint, Gitana Dancers Resting, Albaicin, Granada
Oil On Canvas
72 x 83 cm
Private collection
Sir William Russell Flint, R.A., P.R.W.S. 1880-1969
Spanish Dancer, 1960
Print
51 x 66cm
Private collection
Flint was impressed by Spanish dancers (See above), and he depicted them frequently throughout his career. He enjoyed considerable commercial success but little respect from art critics, who were disturbed by a perceived crassness in his eroticized treatment of the female figure.
Flint was also a published author of short stories. In 1965, a collection of his short stories were published as a limited edition of 500 titled Shadows in Arcady; for which Flint designed the graphical layout and the illustrations. Previously, Flint's story "The Angelus" had been published in The Times newspaper.
Flint was active as an artist and a writer until his death in London on 30 December 1969. More on William Russell Flint
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