Luke Fildes (1843–1927)
A view of Venice, c 1876
Oil on canvas
23.5 x 36.5cm (9 1/4 x 14 3/8in)
Private collection
Sir Samuel Luke Fildes KCVO RA (3 October 1843[2] – 28 February 1927) was a British painter and illustrator born in Liverpool and trained at the South Kensington and Royal Academy Schools. He was the grandson of the political activist Mary Fildes.
Luke Fildes (1843–1927)
The Penitent's Return, c. 1879
Oil on canvas
H 132.5 x W 252 cm
City Hall, Cardiff
This painting bears the inscription: “For every woe a tear may claim, except an erring woman’s shame.” BYRON
The penitent, a young woman, has returned to find the old cottage deserted, whilst her re-appearance arouses local curiosity. Samuel Luke Fildes was one of the foremost painters of ‘social realist subjects, and his work often sentimentalises the plight of the poor. More on this painting
At the age of 17, Fildes became a student at the Warrington School of Art. Fildes moved to the South Kensington Art School where he met Hubert von Herkomer and Frank Holl. All three men became influenced by the work of Frederick Walker, the leader of the social realist movement in Britain.
Luke Fildes (1843–1927)
Venetians, c. 1885
Oil on canvas
H 231.5 x W 166.1 cm
Manchester Art Gallery
A picturesque, sunlit scene of two Venetian women sitting on the canal steps of a busy street. One is by the water's edge with some washing in her outstretched arm, her head turned over her shoulder toward the second woman, who sits higher on the steps holding a fan. Their clothing is patterned and colourful. Behind them is a busy street of shops and cafes, where a group of women and children are strolling along and shopping, and two men are seated at a cafe table playing cards to the right. More on this painting
Sir Samuel Luke Fildes, R. A. (1844-1927)
Venetta, c. 1884
Oil on Canvas
18 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches
The Maas Gallery,
Venetta is a generic name that embodies the spirit of Venice, but Fildes used the same model for his Royal Academy exhibits in 1884, Venetian Life and A Venetian Flower Girl (See below). — Rupert Maas
Samuel Luke Fildes
A Venetian Flower-Girl, c. 1888
Oil on canvas
74" x 47"
Private collection
Fildes used the same model as in Venetta See above).
Anonymous, , after Luke Fildes (mentioned on object)
Venetian flower girl, c. c. 1889 - in or before 1899
Photomechanical print
height 122 mm × width 82 mm
Rijksstudio
Luke Fildes (1843–1927)
An al fresco toilette, c. 1889
Oil on canvas
H 173 x W 108 cm
Lady Lever Art Gallery
This painting was a move away from his social realist work which was the main focus of his early artistic life. Fildes, who began this painting in Venice, had originally decided to call this painting The Morning of the Fiesta. It is set in a Venetian courtyard of a very old building with its vine-covered trellis work over the main entrance. . This type of painting was extremely popular in exhibitions and as illustrations in magazines and most importantly with art collectors. More on this painting
Luke Fildes (1843–1927)
A Venetian Market Girl, c. 1876
Oil on canvas
H 48 x W 35 cm
Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust, Brighton & Hove
Fildes shared his grandmother's concern for the poor and in 1869 joined the staff of The Graphic newspaper, an illustrated weekly began and edited by the social reformer, William Luson Thomas. Fildes shared Thomas' belief in the power of visual images to change public opinion on subjects such as poverty and injustice. Thomas hoped that the images in The Graphic would result in individual acts of charity and collective social action.
Sir Samuel Luke Fildes, R.A. (1843-1927)
A Chioggian girl
Oil on canvas
50 x 36 in. (127 x 91.4 cm.)
Private collection
The town is situated on a small island at the southern entrance to the Lagoon of Venice about 25 kilometres (16 miles) south of Venice. More on Chioggia
Fildes' illustrations were in the black-and-white style popular in France and Germany during the era. He worked in a social realist style, compatible with the editorial direction of The Graphic, and focused on images depicting the destitute of London. The Graphic published an illustration completed by Fildes the day after Charles Dickens' death, showing Dickens' empty chair in his study; this illustration was widely reprinted worldwide, and inspired Vincent van Gogh's painting The Yellow Chair.
Fildes' illustrations were in the black-and-white style popular in France and Germany during the era. He worked in a social realist style, compatible with the editorial direction of The Graphic, and focused on images depicting the destitute of London. The Graphic published an illustration completed by Fildes the day after Charles Dickens' death, showing Dickens' empty chair in his study; this illustration was widely reprinted worldwide, and inspired Vincent van Gogh's painting The Yellow Chair.
Sir Samuel Luke Fildes, R.A. (1843-1927)
Portrait of Mrs Arthur James, c. 1895
Oil on canvas
143 x 105cm (56 5/16 x 41 5/16in)
Private collection
Mary Venetia James was a London society hostess and racehorse breeder.
In December 1885, she married the racehorse owner and breeder John Arthur James in the Chapel Royal, St James's, London. Venetia and her husband resided at Grafton Street, London, and bred horses at Coton House.
Venetia and Arthur James were both friends of King Edward VII, and Venetia was reputed to be his mistress. The King's private secretary Frederick Ponsonby wrote that she was "full of humour and high spirits, walking with the King and keeping him amused".
Despite being a millionaire, James was noted for her extreme frugality. She served her guests milk that her cat wouldn't drink and preferred to host Catholics on Fridays because fish was cheaper than meat. She was widowed in 1917, and financed the construction of a new department of Hospital of St Cross, Rugby, in the memory of her husband, who had also donated to the hospital. She continued to breed horses and participate in races, winning the Victoria Cup and 1932 Coronation Cup. More on Mrs Arthur James
In the first edition of The Graphic newspaper that appeared in December 1869, Luke Fildes was asked to provide an illustration to accompany an article on the Houseless Poor Act, a new measure that allowed some of those people out of work to shelter for a night in the casual ward of a workhouse. The picture produced by Fildes (See below) showed a line of homeless people applying for tickets to stay overnight in the workhouse. The wood-engraving, entitled Houseless and Hungry, was seen by John Everett Millais, who brought it to the attention of Charles Dickens; Dickens was so impressed that he immediately commissioned Fildes to illustrate The Mystery of Edwin Drood (a book Dickens never finished as he died while writing it).
Luke Fildes (1843–1927)
Applicants for Admission to a Casual Ward, c. 1874
Oil on canvas
H 137.1 x W 243.7 cm
Royal Holloway, University of London
After Samuel Luke Fildes
Houseless and Hungry, 1870
Oil on panel
20.4 x 27.8 cm
Private collection
Fildes soon became a popular artist and by 1870 he had given up working for The Graphic and had turned his full attention to oil painting. He took rank among the ablest English painters, with The Casual Ward (1874), The Widower (1876) (See below), The Village Wedding (1883) (See below), An Al-fresco Toilette (1889) (See above); and The Doctor (1891) (See below).. He also painted a number of pictures of Venetian life and many notable portraits, among them portraits commemorating the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy (A.S.A.) in 1879, and a Royal Academician (R.A.) in 1887; and was knighted by King Edward VII in 1906.[5] In 1918, he was appointed as Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) by King George V. Fildes produced a large number of caricatures for Vanity Fair under the nom de crayon "ELF". He and Henry Woods were regarded as leaders of the Neo-Venetian school.
The Widower, c. 1904
Oil on canvas
H 66.3 x W 94 cm
Walker Art Gallery
In 1876, Sir Luke Fildes exhibited The Widower at the Royal Academy annual summer exhibition. Fildes’s inspiration for the scene, he later recalled, was an incident that occurred while he was working on his better-known Applicants for Admission to a Casual Ward exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1874. According to Fildes, he was painting in the fellow standing against the wall when the model became tired of standing. The artist suggested that the man, who was modelling with his child, take a rest while Fildes went on to work on another section of the canvas. After a while, Fildes peered behind the screen where the man had been sitting and saw the tableau which prompted The Widower. The artist related what he saw to the Strand magazine: ‘The child had fallen asleep, and there was this great, rough fellow, possibly with only a copper in the world, caressing his child, watching it lovingly and smoothing its curls with his hand.’ More on this painting
Samuel Luke Fields 1844-1927
The Village Wedding, c. 1883
Oil on canvas
59¾ x 100.5in. (151.7 x 255.3cm.)
Private collection
Fildes began The Village Wedding at Aston Tirrold, near Wallingford, Berkshire, in August 1881, using local people for models. Although he was appalled at the ugliness of modern costume, he was anxious not to make the picture too sentimental, and when his brother-in-law Henry Woods suggested that he should circumvent the problem of costume by setting the scene in some earlier period, he replied: 'The picture won't have a scrap of what is considered my "forte", viz. Sentiment. This may be unwise, but if I hate anything, I hate manufactured sentiment, so I am going in for just what I think likely to happen and paint an episode in a quiet little village somewhere in my own head, the quiet little village life with the coarseness and ugliness of immediately modern times pressed out of it, and yet not put back far enough for people to say I am not painting my own time. I am certainly doing so. I am painting what I remember when a youngster among the people I used to know. I notice what you say about going back to old costume but I am sure you will agree with me on reflection that what I might, and should, I admit, gain in the picturesque I should certainly lose in naturalness. When my picture is finished I believe it will convey the impression that it is a genuine record of something experienced by the artist; whereas all costume pictures convey to me that the painter has been more influenced by what he has seen in other pictures ...' (Fildes, op.cit., p.73). More on this painting
In 1874 Luke Fildes married Fanny Woods, who was also an artist and the sister of Henry Woods.
Fildes' first son, Philip, died of typhoid in 1877. The image of the doctor at his son's side during the ordeal left a lasting memory of professional devotion that inspired Fildes' 1891 work The Doctor (See below). His later son, Sir Paul Fildes, was an eminent scientist. They also had another son, Geoffrey, and a daughter Phyllis.
This painting was inspired by the death of the artist’s son and the professional care of Dr Gustavus Murray who treated him. But this work shows the moment when a child shows the first sign of recovery. The light of dawn filters through the shutters behind the anxious parents who have sat up all night. In order to make the picture convincing, Fildes constructed a cottage interior in his studio and began work at dawn each day to catch the exact light effect. The image of an ordinary doctor’s quiet heroism was a huge success with the public. More on this painting
A blue plaque marks Fildes's former house, Woodland House, in Melbury Road, Kensington, next to William Burges's Tower House. His home was later owned by film director Michael Winner.
Fildes died in 1927 and is buried in Brookwood Cemetery. More on Luke Fildes
Fildes' first son, Philip, died of typhoid in 1877. The image of the doctor at his son's side during the ordeal left a lasting memory of professional devotion that inspired Fildes' 1891 work The Doctor (See below). His later son, Sir Paul Fildes, was an eminent scientist. They also had another son, Geoffrey, and a daughter Phyllis.
Luke Fildes (1844–1927)
The Doctor, c. 1891 Edit this at Wikidata
Oil on canvas
Height: 166.4 cm (65.5 in); Width: 241.9 cm (95.2 in)
Tate
A blue plaque marks Fildes's former house, Woodland House, in Melbury Road, Kensington, next to William Burges's Tower House. His home was later owned by film director Michael Winner.
Fildes died in 1927 and is buried in Brookwood Cemetery. More on Luke Fildes
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