Alfred Robert Quinton (28 October 1853 – 10 December 1934) was an English

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

artist, known for his paintings of British villages and landscapes many of which were published as postcards. Quinton was born in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

in London in 1853,1901 England Census for Alfred R Quinton, Middlesex, Finchley: Ancestry.com
/ref> the youngest of seven children of Elizabeth ''née'' Cullum (1818-1886) and John Allen Quinton (1817-1906), a printer, author and journalist. On leaving school A. R. Quinton studied painting at the Heatherley School of Fine Art following which he worked as a steel engraver, but deciding on a career in art he began to work in oils in about 1874 and after in watercolour, working from a studio in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

in London and after at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

, exhibiting several of his watercolour paintings at the latter with the Ipswich Fine Art Club in 1882 and 1883. From 1877 Quinton exhibited watercolours at the

Royal Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

. He married Elizabeth Annie Crompton (1858-1946) at Bolton in Lancashire in May 1885 and with her had two sons: Leonard Quinton (1886-1981) and Edgar Allan Quinton (1891-1912). Alfred Robert Quinton cycle

In 1895 he and a friend cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats and Quinton's artworks from the trip were after serialised in the '' Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News''. His artwork became more in demand and he was able to buy a house with a studio in

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

in London. His work routine would be to travel around England and Wales for three months of the year, mostly during the summer months and often by bicycle, during which he would draw sketches and take photographs of locations which he would work up into paintings in his studio during the winter months. Many of his artworks were published as

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

s by Raphael Tuck and

J Salmon Ltd J Salmon Ltd, founded in 1880, was a UK-based printing and publishing firm, and was the oldest established postcard and calendar publisher in Britain. It is based in Sevenoaks, Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the ho ...

which remain popular with today's collectors. His paintings have also been published in many calendars. Well over 2,000 of his paintings were published between 1904 and the time of his death. He also illustrated a number of books including ''The Historic Thames'' by

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...

He exhibited at the Birmingham Royal Society of British Artists; Dudley Gallery; Dowdeswell Gallery; Grosvenor Gallery; Liverpool Walker Art Gallery; Manchester City Art Gallery; the Royal Society of British Artists; Royal Hibernian Academy; Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colour and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. He exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

but he was later banned from exhibiting there as the authorities were not in favour of his 'commercialisation' of art. His original illustrations for the book ''The Historic Thames'' and two other of his paintings were bought by the Duke and Duchess of Kent. Alfred Robert Quinton died in

in London in December 1934, and left £9,228 2s 8d in his will to his widow and his surviving son.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Alfred Robert Quinton, 1935: Ancestry.com
/ref>

Illustrated books

*Belloc, Hilaire.
The Historic Thames
' (J. M. Dent & Co. 1907). *Bradley, A. G.
The Avon and Shakespeare's Country
' (E. P. Dutton & Co. 1910). *Ditchfield, P. H. ''The Cottages and the Village Life of Rural England'' (J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd, 1912). *Rhys, Ernest.
The Old Country: A book of love & praise of England
' (J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd, 1922).

References

External links

(collections.co.uk). {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinton, A. R. 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters Landscape artists Postcard artists 1853 births 1934 deaths English watercolourists 19th-century English male artists People from Peckham Alumni of the Heatherley School of Fine Art 20th-century English male artists

Illustrated books

References

Further reading

External links