Edward Hughes (14 September 1832 – 14 May 1908) was a British artist who specialised in

portrait painting Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

Career

Edward Hughes was born in

Pentonville Pentonville is an area on the northern fringe of Central London, in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient parish o ...

, London, the son of the artist George Hughes. From an early age his artistic ability was recognised. In 1846 he entered the

Royal Academy schools 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 purpo ...

and a year later was awarded a silver medal by the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

for a chalk drawing. Between 1847 and 1884 Hughes exhibited 36 paintings at the Royal Academy. He also worked as an illustrator, collaborating with

George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch'' and a Gothic novel ''Trilby'', featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald d ...

in producing the images for the

Wilkie Collins William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for ''The Woman in White (novel), The Woman in White'' (1859), a mystery novel and early "sensation novel", and for ''The Moons ...

book '' Poor Miss Finch''. About 1878 he moved more or less exclusively into portrait painting, drawing praise from

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest ...

for his representation of women.

Royal Commissions

Hughes received his first royal commission in 1895 which resulted in a full-length portrait of Queen Mary. This painting is exhibited in the vestibule of

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

. He painted at least three portraits of

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King ...

and produced images of

Louise, Princess Royal Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife (Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar; 20 February 1867 – 4 January 1931) was the third child and eldest daughter of Edward VII, King Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark, Queen Alexandra of the United K ...

Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom Princess Victoria (Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary; 6 July 1868 – 3 December 1935) was the fourth child and second daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, and the younger sister of King George V. Early life and education Victoria A ...

, the Queen of Norway, the Duchess of Teck, the Prince of Wales (the future

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

), his brother Prince Albert, and his sister Princess Mary. A number of his paintings remain in the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

Grave of Edward Hughes in Highgate Cemetery

Personal life

Hughes, who married twice, died on 14 May 1908 and is buried on the outside of the Circle of Lebanon in

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

. His eldest daughter and biographer

Alice Hughes Alice Mary Hughes (1857–1939) was a leading London portrait photographer specializing in images of fashionable women and children. Biography Hughes was the eldest daughter of the portrait painter Edward Hughes (1832-1908). After studying pho ...

became a portrait photographer.Hughes, Alice: My Father and I (1923) Pub: Thornton Butterworth

References

External links

Portraits associated with Edward Hughes at the National Portrait Gallery

Gallery

Edward Hughes - Juliette Gordon Low - Google Art Project.jpg, Edward Hughes - Juliette Gordon Low - Google Art Project Vere Monckton-Arundell by Edward Hughes (1832-1908).jpg,

Vere Monckton-Arundell, Viscountess Galway Vere Monckton-Arundell, Viscountess Galway (née Gosling; 1859 - 3 January 1921) was a British poet, writer, philanthropist, and woman of letters. In 1910, she co-founded an auxiliary hospital at her home, Serlby Hall, with her husband. She was i ...

by Edward Hughes (1832–1908) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Edward 19th-century British painters 20th-century British painters Burials at Highgate Cemetery 1832 births 1908 deaths