Edwin Longsden Long (12 July 1829 – 15 May 1891) was a British genre, history, biblical and portrait painter.

Life and works

Long was born in Bath,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, the son of James Long, a hairdresser, (from

Kelston Kelston is a small village and civil parish in Somerset, north west of Bath, and east of Bristol, on the A431 road. It is situated just north of the River Avon, close to the Kelston and Saltford locks. The parish has a population of 248. ...

), and was educated at Dr. Viner's School in Bath. Adopting the profession of a painter, Long came to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and studied in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. He was subsequently a pupil in the school of

James Mathews Leigh James Mathews Leigh (1808 – 20 April 1860) was an English art educator, painter, writer, dramatist and critic. He is best known as the founder of a popular private art school in London known as "Leigh's Academy", which eventually became t ...

in Newman Street London, and practised first as a portrait artist painting Charles Greville, Lord Ebury and others. Long made the acquaintance of

John Phillip John Phillip (19 April 1817–1867) was a Victorian era Scottish painter best known for his portrayals of Spanish life. He started painting these studies after a trip to Spain in 1851. He was nicknamed John 'Spanish' Phillip. Life Born ...

RA, and accompanied him to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, where they spent much time. Long was greatly influenced by the paintings of Velasquez and other Spanish masters, and his earlier pictures, such as ''La Posada'' (1864) and ''Lazarilla and the Blind Beggar'' (1870), were painted under Spanish influence. His first important pictures were ''The Suppliants'' (1872) and ''

The Babylonian Marriage Market ''The Babylonian Marriage Market'' is an 1875 painting by the British painter Edwin Long. It depicts a scene from Herodotus' ''Histories'' of young women being auctioned into marriage in the area then known as Babylon or Assyria. It received att ...

'' (1875), both subsequently purchased by Thomas Holloway. In 1874, he visited Egypt and Syria, and subsequently his work took a new direction. He became thoroughly imbued with middle-eastern archaeology and painted oriental scenes including ''The Egyptian Feast'' (1877), ''The Gods and Their Makers'' (1878). Long was elected an associate of 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 ...

in 1870 and an academician (RA) in 1881. His pictures always attracted attention and his ''Diana or Christ?'' (1881) greatly enhanced his reputation at the time. His pictures suited the taste and appealed to the religious sentiment of a large portion of the public, and their popularity was increased by a wide circulation of

engravings Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

. He consequently determined to exhibit his next pictures in a separate gallery of his own in

Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...

, London and there in 1883, and the following years, his ''Anno Domini'' and ''Zeuxis at Crotona'' met with great commercial success. Edwin Long 002

Long died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

resulting from

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

, at his home, "Kelston" in Netherhall Gardens,

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, on 15 May 1891, in his sixty-second year. He was buried in

West Hampstead Cemetery Hampstead Cemetery is a historic cemetery in West Hampstead, London, located at the upper extremity of the NW6 district. Despite the name, the cemetery is three-quarters of a mile from Hampstead Village, and bears a different postcode. It is j ...

. The will signed by him on the day of his death was the subject of a lawsuit, to which his relatives were parties, but the matter in dispute was amicably settled.(Times, 13 and 14 Dec. 1892). Long married a daughter of Dr. William Aiton, by whom he left a family, of whom a son, Maurice Long, was killed in a railway accident at

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

in Spain on 23 September 1891. Besides the Edwin Long Gallery in Old Bond Street, a number of his pictures was collected together after his death, and formed the nucleus of a gallery of Christian Art which replaced the works of

Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) was a French artist, as a printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engraving ...

in the well-known gallery in

New Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...

. Long had considerable practice as a portrait painter but his success in that line was not conspicuous, although he obtained high patronage and very large prices. He painted for the Baroness Burdett Coutts (his chief patron) portraits of herself, her friend Mrs. Brown, and

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

. Among other portraits of his latter years were a memorial portrait of the

Earl of Iddesleigh Earl of Iddesleigh ( ), in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1885 for the Conservative politician Sir Stafford Northcote, 8th Baronet, of Pynes in the parish of Upton Pyne near Exeter in ...

, of which he painted a replica for the National Portrait Gallery, portraits of Cardinal Manning (perhaps his best effort in this line),

Samuel Cousins Samuel Cousins (9 May 1801 in Exeter – 7 May 1887 in London) was a British mezzotinter. Life Cousins was born at Exeter. In 1855 he was elected a full member of the Royal Academy, to which he later gave in trust £15,000 to provide an ...

, Sir

Edmund Henderson Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Edmund Yeamans Walcott Henderson KCB (19 April 1821 – 8 December 1896) was an officer in the British Army who was Comptroller-General of Convicts in Western Australia from 1850 to 1863, Home Office Surveyor-General o ...

and others. According to art historian

Lionel Cust Sir Lionel Henry Cust (25 January 1859 – 12 October 1929) was a British art historian, courtier and museum director. He was director of the National Portrait Gallery from 1895 to 1909 and co-edited ''The Burlington Magazine'' from 1909 to 191 ...

, "In his earlier works Long showed great power and thoroughly deserved his success and popularity", but added that his later works "suffered from a continual repetition of types which resulted in monotony".

Paintings

*''Begging for the Monastery'' (1867) *''The Suppliants'' (1864) * '' Uncle Tom and Little Eva'' (1866) *''A Spanish Flower Seller'' (1867) *''The Gamekeeper'' (1869) *"Usted Gusta" (1870) *''A Question of Propriety'' (1870) *''A Street Scene in Spain'' (1871) *''The Approval'' (1873) *''The Moorish Proselytes of Archbishop Ximines'' (1873) *''Primero Segundo y Basso Profondo'' (1873) *''

'' (1875) *''In the Tent'' (1876) *'' A Dorcas Meeting in the 6th Century'' (1873–1877) *''An Egyptian Feast'' (1877) *''The Gods and Their Makers'' (1878) *'' Queen Esther'' (1878) *''

Vashti Vashti ( he, , translit=Vaštī; ; ) was a queen of Persia and the first wife of Persian king Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther, a book included within the Tanakh and the Old Testament which is read on the Jewish holiday of Purim. She was either e ...

Refuses the King's Summons'' (1879) *''The Eastern Favourite'' (1880) *''To Her Listening Ear Responsive Chords of Music Came Familiar'' (1881) *''Diana or Christ?'' (1881) *''Anno Domini'' (1883) *''Glauke: Pensive'' (1883) *''The Chosen Five'' (1885) *''Eastern Lily'' (1885) *''Jepthah's Vow: the Martyr'' (1885) *''Love's Labour Lost'' (1885) *''The Finding of Moses'' (1886) *''Alethe Attendant of the Sacred Ibis in the Temple of Isis'' (1888) *''Sacred to Pasht'' (1888) *''Preparing For The Festival Of Anubis'' (1889) *''Thisbe'' (1884) *''Little Eva and Uncle Tom'' (1886)

References

;Attribution *

Dahesh Museum of Art The Dahesh Museum of Art is the only museum in the United States devoted to the collection and exhibition of European academic art of the 19th and 20th century. The collection, located in Manhattan, New York City, originated with Lebanese writer ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Edwin 1829 births 1891 deaths 19th-century English painters Artists' Rifles soldiers English male painters British genre painters English romantic painters English portrait painters English orientalists Orientalist painters Royal Academicians Deaths from the 1889–1890 flu pandemic 19th-century English male artists

Life and works

Paintings

See also

References

External links