Fred Roe (1864 – 16 August 1947) was a genre artist and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

, best known for his paintings of landscapes, portraits and military scenes.

Life and work

Roe was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, England, the son of Robert Henry Roe, painter and engraver; He went on to study at Heatherley School of Fine Art under

Seymour Lucas John Seymour Lucas (21 December 1849 – 8 May 1923) was a Victorian English historical and portrait painter, as well as an accomplished theatrical costume designer. He was born into an artistic London family (he was the nephew of the painter ...

. Roe first exhibited at the prestigious

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 1877, was elected to the RBA in 1895, then to the Royal Institute of British Painters in 1909. He spent many years living in London being recorded in the 1901 census as living in

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 ...

with his wife and son, Frederic Gordon Roe (1894–1985), who became an art critic. Roe developed a successful career as a painter of historical genre subjects, often connected with the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

. He painted several pictures of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

, and also some showing incidents in the life of Nelson. He was an accomplished portrait painter and his work can be found in many public collections including the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

in London. During his career, Roe was best known for his large historical compositions set in period costumes. He is known to have worked in oils and occasionally watercolour. He later became a leading expert and collector of antique furniture. His book ''Ancient Coffers and Cupboards'' (1902) is an "admirable illustrated volume" on English medieval furniture. He was the author of several other reference books: ''A History of Oak Furniture'' (1920) and ''Ancient Church Chests and Chairs'' (1929). He also illustrated ''Vanishing England'' by P. H. Ditchfield''Ditchfield, P. H
Vanishing England
(E. P. Dutton & Co, 1910) and other books.

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External links

Paintings by Roe
(

)
Paintings by Roe
( National Maritime Museum)
Illustrations by Roe scanned by the British Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roe, Fred 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters History painters English illustrators 1947 deaths 1864 births 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists

Life and work

Notes

Further reading

External links