George Elgar Hicks by George Elgar Hicks (1824-1914)

George Elgar Hicks (13 March 1824 – 1914) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. He is best known for his large

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

s, which emulate

William Powell Frith William Powell Frith (9 January 1819 – 2 November 1909) was an English painter specialising in genre subjects and panoramic narrative works of life in the Victorian era. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1853, presenting ''The Sleep ...

in style, but was also a society portraitist.

Biography

Born on 13 March 1824 in

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, George Elgar Hicks was the second son of a wealthy

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

. His parents encouraged Hicks to become a doctor and so Hicks studied medicine at

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

from 1840 to 1842. However, after three years' "ardous and disagreeable study" Hicks decided he wanted to be an artist. Due to these circumstances, Hicks began training considerably later in life than most artists of the time. In 1843, Hicks attended Sass's AcademySass's Academy
and by 1844 had 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 ...

. In 1847 Hicks married Maria Hariss and six of their eight children were born in the seven years following. He did not achieve much success as an artist during this period and later referred to his art at this time as "small and unimportant." He blamed this on the fact he had little time to study art or interact with other artists, due to a busy family life. In 1859, Hicks painted his first large genre painting, ''Dividend Day at the Bank of England'' (exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1859) – following the success of

Frith Frith is an Old English word meaning "peace; protection; safety, security". Etymology Derived from Old English ''friðu, friþ'', it is cognate to Old Norse '' friðr'', Old Saxon '' frithu'', Old High German '' fridu'', German ''Friede'', Du ...

's paintings ''

Ramsgate Sands ''Ramsgate Sands'', also known as ''Life at the Seaside'', is an oil-on-canvas painting by William Powell Frith, made from 1851 to 1854, which depicts a beach scene in Ramsgate. The painting was Frith's first great commercial success: it was exh ...

'' and ''

The Derby Day ''The Derby Day'' is a large oil painting showing a panoramic view of The Derby, painted by William Powell Frith over 15 months from 1856 to 1858. It has been described by Christie's as Frith's "undisputed masterpiece" and also "arguably the ...

'' at the Royal Academy. It was a typical genre painting, showing a scene from the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

and featuring a broad range of social classes. He painted several more large modern-life paintings in the following years which were generally poorly reviewed by critics. These include ''The General Post Office. One minute to 6'' (1860), ''Billingsgate Fish Market'' (1861) and ''Changing Homes'' (1862). Hicks' paintings were often of subjects that no other artists attempted, such as the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...

and

Billingsgate Fish Market Billingsgate Fish Market is located in Canary Wharf in London. It is the United Kingdom's largest inland fish market. It takes its name from Billingsgate, a ward in the south-east corner of the City of London, where the riverside market was or ...

. Hicks was one of the few artists that showed lasting interest in the emulation of Frith's style and is generally considered Frith's principal imitator. By the late 1860s, the popularity of genre painting had declined and Hicks began to focus on historical subjects, leading to society

portraiture A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

in the 1870s. In 1884, Hicks remarried following the death of Maria in 1881. He retired in the 1890s and died a month before the declaration of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914.

Gallery

File:George Elgar Hicks - Buttercups.jpg, ''Buttercups'', 1889 File:George Elgar Hicks - Playtime.jpg, ''Playtime'', 1866 File:George-elgar-hicks-portrait.jpg, ''Portrait'', circa 1890 File:George-elgar-hicks-maud.jpg, ''Maud'', 1882 File:Hicks-George-Elgar-The-Farmers-Daughter.jpg, ''The Farmer's Daughter'', circa 1880 File:George Elgar Hicks - A Summer Bouquet.jpg, ''A Summer Bouquet'', 1872 File:George Elgar Hicks - The Return Home.jpg, ''The Return Home'', 1873 File:George Elgar Hicks - A Cloud With A Silver Lining.jpg, ''A Cloud With A Silver Lining'', 1890 File:Changing Homes by George Elgar Hicks.JPG, ''Changing Homes'', 1862 File:George Elgar Hicks The buffet Swindon station 1863.jpg, ''The Buffet Swindon Station'', 1863 File:George elgar hicks36.jpg, ''At Evening Time'', 1866 File:George elgar hicks27.jpg, ''Girl Seated by the Seashore'', 1878

Notes

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Gui ...

)
The latest arrival
(Christie's) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hicks, George Elgar 1824 births 1914 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters English portrait painters People from Lymington 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists

Biography

Gallery

Notes

Further reading

External links