George Samuel Elgood (1851–1943) was an English artist and illustrator who became well known for his paintings of formal gardens.

Biography

Elgood was born in Leicester, Leicestershire on 26 February 1851, one of a family of seven boys and two girls. After a private education at various schools, including

Bloxham Bloxham is a village and civil parish in northern Oxfordshire several miles from the Cotswolds, about southwest of Banbury. It is on the edge of a valley and overlooked by Hobb Hill. The village is on the A361 road. The 2011 Census recorded ...

, he studied art at Leicester Art School under Wilmot Pilsbury, and then architectural drawing at the South Kensington Schools in London. Elgood's father died in 1874 necessitating a return home to look after the family business, although he continued to paint part-time. He went on painting expeditions and holidays with his art school tutor Pilsbury, and had some lessons from local artist

John Fulleylove John Fulleylove (18 Aug 1845 – 22 May 1908) was an English landscape artist and illustrator. Life Born in Leicester, he originally trained as an architect with local firm "Shenton and Baker", before becoming an artist in watercolours and oi ...

who was his brother-in-law, as well as travelling and painting with his wife, Mary Wellington Clephan, who was also an artist. In the early 1880s, he was free to resume art full-time, becoming a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI) in 1882 and the

Royal Institute of Oil Painters The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, also known as ROI, is an association of painters in London, England, and is the only major art society which features work done only in oil. It is a member society of the Federation of British Artists. Histor ...

(ROI) a few years later. He exhibited several times at the

Fine Art Society The Fine Art Society is a gallery based in both London and in Edinburgh's New Town (originally Bourne Fine Art, established 1978). The New Bond Street, London gallery closed its doors in August 2018 after being occupied by The Fine Art Society si ...

between 1890–1925. Elgood became known mainly as a painter of historic gardens, travelling throughout England, France, Spain and Italy in the course of his professional life. Many of his pictures were used to illustrate ''Some English Gardens'' (1904) by the famous garden designer Gertrude Jekyll and ''Italian Gardens'' (1907) which Elgood wrote himself. In 1908 he settled in an old 16th-century timbered house called "Knockwood" in

Tenterden Tenterden is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the remnant forest the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother. It was a member of the Cinque Ports Confederation. Its riverside today is not ...

, Kent, where he designed and constructed his own formal garden in the grounds. He also designed and had constructed a farmhouse (in a vernacular style) and two local war memorials. He died at Knockwood on 21 October 1943.

Notes

Bibliography

Illustrated by Elgood: * Gertrude Jekyll.
Some English gardens
' (Longmans, Green & Co., 1904). *Elgood, George S.
Italian Gardens
' (Longmans, Green and Co., 1907) ;About Elgood: *Eckstein, Eve. ''George Samuel Elgood: His Life and Work'' (Alpine Fine Arts Collection, 1994).

External links

*
2 Works by Elgood
(Art Renewal Center Museum)
Foxglove and cottage garden, Ramcliffe
(Christie's)
Roses and Pinks at Levens Hall, Kendal, Cumbria
(Christie's)
Digitised works by George Samuel Elgood
at Biodiversity Heritage Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Elgood, George Samuel 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters English illustrators English landscape painters English watercolourists 1943 deaths 1851 births People educated at Bloxham School Artists from Leicester Alumni of the Royal College of Art 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists