![Charles-Darby](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Charles-Darby.jpg)
James Henry Charles (5 January 1851 – 27 August 1906) was a British impressionist artist.
Life
Charles, born at
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, in January 1851, came of a family, originally French, who were long settled in Carnarvon, and owned fishing and cargo boats trading with Anglesey. His father, Richard Charles, was
a draughtsman and cabinet maker, who designed the mayor of Carnarvon's chain of office, now in the town hall, where also hangs his portrait painted by his son.
As a lad of fourteen, James Charles accompanied his father to London, where he received a desultory education while working in his father's office. He was employed for some time at a lithographer's, then studied at
Heatherley School of Fine Art
The Heatherley School of Fine Art is an independent art school in London.
The school was named after Thomas Heatherley who took over as the school's principal from James Mathews Leigh (when it was named "Leigh's"). Founded in 1845, the school ...
in Newman Street, and finally entered the
Royal Academy School
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 1872.
![Charles-St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Charles-St.Marks.jpg)
Marrying and settling in 1875 at 15 Halsey Street,
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, Charles exhibited his first picture at the Royal Academy, "An Italian Youth in Armour", and sold it on the opening day. In 1876 he had four pictures in the Academy, including his father's portrait, and in 1877 three portraits, one being of Victor Cavendish the present duke of Devonshire, and his brother as children; from this date to 1904 he was yearly represented by one to four pictures.
Charles also exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery. In 1879 he was introduced to a picture collector of Bradford,
John Maddocks, who appreciated his work, and henceforward not only purchased many of his canvases himself, but made him known in
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
and the north of England, where he established a lasting and profitable connection.
Charles exhibited at the newly formed
New English Art Club
The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. It continues to hold an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries in London, exhibiting works by both members and a ...
.
From 1877 onwards Charles painted a good deal, first at Thorpacre near
Loughborough
Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...
, Leicestershire, and subsequently at South Halting,
Petersfield
Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth a ...
, Sussex, where his subject pictures included "Christening Sunday" (R.A. 1887), now in the
Manchester Art Gallery
Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three c ...
; the landscape "The Lost Cap" (was purchased by
McCulloch Collection); "The Village Post Office" (
Johannesburg Art Gallery
The Johannesburg Art Gallery is an art gallery in Joubert Park in the city centre of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the largest gallery on the continent with a collection that is larger than that of the Iziko South African National Gallery i ...
); and "Will it Rain ?" (
Tate Gallery
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
). Between 1889 and 1895 he lived at Colnor House,
Bosham
Bosham is a coastal village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England, centred about west of Chichester with its clustered developed part west of this. Its land forms a broad peninsula projecting into natural Chiche ...
,
Chichester
Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...
, where he painted "Milking Time," a sunny landscape with cattle (now in the
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum.
The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...
), and "Signing the Marriage Register" (R.A. 1895; now in
Cartwright Hall Art Gallery
Cartwright may refer to:
* Wainwright (occupation), a tradesperson skilled in the making and repairing of carts or wagons
* Cartwright (surname), including the list of people
Places
; Australia
* Cartwright, New South Wales
; Canada
* Cartwr ...
, Bradford). In 1896 he moved to East Ashling House,
Chichester
Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...
, and engaged in pictures of rustic life.
Charles, who had spent two previous seasons in the Paris studios, visited Venice in 1891, and in the same year was elected an associate of the
Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris. In 1896 he produced "The Chalk Pit", and a year or two later "Souvenir of Watteau", a fine work in chiaroscuro (now in the Johannesburg Gallery), "In Spring Time", and many landscapes. The two darkest months of every year he now devoted to Yorkshire, where he undertook many family and presentation portraits. The summer months of 1902 and 1904 were passed at
Montreuil-sur-Mer
Montreuil (; also nl, Monsterole), also known as Montreuil-sur-Mer (; pcd, Montreu-su-Mér or , literally ''Montreuil on Sea''), is a sub-prefecture in the Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. It is located on the Canche river, not far fro ...
, where some of his most charming coast- and sea-scapes were painted. During the winter of 1905 he was at
Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
. Appointed judge at the
Carnarvon Eisteddfod Carnarvon and Caernarvon are forms of the name Caernarfon which are no longer used for the town in north Wales, but remain in use in other contexts. The first two forms are in English orthography and the third is the Welsh spelling, adopted in Engl ...
in August 1906, he underwent an operation for appendicitis whilst staying at Plas Bennett,
Denbigh
Denbigh (; cy, Dinbych; ) is a market town and a community in Denbighshire, Wales. Formerly, the county town, the Welsh name translates to "Little Fortress"; a reference to its historic castle. Denbigh lies near the Clwydian Hills.
History
...
, in the vale of Clwyd, and died there on 27 Aug. 1906; he was buried in Fulham cemetery.
In 1907, after his death, some of Charles's work was shown in the winter exhibition of the Royal Academy, and the sale of seventy-six of his remaining works at the
Leicester Gallery
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
produced about £3,000. In addition to the art galleries named, those of Warrington and Dublin also possess examples of his work.
Family
In January 1875 Charles married at the pro-cathedral, Kensington, Ellen Agnes Williams (died 1909) with whom he had five sons and seven daughters. In 1908 a civil list pension of £70. was granted to his widow.
Legacy
Charles has 63 paintings in public collections in the United Kingdom.
Notes
References
*
Further reading
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, James
1851 births
1906 deaths
Artists from Warrington
British male painters
19th-century British painters
19th-century British male artists