Keeley Halswelle (1831–1891), born John Keeley Haswell, was an English artist.

Life

Keeley Halswelle was born John Keeley Haswell, son of David and Elizabeth Haswell, at

Richmond, Surrey Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Comm ...

on 23 April 1831 and baptized 6 July 1831 at St. Dionis Blackchurch, London. At an early age he contributed drawings to the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...

'', and took up book illustration. Work for the ''Illustrated Shakespeare'' of Robert Chambers took him to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, where he found a good friend in William Nelson, the publisher. In 1863 he is listed as living at Bellfield House in

Duddingston Duddingston ( sco, Duddiston) is a historic village in the east of Edinburgh, Scotland, next to Holyrood Park. Origins and etymology The estate wherein Duddingston Village now lies was first recorded in lands granted to the Tironensian monks ...

Village on the southern outskirts of

. In 1869 Halswelle left Britain for Italy, and during the next few years concentrated on subjects found there. He was elected a member of the

Institute of Painters in Oil Colours 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 ...

in 1882. Halswelle lived his later years at Stoner House, Steep, near

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 ...

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

, where he was a ruling councillor of the

Primrose League The Primrose League was an organisation for spreading Conservative principles in Great Britain. It was founded in 1883. At a late point in its existence, its declared aims (published in the ''Primrose League Gazette'', vol. 83, no. 2, March/April ...

. He died of pneumonia in Paris on 11 April 1891, and was buried at Steep on 20 April.

Works

Among the books which Halswelle illustrated were: *''The Falls of Clyde'', 1859; *''Byron's Poems'', 1861; *''Scott's Poems'', 1861; *''Thomas Morris's Poems'', 1863; *''Wordsworth's Poems'', 1863; and *''The Knight of the Silver Shield'', 1885. In 1857 a painting of his was exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy, and in 1866 Halswelle was elected associate. The ''Roba di Roma'', exhibited at Burlington House, gained a prize at Manchester; but the popular work of this period was ''Non Angli sed Angeli'', painted in 1877, which was exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1878. Halswelle in later life added to his reputation, as a landscapist. A painting in oil of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

above Maidenhead was included in

Henry Tate Sir Henry Tate, 1st Baronet (11 March 18195 December 1899) was an English sugar merchant and philanthropist, noted for establishing the Tate Gallery in London. Life and career Born in White Coppice, a hamlet near Chorley, Lancashire, Tate was ...

's gift to the nation, and went to the Millbank Gallery. In 1884 some of his views of the Thames, ''Six Years in a Houseboat'', were shown in London; and he wrote a book under the same title. Keeley Halswelle - A Newhaven Fish-Lassie

Keeley Halswelle - A Newhaven Fish-Lassie

Family

Halswelle first married clandestinely on 25 May 1852 at the Independent Chapel, Bethnal Green, to Mary Jane Blackwood Gilbert, but they never lived together and Halswelle broke off contact the following November due to her infidelity and left London for Scotland in 1854. In 1859 he successfully petitioned for divorce. He next married at Edinburgh, 18 June 1861, to Maria Browne, daughter of the advocate James Browne, and Isabella Stewart. Following her death, in 1873 he married Helen, daughter of Major-General N. J. Gordon, who survived him with two sons, Major Gordon Halswelle (1874–1935) and

Wyndham Halswelle Wyndham Halswelle (30 May 1882 – 31 March 1915) was a British athlete. He won the controversial 400m race at the 1908 Summer Olympics, becoming the only athlete to win an Olympic title by a walkover. Halswelle was also an infantry ...

Notes

External links

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Halswelle, Keeley 1831 births 1891 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters English illustrators Deaths from pneumonia in France People from Steep, Hampshire People from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames 19th-century English male artists