Lionel Percy Smythe (4 September 1839 in London – July 1918) was a British artist, and

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

Life and work

Lionel Percy Smythe was the illegitimate son of Percy Clinton Sydney Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford and Katherine Benham (later Mrs Wyllie). He was born in London in 1839 and spent his early years in France, where his younger sister and brother were born. The family returned to London in 1843 and lived in Gloucester Crescent, Camden). Smythe was educated at

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London and ...

. He was also partly educated in France and spent holidays there at

Wimereux Wimereux (; vls, Wimeruwe) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the ban ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

with his stepfather

William Morrison Wyllie William Morrison Wyllie (12 December 1820 – 13 March 1895) was a British painter, known for his coastal and maritime subjects. A number of his works are in the Southwark Art Collection. Other collections which hold examples include the Russe ...

and family. He trained in art at the

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 ...

.See accompanyinmg text to
Arabian Nights
(www.invaluable.com) He was half brother of the artists

William Lionel Wyllie William Lionel Wyllie (5 July 1851 – 6 April 1931) also known as W. L. Wyllie was a prolific English painter of Marine art, maritime themes in both oils and watercolours. He has been described as "the most distinguished marine artist of ...

and Charles William Wyllie. Smythe exhibited at the

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 ...

from 1863 (becoming a member in 1911) and the

Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

from 1881 (becoming a member in 1880) - he eventually transferred his allegiance to the

Royal Watercolour Society The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wa ...

in 1892, becoming a member in 1894. Smythe painted rural landscapes, genre and maritime scenes, people and animals in both

oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

and

watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

, and became associated with the Idyllists. Smythe and his wife Alice made frequent trips to France and eventually settled in

in 1879, in an old Napoleonic fortress on the coast at

- until the building was inundated by the sea. Subsequently, they moved, in 1882, to the ''Château d'Honvault'' on a hill between

and

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

. The couple had three children, of whom Minnie Smythe also became a painter. Smythe lived and worked here until his death in 1918, the countryside and rural life of the area becoming the main inspiration for his art.

Selected works

Lionel Percy Smythe - Under the greenwood tree

*''The Arabian Nights'' (1865) *''Shorthanded'' (1874, marine) *''Field of the cloth of gold: Twixt Calais and Guines'' (1883)See Wilcox & Newall, p166. *''Mowers with elm trees'' *''The First Buds of Spring'' (1885) *''Springtime'' (1885) *''Germinal'' (1889) *''Harvesters returning'' *''Children fording a river by a continental town'' (1891) *''Boulogne fishing folk'' (1893)Boulogne fishing folk
(www.invaluable.com) *''La Tricoteuse'' *''Bleaching linen'' (pre 1896) *''Caught in the frozen palms of spring'' *''Spring outing'' *''Under the Greenwood Tree'' (1902) *''The Farmyard at Château d'Honvault, Wimereux'' (1908) *''The Adoration'' (1909) *''The Harvester'' (1910) *''Summer'' *''Shrimpers'' *''A Thick Night Off the Goodwins'' (marine) *''The Bait Digger'' (1910) *''When life is hard its better to be young'' (1911) *''Hounds''

Notes

External links

*
L. P. Smythe online
(artcyclopedi)
L P Smythe
(The modernist journals project)
Bleaching line
(painting for sale at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

)
Photo of L P Smythe
( National Portrait Gallery)
Profile on Royal Academy of Arts Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smythe, Lionel Percy 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters Landscape artists English watercolourists 1839 births 1918 deaths British people of Dutch descent Royal Academicians 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists

Life and work

Selected works

Notes

Further reading

External links