William Fisk - George Catlin - Google Art Project

William Fisk (1796–1872) was an English portrait and

history painter History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

Life

He was born at

Thorpe-le-Soken Thorpe-le-Soken is a village and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England located east of Colchester, west of Walton-on-the-Naze, Frinton-on-Sea and north of Clacton-on-Sea. History Since 2002, archaeological investigations ahead ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, the son of a yeoman farmer at Can Hall. His father sent him to school at

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, and at nineteen years of age placed him in a mercantile house in London. There he remained for ten years. He married about 1826, and after the birth of his eldest son he devoted himself seriously to art as a profession.''Dictionary of National Biography'' 1885–1900 Between 1835 and 1848 he lived in Howland Street, off

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tub ...

, in London. He eventually retired to some property at

Danbury Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

in Essex, where he died on 8 November 1872.

Works

In 1818 Fisk sent to 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 ...

a portrait of Mr. G. Fisk, and in 1819 a portrait of a ''Child and Favourite Dog''. In 1829 he sent to the Royal Academy a portrait of

William Redmore Bigg William Redmore Bigg (Felsted, Felsted, Essex 6 January 1755 – 6 February 1828 London) was a British painter. Bigg was born in Felsted in Essex to William and Grace Bigg. He enrolled in the Royal Academy schools in 1778 where he studied und ...

, R. A., and continued to exhibit portraits there for a few years. At the

British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it w ...

he exhibited in 1830 ''The Widow'', and in 1832 ''Puck''. From about 1834 Fisk took to painting the large historical compositions, for which he became best known. He took care to obtain contemporary portraits and authorities for costume, which he faithfully reproduced on his canvases. Some of them were engraved, and were popular. They comprised ''Lady Jane Grey, when in confinement in the Tower, visited by Feckenhain'' (British Institution, 1834); ''The Coronation of Robert Bruce'' (Royal Academy, 1836); ''La Journée des Dupes'' (Royal Academy, 1837); ''Leonardo da Vinci expiring in the arms of Francis I'' (Royal Academy, 1838); ''The Chancellor Wriothesley approaching to apprehend Katherine Parr on a charge of heresy'', and ''Mary, widow of Louis XII of France, receiving Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, ambassador from Henry VIII'' (British Institution, 1838); ''The Queen Mother, Marie de' Medici, demanding the dismissal of Cardinal Richelieu'' (British Institution, 1839); ''The Conspiracy of the Pazzi, or the attempt to assassinate Lorenzo de' Medici'' (Royal Academy, 1839), which was awarded the gold medal of the

Manchester Institution The Royal Manchester Institution (RMI) was an English learned society founded on 1 October 1823 at a public meeting held in the Exchange Room by Manchester merchants, local artists and others keen to dispel the image of Manchester as a city lack ...

for the best historical picture exhibited in their gallery in 1840. Last Moments of King Charles

About 1840 Fisk started a series of pictures connected with the reign of Charles I, namely, ''Cromwell's Family interceding for the life of Charles I'' (Royal Academy, 1840); ''The Trial of the Earl of Strafford'' (never exhibited, engraved by James Scott in 1841, and acquired for the

Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

); ''The Trial of Charles I in Westminster Hall'' (Royal Academy, 1842); ''Charles I passing through the banqueting-house, Whitehall, to the Scaffold'' (Royal Academy, 1843); ''The last interview of Charles I with his Children'' (British Institution, 1844). He was also a frequent contributor to the Suffolk Street exhibition. His obituary in the ''Art Journal'' said that "if Mr. Fisk’s works may not be classed in a high rank of historical painting, they are most creditable examples — well composed, careful in execution, and accurate in costumes and accessories."

References

Sources

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisk, William 1796 births 1872 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters People from Thorpe-le-Soken 19th-century English male artists