William Frank Calderon aka W. Frank Calderon (

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

1865 – 21 April 1943), was a British painter of portraits, landscapes, figure subjects and sporting pictures. He was the third son of the painter and Keeper of the Royal Academy in London,

Philip Hermogenes Calderon Philip Hermogenes Calderon (Poitiers 3 May 1833 – 30 April 1898 London) was an English painter of French birth (mother) and Spanish (father) ancestry who initially worked in the Pre-Raphaelite style before moving towards historical genre ...

and was married (in 1892) to Ethel Wells Armstead (b. 1864), third daughter of the noted sculptor

Henry Hugh Armstead Henry Hugh Armstead (18 June 18284 December 1905) was an English sculptor and illustrator, influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites. Biography Armstead was born at Bloomsbury in central London, the son of John Armstead, a chaser and heraldic engraver ...

, RA. When fourteen, Calderon was awarded the Trevelyan Goodall Scholarship and later a scholarship to the

Slade School The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

under Professor

Alphonse Legros Alphonse Legros (8 May 1837 – 8 December 1911) was a French, later British, painter, etcher, sculptor, and medallist. He moved to London in 1863 and later took British citizenship. He was important as a teacher in the British etching rev ...

. He and Charles Edward Johnson, a landscape artist, started the School of Animal Painting at 54 Baker Street, London in April 1895; Calderon acted as principal until 1916. Some of their students were

Cecil Aldin Cecil Charles Windsor Aldin (28 April 1870 – 6 January 1935), was a British artist and illustrator best known for his paintings and sketches of animals, sports, and rural life. Aldin executed village scenes and rural buildings in chalk, pencil ...

, Lionel Edwards,

Alfred Munnings Sir Alfred James Munnings, (8 October 1878 – 17 July 1959) was known as one of England's finest painters of horses, and as an outspoken critic of Modernism. Engaged by Lord Beaverbrook's Canadian War Memorials Fund, he earned several prest ...

Lady Helena Gleichen Lady Helena Emily Gleichen OBE DStJ (1873–1947) was a British painter of landscapes, flowers, and animals, with a particular passion for horses. During World War I, she served as an ambulance driver and radiographer in France and Italy, wh ...

Frederic Whiting Frederic Whiting (1874 – 1 August 1962) was an English painter who had studied at the Académie Julian and taught at Heatherley School of Fine Art with Iain Macnab and Bernard Adams. His work was part of the painting event in the art co ...

and George E. Studdy. He 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 1881–1921, and had his first Royal Academy painting bought by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. His 1936 book ''Animal Painting and Anatomy'' is still considered a useful reference source. He illustrated numerous books such as ''" The Most Delectable History of Reynard The Fox"'' edited by Joseph Jacobs and published by

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

in 1895. The cover, designed by A. A. Turbayne, was gold-blocked in

art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

style and inspired designers to create work using "asymmetrical designs, sinuous curves, and simplified shapes with minimal shading."
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Gallery

William Frank Calderon00.jpg, William Frank Calderon06.jpg,

References

1865 births 1943 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters Artists' Rifles soldiers Rother Valley artists 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists {{England-painter-stub