The Birmingham School was a group of

landscape art Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composi ...

ists working in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the late 18th and early 19th centuries; descending from Daniel Bond, who was active in the 1760s, and including well-known later figures such as

Thomas Creswick Thomas Creswick (5 February 181128 December 1869) was a British landscapist and illustrator, and one of the best-known members of the Birmingham School of landscapists. Biography Creswick was born in Sheffield (at the time it was within Der ...

, Thomas Baker and David Cox, who was to become an early precursor of

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

. Although the artists of the school were not formally organised, they were related by their common technique, which distinguished them from the broader field of contemporary landscapists. In particular the Birmingham School is notable for its emphasis on character as well as precision in its portrayal of nature; for example often depicting trees in a manner that has more in common with

portraiture A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

, and showing "a quest for the essential, the quiddity of what is observed". Many of the artists were also related by training: Bond taught in the 1760s and pupils of his exhibited at the

Free Society of Artists The Society of Artists of Great Britain was founded in London in May 1761 by an association of artists in order to provide a venue for the public exhibition of recent work by living artists, such as was having success in the long-established ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

in 1763;

Joseph Barber Joseph Barber (1757 – 16 July 1811) was an English landscape painter and art teacher, and an early member of the Birmingham School of landscape painters. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Barber moved to Birmingham in the 1770s, where he work ...

opened a drawing academy in 1801 where pupils included Cox and Baker; and

Samuel Lines Samuel Lines (1778 – 22 November 1863) was an English designer, painter and art teacher, and an early member of the Birmingham School of landscape painters. A significant figure in the development of art in Birmingham during its rapid grow ...

opened another academy in 1806 where pupils included Creswick.

Members

* Daniel Bond (1725–1803) *

(1758–1811) *

(1778–1863) * Charles Barber (1783–1854) * David Cox (1783–1859) *W. Roberts (1788–1867) *

Joseph Vincent Barber Joseph Vincent Barber (1788–1838), known as Vincent Barber, was an English landscape painter and art teacher. Born in Birmingham, the son of artist and drawing master Joseph Barber, he took over the running of his father's drawing academy ...

(1788–1838) *H. C. Allport (fl. 1811–23) *

Henry Harris Lines Henry Harris Lines (born 1800 or 1801, died 1889) was a landscape artist and archaeologist, and the eldest son of Birmingham artist and drawing master Samuel Lines (1778–1863). There are a number of Henry's works stored in the permanent ...

(1801–1889) *

Samuel Rostill Lines Samuel Rostill Lines (15 January 1804 – 9 November 1833; sometimes listed as Samuel Restell Lines) was an English painter and illustrator. Born in Birmingham, he was the third son of Samuel Lines, one of the founders of the academy for the ...

(1804–1833) *F. H. Henshaw (1807–1891) * Thomas Baker (1809–1864) *

(1811–1869) *

George Wallis George Wallis (1811–1891) was an artist, museum curator and art educator. He was the first Keeper of Fine Art Collection at South Kensington Museum (later the Victoria & Albert Museum) in London. Early years George Wallis, son of John Wal ...

(1811–1891) *C. T. Burt (1823–902) *

Harry John Johnson Henry John Johnson, usually known as Harry (10 April 1826 — 31 December 1884) was an English landscape and water colour painter. Life Johnson was born in Birmingham, where he studied under Samuel Lines. He was then in London as a studio pup ...

(1826–1884) *

Elijah Walton Elijah Walton (November 1832 – 25 August 1880) was a British landscapist, and best known for his landscapes of mountains in the Alps. Biography He was born in November 1832 in Birmingham, where his earlier years were spent. Due to the poorne ...

(1832–1880)

References

{{reflist British art movements Culture in Birmingham, West Midlands English art

Members

See also

References