Edgar Downs, ROI, (1876–1963) was a British painter, known for painting agricultural scenes. Downs was born on 12 October 1876 at Claughton, Birkenhead, the son of William Downs. He was educated at

Birkenhead School Birkenhead School is an independent, academically-selective, co-educational day school located in Oxton, Wirral, in North West England. The school offers educational opportunities for girls and boys from three months to eighteen years of age. ...

and the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, ...

, and received a silver medal there. He exhibited paintings called ''Our Daily Bread'' and ''The Edge of the Bog'' 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 ...

in 1911, when his address was given as 12 Bedford Gardens,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, London. His other addresses included Arun House at

Clymping Climping (also spelt as Clymping) is a village and civil parish containing agricultural and natural sandy land in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. The parish also contains the coastal hamlet of Atherington. It is three miles (5 km) ...

, West Sussex, and latterly

Mudeford Mudeford ( ) is a harbourside and beachside parish based on a former fishing village in the east of Christchurch, Dorset, England (historically in Hampshire), fronting water on two sides: Christchurch Harbour and the sands of Avon Beach. The Riv ...

, Hampshire where he died. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served as a war artist, including spells at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

in 1915 and

Salonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

in 1916. He was assigned to the

1st County of London Yeomanry The Middlesex Yeomanry was a volunteer cavalry regiment of the British Army originally raised in 1797. It saw mounted and dismounted action in the Second Boer War and in World War I at Gallipoli, Salonika and in Palestine, where one of its office ...

in July 1918. One of his paintings made at this time hangs in the Headquarters of the

Inns of Court & City Yeomanry The Inns of Court & City Yeomanry is a British Army unit formed through the amalgamation of The Inns of Court Regiment (The Devil's Own) and The City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders) in 1961. Its lineage is maintained by 68 (Inns of Court & Cit ...

. Two of his works, ''Gathering Kelp'' (1914) and ''Cattle Ploughing in an Open Landscape'' (), are in the collection of Fordingbridge Town Council at Fordingbridge Town Hall. He was a member of the

Royal Institute of Oil Painters 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 ...

("ROI"), the

London Sketch Club __NOTOC__ The London Sketch Club is a private members' club for artists working in the field of commercial graphic art, mainly for newspapers, periodicals, and books. History The club was founded in 1898 by a breakaway group of members from t ...

and Chelsea Arts Club. In addition to the RA, ROI, and London Sketch Club, he exhibited at

Royal Cambrian Academy of Art The Royal Cambrian Academy of Art (RCA) is a centre of excellence for art in Wales. Its main gallery is located in Conwy and it has over a hundred members. image:Plas Mawr.jpg, 240px, Plas Mawr, Conwy Early history During the 19th century there we ...

and the

Walker Gallery 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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Downs, Edgar 1876 births Place of birth missing 1963 deaths Place of death missing Artists from Kensington Painters from London Artists from Birkenhead People educated at Birkenhead School 20th-century English painters English male painters Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni British war artists Middlesex Yeomanry officers British Army personnel of World War I People from Climping