Helen Allingham (née Paterson; 26 September 1848 – 28 September 1926) was a British watercolourist and illustrator of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

Biography

Helen Mary Elizabeth Paterson was born on 26 September 1848, at

Swadlincote Swadlincote is a former mining town in the district of South Derbyshire, England, lying within The National Forest area. It borders the counties of Leicestershire and Staffordshire, south-east of Burton upon Trent and north-west of Ashby-d ...

in Derbyshire, the daughter of Alexander Henry Paterson, a medical doctor, and Mary Herford Paterson. Helen was the eldest of seven children. The year after her birth the family moved to

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

in Cheshire. In 1862 her father and her three-year-old sister Isabel died of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

during an epidemic. The remaining family then moved to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, where some of Alexander Paterson's family lived. Paterson showed a talent for art from an early age, drawing some of her inspiration from her maternal grandmother Sarah Smith Herford and aunt Laura Herford, both accomplished artists of their day. Her younger sister Caroline Paterson also became a noted artist. She initially studied art for three years at the Birmingham School of Design. She spent a year at the Royal Female School of Art in London, before following her aunt Laura Herford to the National Art Training School. In 1867 she enrolled in the Royal Academy School, which would later become the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It ...

Career

While studying at the National Art Training School, Paterson worked as an illustrator, eventually deciding to give up her studies in favour of a full-time career in art. She painted for children's and adult books, as well as for periodicals, including ''

The Graphic ''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Ltd. Thomas's brother Lewis Samuel Thomas was a co-founder. The premature death of the latt ...

'' newspaper. One highlight was her commission to provide twelve illustrations for the 1874 serialisation of

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wor ...

's novel ''

Far from the Madding Crowd ''Far from the Madding Crowd'' (1874) is Thomas Hardy's fourth novel and his first major literary success. It originally appeared anonymously as a monthly serial in '' Cornhill Magazine'', where it gained a wide readership. The novel is set ...

'' in '' Cornhill Magazine''. Her illustrations from this era were signed either "H. Paterson" or "H. Allingham". She became a lifelong friend of

Kate Greenaway Catherine Greenaway (17 March 18466 November 1901) was an English Victorian artist and writer, known for her children's book illustrations. She received her education in graphic design and art between 1858 and 1871 from the Finsbury School o ...

whom she met at evening art classes at the

Slade School of Fine Art 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 a ...

. While

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

was developing as an artist by studying English illustrated journals he was struck by Paterson's work in ''The Graphic''. Although females could not gain the same recognition as men at the time, Helen Allingham was one of the women artists who made a considerable impact, as artists like Van Gogh were influenced by her. On 22 August 1874 she married William Allingham, Irish poet and editor of '' Fraser's Magazine'', who was almost twice her age. After her marriage, she gave up her career as an illustrator and turned to watercolour painting. In 1881 the family moved from Chelsea to Witley in Surrey. Her first son, Gerald Carlyle, was born in November 1875. Her daughter was born on 21 February 1877 and her last son on 11 May 1882. Helen started to paint the countryside around her and particularly the picturesque farmhouses, cottages and gardens of Surrey and Sussex, for which she became famous. In 1889, her husband died. At age 41 she felt the pressure to support her 3 young children (14, 12, and 7) and stepped up the production of watercolour. These were done with great attention to detail and avoiding any sense of squalor or hardship. They became wildly popular, possibly because of the nostalgic needs of ex pats who went to faraway colonies or of those living in industrialising cities.Minneapolis Institute of Art, n.d, Description of "Wiltshire cottage" (Watercolour over graphite) by Helen Paterson Allingham However, her works were also criticised as "overly sentimental, conservative vision of the area". She went on to paint rural scenes in other parts of the country –

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, Kent, the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

and the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glouc ...

– and abroad in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Italy. As well as landscapes, she completed several portraits, including one of

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, ...

In 1890, Allingham became the first woman to be admitted as a full member of the Royal Watercolour Society. At the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

in Chicago, Illinois she exhibited her work at the

Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 t ...

Legacy

The Helen Allingham Society was founded in 2000. Her time in Altrincham is commemorated by blue plaques at 16 Market Street, Altrincham and at Levenhurst, St. John's Road, Bowdon.

Burgh House Burgh House is a historic house located on New End Square in Hampstead, London, that includes the Hampstead Museum. The house is also listed as Burgh House & Hampstead Museum. Brief history Burgh House was constructed in 1704 during the re ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...

, has the world's largest archive and collection of her work.

Paintings

File:WilliamAllingham1876.jpg, William Allingham 1876 Image:Allingham Helen Irish Cottage.jpg, Irish Cottage File:Helen Allingham - A Herbaceous Border.jpg, A Herbaceous Border File:Helen Allingham - Harvest Moon.jpg, Harvest Moon File:Allingham Helen A Cottage With Sunflowers At Peaslake.jpg, A Cottage With Sunflowers At Peaslake File:Helen Allingham - The Lady of the Manor.jpg, The Lady of the Manor File:Helen Allingham - Morning at the Quay Venice.jpg, Morning at the Quay in Venice File:Mrs Helen Allingham - Thomas Carlyle, 1795 - 1881. Historian and essayist - Google Art Project.jpg,

, historian and essayist (1795–1881)

Bibliography

;Illustrated by Helen Allingham: * * Paterson, Arthur Henry (1905).
The homes of Tennyson
' (Adam & Charles Black). Paterson was Helen Allingham's brother. * ;Written by Helen Allingham:
Seedtime and reaping
(Samuel Tinsley, 1877).

Notes

External links

* * * http://www.chrisbeetles.com/artists/allingham-helen-rws-1848-1926.html * http://www.spacial-anomaly.com/helen-allingham-and-her-cottages/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Allingham, Helen 1848 births 1926 deaths 19th-century English painters 20th-century English painters 19th-century English women artists 20th-century English women artists Alumni of the Birmingham School of Art Alumni of the Royal College of Art English illustrators English landscape painters English watercolourists English women painters People from Altrincham People from Swadlincote Women of the Victorian era Women watercolorists