William Strang (13 February 1859 – 12 April 1921) was a Scottish painter and printmaker, notable for illustrating the works of Bunyan,

Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake ...

and

Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much o ...

Early life

Strang was born at

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

, the son of Peter Strang, a builder, and was educated at the

Dumbarton Academy Dumbarton Academy is a mixed secondary school in Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Location The school is situated near the railway off the B830 in the east of Dumbarton. St James Retail Park is on the opposite side of the North Clyde ...

. For fifteen months after leaving school he worked in the

counting-house A counting house, or counting room, was traditionally an office in which the bookkeeping, financial books of a business were kept. It was also the place that the business received appointments and correspondence relating to demands for payment. A ...

of a firm of shipbuilders, then in 1875, when he was sixteen, went to London. There he studied art under

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 ...

at 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 ...

for six years. Strang had great success as an

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

and became assistant master in the etching class. He was one of the founding members of the

Royal Society of Painter-Etchers The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE), known until 1991 as the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, is a leading art institution based in London, England. The Royal Society of Painter-Etchers, as it was originally styled, was ...

, and his work was part of its first exhibition in 1881. Some of his early plates were published in '' The Portfolio'' and other art magazines.

Work

He worked in many techniques:

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

drypoint Drypoint is a printmaking technique of the intaglio family, in which an image is incised into a plate (or "matrix") with a hard-pointed "needle" of sharp metal or diamond point. In principle, the method is practically identical to engraving. The ...

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the '' intaglio'' family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonal ...

, sand-ground mezzotint, burin engraving,

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

and

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

. He cut a large

wood engraving Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image or ''matrix'' of images into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and ...

of a man ploughing, later published by the Art for Schools Association. A privately produced catalogue of his engraved work contained more than three hundred items. Amongst his earlier works were ''Tinkers'', ''St. Jerome'', ''A Woman Washing Her Feet'', ''An Old Book-stall with a Man Lighting His Pipe from a Flare'', and ''The Head of a Peasant Woman'' on sand-ground mezzotint. Later plates such as ''Hunger'', ''The Bachelor's End'' and ''The Salvation Army'' were also important. Some of his best etchings were done as series—one of the earliest, illustrating poet William Nicholson's ''Ballad of Aken Drum'', is remarkable for clear, delicate workmanship in the shadow tones, showing great skill and power over his materials, and for strong drawing. Another praised series was ''

The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christianity, Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a prog ...

'', revealing austere sympathy with

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...

's teaching.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake ...

's '' Ancient Mariner'' and Strang's own ''Allegory of Death'' and ''The Plowman's Wife'', have served him with suitable imaginative subjects. Some of

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

's stories were also illustrated by him, and his likeness of Kipling was one of his most successful portrait plates. Other etched portraits included those of Ernest Sichel and of his friend

Joseph Benwell Clark Joseph Benwell Clark (185713 February 1938) was an English painter, etcher, engraver in mezzotint and drypoint, and book illustrator. ''Victorian Painters'' describes Clark as a London painter of rustic subjects. Early life Born at Cerne Abbas ...

, with whom Strang collaborated in illustrating

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer Pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets, unbound (and therefore ...

's ''

True History ''A True Story'' ( grc, Ἀληθῆ διηγήματα, ''Alēthē diēgēmata''; or ), also translated as True History, is a long novella or short novel written in the second century AD by the Greek author Lucian of Samosata. The novel is a ...

'' (1894) ''

Baron Munchausen Baron Munchausen (; ) is a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in his 1785 book '' Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia''. The character is loosely based on a real ...

'' (1895) and ''

Sinbad the Sailor Sinbad the Sailor (; ar, سندباد البحري, Sindibādu al-Bahriyy; fa, سُنباد بحری, Sonbād-e Bahri or Sindbad) is a fictional mariner and the hero of a story-cycle of Persian origin. He is described as hailing from Baghdad ...

and

Ali Baba "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" ( ar, علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a folk tale from the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who heard ...

'' (1896).

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 Word ...

Sir Henry Newbolt Sir Henry John Newbolt, CH (6 June 1862 – 19 April 1938) was an English poet, novelist and historian. He also had a role as a government adviser with regard to the study of English in England. He is perhaps best remembered for his poems "Vit ...

, and other distinguished men also sat for Strang. Proofs from these plates have been much valued.

Painting

Strang produced many paintings, portraits, nude figures in landscapes, and groups of peasant families, which were 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 ...

, The International Society, and several German exhibitions. He painted a decorative series of scenes from the story of

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

for the library of a

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

landowner named Hodson; they were exhibited at the

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

exhibition in 1910. He made some drawings of the nude figure in silver point and red and black chalk. He also painted

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

s, mostly small in size. In later years he developed a style of drawing in red and black chalk, with the whites and high lights rubbed out, on paper stained with water colour. His method gives qualities of delicate modelling and refined form and gradations akin to the drawings of

Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Jüngere; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered o ...

. He drew portraits in this manner of many members of the Order of Merit for the royal library at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

. In 1902 Strang retired from the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers, as a protest against the inclusion in its exhibitions of etched or engraved reproductions of pictures. His work was subsequently seen principally in the exhibitions of the Royal Academy, the Society of Twelve and the International Society, to which he was elected in 1905. Strang was also elected an associate engraver of the Royal Academy when that degree was revived in 1906. William Strang was master of the Art Workers Guild in 1907. His portrait can be seen at the Art Workers Guild 6 Queen Square London WC1N 3AT. He is buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

, London. Image:Vita sackville-west.jpg, ''Lady with a Red Hat'' (

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful novelist, poet and journalist, as wel ...

), 1918, Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow Image:William Strang - The Temptation - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Temptation'', 1899,

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

Literary works

Strang also ventured into literature, creating "Death and the Ploughman's Wife", an illustrated ballad in 1888 (published 1894 by Lawrence and Bullen). He also wrote short stories, but these were not published.

Recognition

Strang was a member of the

Art Workers' Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of a ...

, being elected as Master in 1907. In 1918, he became President of the

International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers was a union of professional artists that existed from 1898 to 1925, "To promote the study, practice, and knowledge of sculpture, painting, etching, lithographing, engraving, and kindred ...

and in 1921 was elected an Engraver Member of the Royal Academy.

Family

In 1885, William Strang married Agnes McSymon Rogerson (d. 1933), also from Dumbarton. They had four sons and one daughter. Their sons Ian Strang (1886–1952) and David Strang (1887–1967) were both artists. William had at least one granddaughter, Joan Strang, born of David's short-lived marriage to the English soprano

Dora Labbette Dora Labbette (4 March 1898 – 3 September 1984) was an English soprano. Her career spanned the concert hall and the opera house. She conspired with Sir Thomas Beecham to appear at the Royal Opera House masquerading as an Italian singer by the ...

. In 1955 David Strang gave impressions of the bulk of William Strang's etchings to the

National Gallery of Scotland The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by W ...

, many of which he had annotated for clarification of the subject matter.National Gallery of Scotland: David Strang Gift, collection notes

Etchings

File:William Strang, Cause of the Poor.jpeg, ''The Cause of the Poor'', 1890 File:William Strang etching, Henry Austin Dobson, 1895.jpg,

Henry Austin Dobson Henry Austin Dobson (18 January 1840 – 2 September 1921), commonly Austin Dobson, was an English poet and essayist. Life He was born at Plymouth, the eldest son of George Clarisse Dobson, a civil engineer, of French descent. When he w ...

, 1895 File:William Strang The author Rudyard Kipling.jpg, ''

'', 1901 File:David Strang by William Strang, c.1915.jpg, His son '' David Strang'', c. 1915 File:The cover of Death and the Ploughman's Wife by William Strang.jpg, The cover of ''Death and the Ploughman's Wife'' File:William Strang - 1901 - The Doings of Death - 05 - Death the Judge.jpg, ''Death the Judge'', from the twelve-image portfolio ''The Doings of Death'' (1901) File:William Strang (1859 - 1921) - Old Walls And Roman Viaduct, Segovia - ABDAG007070 - Aberdeen City Council (Archives, Gallery and Museums Collection).jpg, alt=etching of houses, with viaduct in background on the ''Old Walls And Roman Viaduct,

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is in the Inner Plateau (''Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of th ...

References

; Attribution

External links

*
Short biography of William Strang at 'Yellow Nineties Online'

''Sinbad the Sailor and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves''
illustrated by Strang and

, openly online in the

University of Florida Digital Collections The University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) are supported by the University of Florida Digital Library Center in the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. The University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) comprise a ...

Laurence Binyon, ''William Strang: Catalogue of his etched work'' (1906)
complete at wikimedia.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Strang, William 1859 births 1921 deaths People from Dumbarton 19th-century engravers 20th-century engravers 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters 20th-century Scottish painters Scottish printmakers Scottish engravers Scottish etchers Royal Academicians People educated at Dumbarton Academy Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery 20th-century British printmakers 19th-century British printmakers Masters of the Art Worker's Guild 19th-century Scottish male artists 20th-century Scottish male artists