William powell frith biography examples

Early Life and Work

Born in Harrogate, William Powell Frith was the son of an innkeeper; he studied at Sass's evening school (1835-7) in Bloomsbury, and after two years he was admitted to the Royal Academy Schools. He began his career as a painter of portrait art which he first exhibited at the British Institution in 1838.

William Powell Frith - Wikipedia

In 1840 he showed subject pictures, and he became an Associate Member of the Royal Academy five years later. Frith visited Belgium, Holland and Germany in 1850, and in 1853 he became a full Academician, after the death of the legendary JMW Turner (1775-1851). Many of his early pictures depicted scenes from Shakespeare, Goldsmith and Scott, which corresponded with contemporary taste.

In 1837, he declared his intention to paint scenes from everyday life, and although he continued to engage in history painting, his greatest works fall into the former category.

His diploma picture, The Sleepy Model (1853, London, Ro William Powell Frith 1819–1909 - Tate DUC