Francis Job Short
Encyclopedia
Francis Job Short RA (19 June 1857 – 22 April 1945) was a printmaker and teacher of printmaking. He revived the practices of mezzotint and aquatint engraving, and also wrote about printmaking to educate a wider public.
, Worcestershire
. He was educated to be a civil engineer
.
He was engaged on various works in the Midlands until 1881, when he came to London as assistant to Mr Baldwin Latham in connexion with the Parliamentary Inquiry into the pollution of the river Thames
. In 1883 he was elected an associate member of the Institution of Civil Engineers
. Having worked at the Stourbridge School of Art in his early years he joined the South Kensington
School of Art, in 1883. He also worked at the life class under Professor Fred Brown
at the Westminster School of Art
, and for a short time at the Schools of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water-colours.
His real life-work now became that of an original and translator engraver. He was a keen student of the works of JMW Turner; and his etchings and mezzotint
s from Turner's Liber Studiorum (1885 seq.), examples of painstaking devotion and skill, were among his earliest successes, combining sympathetic study of the originals with a full knowledge of the resources of engraving and unwearied patience. Short received praise, constant advice and encouragement from Ruskin
, and the co-operation of students of Turner such as William George Rawlinson and the Revd. Stopford Augustus Brooke
. After completing the series from the existing plates of Turner's "Liber" Short turned to the subjects which Turner and his assistants had left incomplete. Several fine plates resulted from this study, bearing the simple lettering "F. Short, Sculp., after J. M. W. Turner, R.A.," which told little of the work expended on their production even before the copper was touched.
Short also reproduced in fine mezzotints several pictures of George Frederick Watts, "Orpheus and Eurydice," "Diana and Endymion," "Love and Death," "Hope," and the portrait of Lord Tennyson, all remarkable as faithful and imaginative renderings. His own fine quality as a water-colour painter made him also a sympathetic engraver of the landscapes of David Cox
and Peter de Wint
.
His subtle drawing of the receding lines of the low banks and shallows of river estuaries and flat shores is seen to perfection in many of his original etchings, mezzotints, and aquatints, notably "Low Tide and the Evening Star" and "The Solway at Mid-day." Other plates that may be mentioned are:
As head of the Engraving School at the Royal College of Art
, South Kensington, Short had great influence on younger engravers. He was elected to the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers in 1885, and took a prominent part in conducting its affairs. In 1910 he succeeded Sir Seymour Haden
as president.
Short received, amongst other distinctions, the gold medal for engraving at the Paris International Exhibition, 1889, and another gold medal (Rappel) 1900. In 1906 Short was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy
, when membership as Associate Engraver was revived; and in 1911 he was elected a full Academician, and also received a knighthood. His work as a watercolour painter was recognized in 1917 when he was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours
.
The Etched and Engraved Work of Frank Short, by Edward F Strange (1908), describes 285 plates by the artist.
Biography
Francis Job Short was born on 19 June 1857 in Britain, at StourbridgeStourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
. He was educated to be a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
.
He was engaged on various works in the Midlands until 1881, when he came to London as assistant to Mr Baldwin Latham in connexion with the Parliamentary Inquiry into the pollution of the river Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. In 1883 he was elected an associate member of the Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
. Having worked at the Stourbridge School of Art in his early years he joined the South Kensington
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
School of Art, in 1883. He also worked at the life class under Professor Fred Brown
Frederick Brown (artist)
Frederick Brown was a British art teacher and painter.He was born in Chelmsford, Essex. From 1868 to 1877 he studied at the National Art Training School, London . He later studied at the Académie Julian, Paris. His work was influenced by Jules Bastien-Lepage...
at the Westminster School of Art
Westminster School of Art
The Westminster School of Art was an art school in Westminster, London. It was located at 18 Tufton Street, Deans Yard, Westminster, and was part of the old Architectural Museum.H. M. Bateman described it in 1903 as...
, and for a short time at the Schools of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water-colours.
His real life-work now became that of an original and translator engraver. He was a keen student of the works of JMW Turner; and his etchings and mezzotint
Mezzotint
Mezzotint is a printmaking process of the intaglio family, technically a drypoint method. It was the first tonal method to be used, enabling half-tones to be produced without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple...
s from Turner's Liber Studiorum (1885 seq.), examples of painstaking devotion and skill, were among his earliest successes, combining sympathetic study of the originals with a full knowledge of the resources of engraving and unwearied patience. Short received praise, constant advice and encouragement from Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
, and the co-operation of students of Turner such as William George Rawlinson and the Revd. Stopford Augustus Brooke
Stopford Augustus Brooke
Stopford Augustus Brooke was an Irish churchman and writer.He was born in Letterkenny, Donegal, Ireland, the eldest son of the Rev. Richard Sinclair Brooke, incumbent of the Mariners' church, Kingstown , and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was ordained in the Church of England in...
. After completing the series from the existing plates of Turner's "Liber" Short turned to the subjects which Turner and his assistants had left incomplete. Several fine plates resulted from this study, bearing the simple lettering "F. Short, Sculp., after J. M. W. Turner, R.A.," which told little of the work expended on their production even before the copper was touched.
Short also reproduced in fine mezzotints several pictures of George Frederick Watts, "Orpheus and Eurydice," "Diana and Endymion," "Love and Death," "Hope," and the portrait of Lord Tennyson, all remarkable as faithful and imaginative renderings. His own fine quality as a water-colour painter made him also a sympathetic engraver of the landscapes of David Cox
David Cox (artist)
- David Cox Junior :David Cox had a son of the same name who followed his calling as a watercolour painter. He was born in Dulwich, but educated in Hereford. He exhibited in London from 1827, although today he is known mainly through association with his father. He died in Streatham on 4 December...
and Peter de Wint
Peter De Wint
Peter De Wint was an English landscape painter.De Wint was the son of an English physician of Dutch extraction who had come to England from New York., he was born in Stone, Staffordshire. He moved to London in 1802, and was apprenticed to John Raphael Smith, the mezzotint engraver and portrait...
.
His subtle drawing of the receding lines of the low banks and shallows of river estuaries and flat shores is seen to perfection in many of his original etchings, mezzotints, and aquatints, notably "Low Tide and the Evening Star" and "The Solway at Mid-day." Other plates that may be mentioned are:
- "Gathering the Flock on Maxwell Bank," a soft-ground etching
- "New moon over the Bure", aquatint
- "The Ferry over the Blyth," "Walberswick Pier," soft-ground
- "Dutch Greengrocery," "Noon on the Zuider Zee," "De-venter," "Strolling Players at Lydd," "The clay pit", and "Staithes," all etchings
- "A Wintry Blast on the Stourbridge Canal," "Peveril's Castle," and "Niagara Falls," dry points
- "The Curfew," "A Span of old Battersea Bridge," and "Sunrise on Whitby Scaur," aquatints
- "Ebbtide, Putney Bridge," "The Weary Moon was in the Wane," "Solway Fishers," "The Lifting Cloud," and "A Slant of Light in Polperro Harbour," mezzotints.
As head of the Engraving School at the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
, South Kensington, Short had great influence on younger engravers. He was elected to the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers in 1885, and took a prominent part in conducting its affairs. In 1910 he succeeded Sir Seymour Haden
Francis Seymour Haden
Sir Francis Seymour Haden , was an English surgeon, best known as an etcher.He was born in London, his father, Charles Thomas Haden, being a well-known doctor and lover of music. He was educated at Derby School, Christ's Hospital, and University College, London, and also studied at the Sorbonne,...
as president.
Short received, amongst other distinctions, the gold medal for engraving at the Paris International Exhibition, 1889, and another gold medal (Rappel) 1900. In 1906 Short was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, when membership as Associate Engraver was revived; and in 1911 he was elected a full Academician, and also received a knighthood. His work as a watercolour painter was recognized in 1917 when he was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours
Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours
The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours , initially called the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, , is one of the societies in the Federation of British Artists, based in the Mall Galleries in London.-History:In 1831 the society was founded as the New Society of Painters in Water...
.
The Etched and Engraved Work of Frank Short, by Edward F Strange (1908), describes 285 plates by the artist.