Frederick Richards Leyland
Encyclopedia
Frederick Richards Leyland (1832 – 4 January 1892) was a Liverpool
shipowner and art collector.
, Liverpool and in 1869 bought a house in London
at 49 Princes Gate. He founded the Leyland shipping line in 1873.
Leyland's first commissions were to Rossetti
and James McNeill Whistler
, and date from 1864 and 1867. Leyland collected Renaissance art, as well as that of the Pre-Raphaelites, Whistler and Albert Moore
.
Leyland commissioned The Beguiling of Merlin
, a painting by the Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones
, which was created between 1872 and 1877. The painting depicts a scene from Arthurian legend, the infatuation of Merlin with the Lady of the Lake, Nimue. Merlin is shown trapped, helpless in a hawthorn bush as Nimue reads from a book of spells.
In the 1870s Leyland commissioned Whistler to decorate his dining room. The resulting Peacock Room is considered one of Whistler's greatest works. After Leyland's death his widow sold the Peacock Room to the American industrialist and art collector Charles Lang Freer
who had it dismantled and shipped to the United States. It now resides in the Smithsonian Museum's Freer Gallery of Art
in Washington, DC.
, London.http://www.brompton.org/Residents.htm
made his first move into shipping by leading a consortium which purchased the Leyland Line of the late Frederick Richards Leyland. In 1901, Ellerman sold this business to J.P. Morgan for £1.2 million, which was immediately folded into the International Mercantile Marine Co.
.
Leyland's funerary monument is the only such work by Edward Burne-Jones
- the finest Arts and Crafts
funerary monument in the UK, and Grade II listed.
They had four children together:
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
shipowner and art collector.
Career
Leyland served as an apprentice in the firm of John Bibby, Sons & Co, where he rose to become a partner. In 1867 he took on the tenancy of Speke HallSpeke Hall
Speke Hall is a wood-framed wattle-and-daub Tudor manor house in Speke, Liverpool, England. It is one of the finest surviving examples of its kind.-History:...
, Liverpool and in 1869 bought a house in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at 49 Princes Gate. He founded the Leyland shipping line in 1873.
Art patron
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
and James McNeill Whistler
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
, and date from 1864 and 1867. Leyland collected Renaissance art, as well as that of the Pre-Raphaelites, Whistler and Albert Moore
Albert Joseph Moore
Albert Joseph Moore was an English painter, known for his depictions of langorous female figures set against the luxury and decadence of the classical world....
.
Leyland commissioned The Beguiling of Merlin
The Beguiling of Merlin
The Beguiling of Merlin is a painting by the Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones which was created between 1872 and 1877.The painting depicts a scene from Arthurian legend, the infatuation of Merlin with the Lady of the Lake, Nimue...
, a painting by the Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...
, which was created between 1872 and 1877. The painting depicts a scene from Arthurian legend, the infatuation of Merlin with the Lady of the Lake, Nimue. Merlin is shown trapped, helpless in a hawthorn bush as Nimue reads from a book of spells.
In the 1870s Leyland commissioned Whistler to decorate his dining room. The resulting Peacock Room is considered one of Whistler's greatest works. After Leyland's death his widow sold the Peacock Room to the American industrialist and art collector Charles Lang Freer
Charles Lang Freer
Charles Lang Freer was an American railroad-car manufacturer from Detroit, Michigan who gave to the United States his art collections and funds for a building to house them. The Freer Gallery of Art founded by him is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C..-Early life:Freer was...
who had it dismantled and shipped to the United States. It now resides in the Smithsonian Museum's Freer Gallery of Art
Freer Gallery of Art
The Freer Gallery of Art joins the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery to form the Smithsonian Institution's national museums of Asian art. The Freer contains art from East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Islamic world, the ancient Near East, and ancient Egypt, as well as a significant collection of...
in Washington, DC.
Later life
Leyland died in 1892, one of the largest shipowners in Britain, and is buried in Brompton CemeteryBrompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery is located near Earl's Court in South West London, England . It is managed by The Royal Parks and is one of the Magnificent Seven...
, London.http://www.brompton.org/Residents.htm
Legacy
In 1892, John EllermanJohn Ellerman
Sir John Reeves Ellerman, 1st Baronet, CH was an English shipowner and investor. He was one of the most successful entrepreneurs in modern British history, and the only Briton of his generation whose wealth rivalled the leading plutocrats of America's gilded age...
made his first move into shipping by leading a consortium which purchased the Leyland Line of the late Frederick Richards Leyland. In 1901, Ellerman sold this business to J.P. Morgan for £1.2 million, which was immediately folded into the International Mercantile Marine Co.
International Mercantile Marine Co.
The International Mercantile Marine Co., originally the International Navigation Co., was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. The end result was heavy losses for Morgan....
.
Leyland's funerary monument is the only such work by Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...
- the finest Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
funerary monument in the UK, and Grade II listed.
Personal life
Leyland married Frances Dawson (1834-1910) in 1855, but they separated in 1879.They had four children together:
- Frederick Dawson (b. 1856)
- Fanny (b. 1857)
- Florence (b. 1859), married Valentine Cameron PrinsepValentine Cameron PrinsepValentine Cameron Prinsep, often known as Val Princep, was a British painter of the Pre-Raphaelite school.-Early life:...
- Elinor (1861-1952)