Lionel Percy Smythe
Encyclopedia
Lionel Percy Smythe, RA
RWS
RI
ROI
(4 September 1839 - July 1918) was an English artist, and etcher.
). Smythe was educated at King's College School
. He was also partly educated in France and spent holidays there at Wimereux
in Normandy
with his stepfather William Morrison Wyllie and family. He trained in art at the Heatherley School of Fine Art
. He was half brother of the artists William Lionel Wyllie
and Charles William Wyllie.
Smythe exhibited at the Royal Academy
from 1863 (becoming a member in 1911) and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours from 1881 (becoming a member in 1880) - he eventually transferred his allegiance to the Royal Watercolour Society
in 1892, becoming a member in 1894. Smythe painted rural landscapes, genre and maritime scenes, people and animals in both oils
and watercolours, and became associated with a group of artists called the "Idyllists"
Smythe and his wife Alice made frequent trips to France and eventually settled in Normandy
in 1879, in an old Napoleonic fortress on the coast at Wimereux
- until the building was inundated by the sea. Subsequently they moved, in 1882, to the Château d'Honvault on a hill between Wimereux
and Boulogne. The couple had three children. Smythe lived and worked here until his death in 1918, the countryside and rural life of the area becoming the main inspiration for his art.
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...
RWS
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
RI
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...
ROI
Royal Institute of Oil Painters
The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, also known as ROI, is an association of painters in London and is the only major art society which features work done only in oil. It is a member society of the Federation of British Artists.-History:...
(4 September 1839 - July 1918) was an English artist, and etcher.
Life and work
Lionel Percy Smythe was the son of Percy Clinton Sydney Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford and Katherine Benham. He was born in London on 4 September 1839 and spent his early years in France, where his younger sister and brother were born. The family returned to London in 1843 and lived in Gloucester Crescent, CamdenLondon Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
). Smythe was educated at King's College School
King's College School
King's College School, commonly referred to as KCS, King's, or KCS Wimbledon, is an independent school for day pupils in Wimbledon in south-west London. The school was founded as the junior department of King's College London and occupied part of its premises in Strand, before relocating to...
. He was also partly educated in France and spent holidays there at Wimereux
Wimereux
Wimereux is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the banks of the river Wimereux. The river Slack forms the northern boundary of...
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
with his stepfather William Morrison Wyllie and family. He trained in art at the Heatherley School of Fine Art
Heatherley School of Fine Art
The Heatherley School of Fine Art was named after Thomas Heatherley who took over as principal from James Mathews Leigh . Founded in 1845, the school is affectionately known as Heatherley's...
. He was half brother of the artists William Lionel Wyllie
William Lionel Wyllie
William Lionel Wyllie was a prolific English painter of maritime themes in both oils and watercolours.-Birth:...
and Charles William Wyllie.
Smythe exhibited at 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...
from 1863 (becoming a member in 1911) and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours from 1881 (becoming a member in 1880) - he eventually transferred his allegiance to the Royal Watercolour Society
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
in 1892, becoming a member in 1894. Smythe painted rural landscapes, genre and maritime scenes, people and animals in both oils
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
and watercolours, and became associated with a group of artists called the "Idyllists"
Smythe and his wife Alice made frequent trips to France and eventually settled in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
in 1879, in an old Napoleonic fortress on the coast at Wimereux
Wimereux
Wimereux is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the banks of the river Wimereux. The river Slack forms the northern boundary of...
- until the building was inundated by the sea. Subsequently they moved, in 1882, to the Château d'Honvault on a hill between Wimereux
Wimereux
Wimereux is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the banks of the river Wimereux. The river Slack forms the northern boundary of...
and Boulogne. The couple had three children. Smythe lived and worked here until his death in 1918, the countryside and rural life of the area becoming the main inspiration for his art.
Selected works
- The Arabian Nights (1865)
- Shorthanded (1874, marine)
- Field of the cloth of gold: Twixt Calais and Guines (1883)
- Mowers with elm trees
- The First Buds of Spring (1885)
- Springtime (1885)
- Germinal (1889)
- Harvesters returning
- Children fording a river by a continental town (1891)
- Boulogne fishing folk (1893)
- La Tricoteuse
- Bleaching linen (pre 1896)
- Caught in the frozen palms of spring
- Spring outing
- Under the Greenwood Tree (1902)
- The Farmyard at Château d'Honvault, Wimereux (1908)
- The Adoration (1909)
- The Harvester (1910)
- Summer
- Shrimpers
- A Thick Night Off the Goodwins (marine)
- The Bait Digger (1910)
- When life is hard its better to be young (1911)
- Hounds
Further reading
- A. L. Baldry. Lionel P. Smythe, A.R.A., R.W.S.; An Appreciation of his Work and Methods (The Studio Magazine, May 1910, p. 177).
- Rosa M. Whitlaw & W. L. Wyllie. Lionel P. Smythe - His Life and Work (Selwyn & Blount, London 1923)
- Scott Wilcox & Christopher Newall. Victorian landscape watercolors (Hudson Hills, 1992), pp166–167.
External links
- L. P. Smythe online (artcyclopedi)
- Paintings by L. P. Smythe
- L P Smythe (The modernist journals project)
- "Bleaching line" (painting for sale at Christie'sChristie'sChristie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
) - Photo of L P Smythe (National Portrait Gallery)