Maxwell Armfield
Encyclopedia
Maxwell Ashby Armfield was an English
artist
, illustrator
and writer
.
Born to a Quaker family in Ringwood
, Hampshire
, Armfield was educated at Sidcot School
and at Leighton Park School
. In 1887 he was admitted to Birmingham School of Art
, then under the headmastership of Edward R. Taylor
and established as a major centre of the Arts and Crafts Movement
. There he studied under Henry Payne
and Arthur Gaskin
and, outside the school, received instruction in tempera
painting from Joseph Southall
at Southall's studio in Edgbaston
.
He was later to recall:
Leaving Birmingham in 1902, he moved to Paris
to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière
under Gustave Courtois and René Menard
, where he became an associate of Gaston Lachaise
, Keith Henderson
, and Norman Wilkinson
. He exhibited at the Paris Salon
in 1904, where his painting Faustine was bought and donated to the Musée du Luxembourg
.
In 1909 he married the author and playwright Constance Smedley and, like many with connections to the Arts and Crafts Movement in Birmingham, settled in the Cotswolds
. The couple became close collaborators: working together to combine design, illustration, text and theatre. Armfield's wife also influenced him to become a pacifist
and Christian Scientist.
From 1915 the couple spent seven years in the United States
.
A detail from Armfield's painting Self-Portrait, 1901, is used as the cover illustration of the Oxford World's Classics 2006 edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray
.
Armfield has paintings in the collection of several British institutions including Derby Art Gallery
, Southampton and Nottingham Gallery and the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Born to a Quaker family in Ringwood
Ringwood
Ringwood is a historic market town and civil parish in Hampshire, England, located on the River Avon, close to the New Forest and north of Bournemouth. It has a history dating back to Anglo-Saxon times, and has held a weekly market since the Middle Ages....
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, Armfield was educated at Sidcot School
Sidcot School
Sidcot School is a British co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils, associated with the Religious Society of Friends. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England....
and at Leighton Park School
Leighton Park School
Leighton Park School is a co-educational Quaker independent school for both day and boarding pupils. It is situated in the large town of Reading in Berkshire, in South East England...
. In 1887 he was admitted to Birmingham School of Art
Birmingham School of Art
The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, its Grade I listed building on...
, then under the headmastership of Edward R. Taylor
Edward R. Taylor
Edward Richard Taylor RBSA was an English artist and educator. He painted in both oils and watercolours.Taylor taught at the Lincoln School of Art and became influential in the Arts and Crafts movement as the first headmaster at the Birmingham Municipal School of Arts and Crafts from 1877-1903.In...
and established as a major centre of the Arts and Crafts Movement
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...
. There he studied under Henry Payne
Henry Payne (artist)
Henry Arthur Payne RWS was an English stained glass artist, watercolourist and painter of frescoes.Payne was one of the Birmingham Group of Artist-Craftsmen who formed around Joseph Southall and the Birmingham School of Art in the late nineteenth century...
and Arthur Gaskin
Arthur Gaskin
Arthur Joseph Gaskin RBSA was an English illustrator, painter, teacher and designer of jewellery and enamelwork....
and, outside the school, received instruction in tempera
Tempera
Tempera, also known as egg tempera, is a permanent fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder medium . Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium. Tempera paintings are very long lasting, and examples from the 1st centuries AD still exist...
painting from Joseph Southall
Joseph Southall
Joseph Edward Southall RWS NEAC RBSA was an English painter associated with the Arts and Crafts movement.A leading figure in the nineteenth century revival of painting in tempera, Southall was the leader of the Birmingham Group of Artist-Craftsmen—one of the last outposts of Romanticism in...
at Southall's studio in Edgbaston
Edgbaston
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
.
He was later to recall:
Leaving Birmingham in 1902, he moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière
Académie de la Grande Chaumière
The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, France. The school was founded in 1902 by the Swiss Martha Stettler , who refused to teach the strict academic rules of painting of the École des Beaux-Arts. It opened the way to the "Art Indépendant"...
under Gustave Courtois and René Menard
René Menard
René Menard was a French Jesuit missionary explorer who traveled to Canada in 1641, learned the language of the Wyandot, and was soon in charge of many of the satellite missions around Sainte-Marie among the Hurons...
, where he became an associate of Gaston Lachaise
Gaston Lachaise
Gaston Lachaise was an American sculptor of French birth, active in the early 20th century. A native of Paris, he was most noted for his female nudes such as Standing Woman.-Early life and education:...
, Keith Henderson
Keith Henderson
Keith Henderson is a former American football running back who played for the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League....
, and Norman Wilkinson
Norman Wilkinson (artist)
Norman Wilkinson CBE aka Norman L. Wilkinson was a British artist who usually worked in oils, watercolors and drypoint. He was primarily a marine painter, but he was also an illustrator, poster artist, and wartime camoufleur...
. He exhibited at the Paris Salon
Paris Salon
The Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...
in 1904, where his painting Faustine was bought and donated to the Musée du Luxembourg
Musée du Luxembourg
Musée du Luxembourg is a museum in Paris, France. It occupies the east wing of the Palais du Luxembourg, whose matching west wing originally housed Ruben's Marie de' Medici cycle. Since 2000 it has been run by the French Ministry of Culture and the Senate and is devoted to temporary exhibitions...
.
In 1909 he married the author and playwright Constance Smedley and, like many with connections to the Arts and Crafts Movement in Birmingham, settled in the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
. The couple became close collaborators: working together to combine design, illustration, text and theatre. Armfield's wife also influenced him to become a pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
and Christian Scientist.
From 1915 the couple spent seven years in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
A detail from Armfield's painting Self-Portrait, 1901, is used as the cover illustration of the Oxford World's Classics 2006 edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine...
.
Armfield has paintings in the collection of several British institutions including Derby Art Gallery
Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Derby Museum and Art Gallery was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The collection includes a whole gallery displaying the paintings of Joseph Wright of Derby; there is also a large...
, Southampton and Nottingham Gallery and the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum
The Russell-Cotes Museum is an art gallery and museum in Bournemouth, England. It is located on the top of the East Cliff, next to the Royal Bath Hotel.-History and collections:...
.