George Housman Thomas
Encyclopedia
George Housman Thomas was an English engraver, illustrator and Victorian era
painter.
, first as an engraver, afterwards as a draughtsman on the wood. In 1846 he went to the United States
to illustrate a New York
paper, and remained there about two years.
During this time he obtained a commission from the government of the United States to design bank-notes
. His health compelled him to return to Europe
, and he went to Italy
.
He was present, at the siege of Rome by the French
in 1849, and sent many sketches of the siege to the Illustrated London News
. After spending two years in Italy he returned to England
. About 1850 he produced a remarkable set of woodcuts for Stowe
's Uncle Tom's Cabin
. He also illustrated very many other books, including Longfellow
's The Song of Hiawatha
, Foxe
's Book of Martyrs
, and Trollope
's Last Chronicle of Barset.
He exhibited his first picture, St. Anthony's Day at Rome, at the British Institution
in 1851; Garibaldi at Rome, painted from sketches made in 1849, was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1854, and attracted much attention. His next picture was Ball at the Camp, Boulogne, 1856.
He obtained the patronage of Queen Victoria, and painted the following pictures by her majesty's command: Distribution of Crimean Medals, 18 May 1855, 1858; Review in the Champ de Mars in Honour of Queen Victoria, 1859: Parade at Potsdam, 17 August 1858, 1860; Marriage of the Prince of Wales
, Homage of the Princess Royal
at the Coronation of the King of Prussia, and Marriage of the Princess Alice
, 1863; The Queen and Prince Consort at Aldershot
, 1859, 1866 ; The Children of Princess Alice, 1866; The Queen investing the Sultan of Turkey
with the Order of the Garter
, 1868, painted from a sketch by Princess Louise
. All these were exhibited at the Royal Academy in the years named. Of his other exhibits, which were either military or domestic subjects, Rotten Row (1862) was the most remarkable.
His paintings were bright and animated and gained him considerable popularity, but had none of the higher qualities of art. Thomas resided at the boroughs of Kingston
and Surbiton
till illness caused his removal to Boulogne-sur-Mer
, where he died on 21 July 1868. A collection of his works was exhibited in Bond Street
in June 1869, and his sketches and studies were sold at Christie's
in July 1872.
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
painter.
Life
He was born in London on 17 December 1824. After serving his apprenticeship to the wood engraver George Bonner in London, he began his professional career in ParisParis
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...
, first as an engraver, afterwards as a draughtsman on the wood. In 1846 he went to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to illustrate a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
paper, and remained there about two years.
During this time he obtained a commission from the government of the United States to design bank-notes
Federal Reserve Note
A Federal Reserve Note is a type of banknote used in the United States of America. Federal Reserve Notes are printed by the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing on paper made by Crane & Co. of Dalton, Massachusetts. They are the only type of U.S...
. His health compelled him to return to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and he went to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
He was present, at the siege of Rome by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1849, and sent many sketches of the siege to the Illustrated London News
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
. After spending two years in Italy he returned to England
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...
. About 1850 he produced a remarkable set of woodcuts for Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
's Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
. He also illustrated very many other books, including Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
's The Song of Hiawatha
The Song of Hiawatha
The Song of Hiawatha is an 1855 epic poem, in trochaic tetrameter, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, featuring an Indian hero and loosely based on legends and ethnography of the Ojibwe and other Native American peoples contained in Algic Researches and additional writings of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft...
, Foxe
John Foxe
John Foxe was an English historian and martyrologist, the author of what is popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, , an account of Christian martyrs throughout Western history but emphasizing the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the fourteenth century through the...
's Book of Martyrs
Foxe's Book of Martyrs
The Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe, more accurately Acts and Monuments, is an account from a Protestant point of view of Christian church history and martyrology...
, and Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
's Last Chronicle of Barset.
He exhibited his first picture, St. Anthony's Day at Rome, at the British Institution
British Institution
The British Institution was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it was also known as the Pall Mall Picture Galleries or the British Gallery...
in 1851; Garibaldi at Rome, painted from sketches made in 1849, was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1854, and attracted much attention. His next picture was Ball at the Camp, Boulogne, 1856.
He obtained the patronage of Queen Victoria, and painted the following pictures by her majesty's command: Distribution of Crimean Medals, 18 May 1855, 1858; Review in the Champ de Mars in Honour of Queen Victoria, 1859: Parade at Potsdam, 17 August 1858, 1860; Marriage of the Prince of Wales
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, Homage of the Princess Royal
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
The Princess Louise was a member of the British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.Louise's early life was spent moving between the various royal residences in the...
at the Coronation of the King of Prussia, and Marriage of the Princess Alice
Princess Alice of the United Kingdom
The Princess Alice was a member of the British royal family, the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.Alice's education was devised by Albert's close friend and adviser, Baron Stockmar...
, 1863; The Queen and Prince Consort at Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
, 1859, 1866 ; The Children of Princess Alice, 1866; The Queen investing the Sultan of Turkey
Abdülâziz
Abdülaziz I or Abd Al-Aziz, His Imperial Majesty was the 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned between 25 June 1861 and 30 May 1876...
with the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, 1868, painted from a sketch by Princess Louise
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
The Princess Louise was a member of the British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.Louise's early life was spent moving between the various royal residences in the...
. All these were exhibited at the Royal Academy in the years named. Of his other exhibits, which were either military or domestic subjects, Rotten Row (1862) was the most remarkable.
His paintings were bright and animated and gained him considerable popularity, but had none of the higher qualities of art. Thomas resided at the boroughs of Kingston
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London, England. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the three Royal Boroughs in England, the others are Kensington and Chelsea, also in London,...
and Surbiton
Surbiton
Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...
till illness caused his removal to Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
, where he died on 21 July 1868. A collection of his works was exhibited in Bond Street
Bond Street
Bond Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London that runs north-south through Mayfair between Oxford Street and Piccadilly. It has been a fashionable shopping street since the 18th century and is currently the home of many high price fashion shops...
in June 1869, and his sketches and studies were sold at Christie's
Christie's
Christie'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...
in July 1872.
Book illustrations
- Harriet Beecher StoweHarriet Beecher StoweHarriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
, Uncle Tom's Cabin; or Life Among the Lowly: A Tale of Slave Life in AmericaUncle Tom's CabinUncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
, with above one hundred and fifty illustrations, drawn by George Thomas, Esq., and T. R. Macquoid, Esq., and Engraved by William ThomasWilliam Luson ThomasWilliam Luson Thomas was an English wood engraver and the founder of various British newspapers.-Biography:He worked as an engraver in Paris and also as an assistant to the well-known engraver William James Linton....
, Esq., London: Nathaniel Cooke, 1853 (a pirated English edition of the original)- Most of the illustration were reused without credits in Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly, A New Edition, With Illustrations, and a Bibliography of the Work by George Bullen, Together with an Introductory Account of the Work. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1888
- Thomas Campbell, The Pleasures of Hope: With Other Poems, with illustrations by Myles Birkett Foster, George Thomas e Harrison WeirHarrison WeirHarrison William Weir , known as "The Father of the Cat Fancy", was an English gentleman and artist.He organized the first cat show in England, at The Crystal Palace, London, in July 1871. He and his brother, John Jenner Weir, both served as judges in the show...
, Sampson LowSampson Low-Life:Born in London in November 1797, he was the son of Sampson Low, printer and publisher, of Berwick Street, Soho. He served a short apprenticeship with Lionel Booth, the proprietor of a circulating library, and, after a few years spent in the house of Longman & Co., began business in 1819 at 42...
and Son, London, 1855 - Henry Wadsworth LongfellowHenry Wadsworth LongfellowHenry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
, The Song of HiawathaThe Song of HiawathaThe Song of Hiawatha is an 1855 epic poem, in trochaic tetrameter, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, featuring an Indian hero and loosely based on legends and ethnography of the Ojibwe and other Native American peoples contained in Algic Researches and additional writings of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft...
, W. Kent, 1860 (online from Google Book SearchGoogle Book SearchGoogle Books is a service from Google that searches the full text of books that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical character recognition, and stored in its digital database. The service was formerly known as Google Print when it was introduced at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October...
) - Myles Birkett Foster, Household Song. Collection of lyrical pieces. With illustrations by B. Foster, G. H. Thomas, S. Palmer, etc., 1861
- Gilbert Percy, Piccalilli: a mixture, (illustrations by George Housman Thomas & Thomas R. Macquoid, engraved by Edmund EvansEdmund EvansEdmund Evans was a prominent English wood engraver and colour printer during the Victorian era. Evans specialized in full-colour printing, which became popular in the mid-19th century...
), London, Sampson Low Son & Co., 1862 - Anthony TrollopeAnthony TrollopeAnthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
, 'Last Chronicle of Barset, Smith Elder, 1867 (online from Google Book Search) - Thomas MooreThomas MooreThomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death...
, Lalla Rookh: an oriental romance, George Routledge and Sons, 1868 - The Life and Adventures of Dr. Livingston: in the interior of South Africa... Illustrated with portrait, map, and sixty engravings, etc., Henry Gardiner Adams, William HarveyWilliam Harvey (artist)William Harvey was an English engraver and designer.Born at Newcastle upon Tyne, Harvey was the son of a bath-keeper. At the age of 14, he was apprenticed to Thomas Bewick, and became one of his favorite pupils. Bewick describes him as one "who both as an engraver & designer, stands preeminent" at...
, F. G. Sargent, George Houseman Thomas, J. Blackwood & Co., 1868 - ...
External links
- George Housman Thomas at The Royal Collection
- "Thomas, George Houseman" at the National Art LibraryNational Art LibraryThe National Art Library is a major reference library, situated in Kensington, West london. It is freely accessible to the public Tuesday-Saturdays, and specialises in material about the fine and decorative arts of many countries and periods. It also contains substantial sources for information...
- "George Housman Thomas" at the Bridgeman Art LibraryBridgeman Art LibraryThe Bridgeman Art Library, based in London, Paris, New York and Berlin, provides one of the largest archives for reproductions of works of art in the world...