Cecil gordon lawson biography definition

Barden Towers, Wharfedale, Yorkshire. Cecil Gordon Lawson (1849-1882). Oil on Canvas 11 x 15 inches (27.9 x 38.2 cm). Courtesy of the Fine Art Society. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]

One of Lawson's later works, Barden Towers, Wharfedale, Yorkshire is among the Yorkshire scenes that he painted for Henry Mason, a Bradford manufacturer in the textile trade, and an avid collector. Robert Edmund Graves writes: "Wharfedale and In the Valley of Desolation, a view near Bolton, were exhibited in the Grosvenor Gallery in 1881, while Barden Moor together with The Pool appeared at the Royal Academy" (289). Barden Tower is a Grade I listed ruined hunting lodge in North Yorkshire, dating from the sixteenth century, one of several in the area. Historic England describes it as "A late medieval tower house of Lord Clifford, 'the shepherd Lord'; of interest as a small fortification with domestic amenities. Also a scheduled ancient monument." The ruins in the picturesque dales were popular with artists, and indeed the Tate has Turner's sketches of the scene for his finished work entitled, The River Wharfe with a distant view of Barden Tower. Another well-known artist who painted there was Atkinson Grimshaw. Lawson's scene is typically dark and atmospheric, the river and ruined building depicted under rolling clouds, with a solitary fisherman in the mid-ground near the right. The dramatic clouds, banks of trees, and boulders are all typical of Lawson's work: "At the age of twelve he used to spend whole days at Hampstead, making sketches in oil of the forms of clouds, foliage of trees, and various wayside objects," wrote Graves (289). But there is enough blue sky for it to be reflected in the pooled water in the foreground. Lacking close detail, this is one of the more impressionistic of Lawson's works. It was tragic that he died so young. — Jacqueline Banerjee

The Fine Art Society, London, has most generously given its permission to use information, images, and text from

​LAWSON, CECIL GORDON (1851–1882), landscape-painter, fifth and youngest son of William Lawson, a Scottish portrait-painter, was born at Wellington in Shropshire on 3 Dec. 1851. Soon afterwards his father settled in London, and Cecil while a child learned the elements of painting in his father's studio. He depended chiefly, however, on self-instruction. At the age of twelve he used to spend whole days at Hampstead, making sketches in oil of the forms of clouds, foliage of trees, and various wayside objects. In 1866 he made his first sketching tour in Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, and began to paint in water-colours careful studies of fruit and flowers, many of which have since been palmed off by unscrupulous dealers as the work of William Hunt, whom Lawson at that time imitated. In 1869 he resumed painting in oil-colours, and studied earnestly the works of the Dutch landscape-painters in the National Gallery. His first appearance at the Royal Academy was in 1870, when his 'Cheyne Walk, Chelsea,' a view taken from the windows of the house in which his father then resided, was hung on the line. In 1871 he sent 'The River in Rain' and 'A Summer Evening at Cheyne Walk,' which were likewise placed on the line, but in 1872 another river scene, called 'A Lament,' was skied, while 'A Hymn to Spring,' a more ambitious work, in which he departed from the traditions of the Dutch school, and came under the influence of Gainsborough, was excluded. In 1872 also he painted the 'Song of Summer,' and in 1873, during a visit to Ireland, 'Twilight Grey.' 'A Pastoral: in the Vale of Meifod, North Wales,' appeared in the Royal Academy in 1873, but in 1874 his two pictures, 'The Foundry' and 'The Bell Inn,' were rejected. He then spent a few weeks in Holland, Belgium, and Paris, and afterwards settled down at Wrotham in Kent, where he began his large picture of 'The Hop Gardens of England.' This he sent to the Roy

English painter

For the Jamaican cricketer, see Cecil Lawson.

Cecil Gordon Lawson (3 December 1849 – 10 June 1882 London) was a British landscapist and illustrator.

Life

The youngest son of William Lawson of Edinburgh, a well-regarded portrait painter, and of a mother also known for her flower pieces, he was born in Fountain Place in Wellington, Shropshire. Two of his brothers (one of them, Malcolm, a clever musician and songwriter) were trained as artists, and Cecil was from childhood devoted to art with the intensity of a serious nature. Soon after his birth, the Lawsons moved to London.

In 1871, Lawson was living with his parents at 15 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, along with his two older brothers Francis Wilfrid Lawson (1842–1935), a "historical painter and designer" and Malcolm Leonard Lawson (1847–1918), a "professor of music."

Lawson's first works were studies of fruit, flowers, etc., in the manner of William Henry Hunt; followed by riverside Chelsea subjects. His first exhibit at the Royal Academy (1870) was Cheyne Walk, and in 1871 he sent two other Chelsea subjects. These gained full recognition from fellow-artists, if not from the public. Among his friends were now numbered Fred Walker, GJ Pinwell and their associates. Following them, he made a certain number of drawings for wood-engraving. In 1871 he contributed Summer Showers to a mixed charity exhibition held in support of those affected by the Franco-Prussian War.

Lawson's Chelsea pictures h