William powell frith biography definition

William Powell Frith RA (19 January 1819 – 9 November 1909) was an English painter[1] specialising in genre subjects and panoramic narrative works of life in the Victorian era. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1853, presenting The Sleeping Model as his Diploma work.[2][3] He has been described as the "greatest British painter of the social scene since Hogarth".[4]

Life and career

Born in Aldfield, North Yorkshire, Frith was encouraged to take up art by his father, a hotelier in Harrogate. He moved to London in 1835 where he began his formal art studies at Sass's Academy in Charlotte Street, before attending the Royal Academy Schools. Frith started his career as a portrait painter and first exhibited at the British Institution in 1838. In the 1840s he often based works on the literary output of writers such as Charles Dickens, whose portrait he painted, and Laurence Sterne.

He was a member of The Clique, which also included Richard Dadd. The principal influence on Frith, William Powell, 1819–1909 - Art UK.