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A member of the Pre-Raphaelite Art Movement, Henry Holiday is one of the most important artists of the nineteenth century. The artist was particularly fond of the Lake District and numerous visits to England's largest national park shaped his love for nature. In addition to landscape painting, Holiday made a name for himself through his genre paintings, sculptures, illustrations and above all through stained glass.
Henry Holiday was a Londoner through and through - and a child of his time. He showed an early affinity for the arts and attended Leigh's art academy together with the representative of Socialist Realism, Frederick Walker. At the age of only 15, Holiday was accepted into the Royal Academy and quickly built up a network. Through his friends and colleagues Albert Moore and Simeon Solomon, he met three important members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood: William Morris, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones, who defined Pre-Raphaelism, which was named after them. The Brotherhood was strongly influenced by Italian painters like Raphael, but also by German artists like the Nazarenes. The aim of the collective was, in a time superficially marked by industrialization, to draw again from nature and to rediscover it through painting - an ideal entirely to Holiday's taste. The movement had a decisive influence on the life and career of the artist. In his diaries, he recorded in his many journeys how much he was touched by the landscapes of the Lake District. Besides nature, Holiday's greatest influence was his colleague Edward Burne-Jones. He frequented the artist's studio frequently and Burne-Jones' influence is evident in Holiday's work. Together they discussed problems of aesthetics and exchanged new methods and ideas. After Burne-Jones left Powell's Glass Works in 1861 to work for Morris & Co., Holiday followed in his footsteps and took on over 300 commissions during his career, most of them from overseas. As an illustrator he designed, among other things, Lewis Carroll's "The Hunt for the Snark". Holiday also collaborated with the architect William Burges and designed wall and ceiling paintings for Oxfords Worcester College. In his later career, he designed his own house: "Betty Fold", near Hawkshead. His wanderlust led him to Egypt in 1907 - a holiday with an effect that is clearly reflected in his later works. Always at Holiday's side was his wife Kate, who did embroidery work for Morris & Co.
One of his most famous works is, beside the painting "Dante and Beatrice" (1883), the "Brunel Memorial Window" in London's Westminster Abbey. Both works are excellent examples of Holiday's extraordinary artistic talent on various levels. Throughout his life he also made a name for himself as a socialist and supporter of the suffragette movement, alongside his wife Kate and daughter Winifred. Holiday died in London in 1927.
A member of the Pre-Raphaelite Art Movement, Henry Holiday is one of the most important artists of the nineteenth century. The artist was particularly fond of the Lake District and numerous visits to England's largest national park shaped his love for nature. In addition to landscape painting, Holiday made a name for himself through his genre paintings, sculptures, illustrations and above all through stained glass.
Henry Holiday was a Londoner through and through - and a child of his time. He showed an early affinity for the arts and attended Leigh's art academy together with the representative of Socialist Realism, Frederick Walker. At the age of only 15, Holiday was accepted into the Royal Academy and quickly built up a network. Through his friends and colleagues Albert Moore and Simeon Solomon, he met three important members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood: William Morris, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones, who defined Pre-Raphaelism, which was named after them. The Brotherhood was strongly influenced by Italian painters like Raphael, but also by German artists like the Nazarenes. The aim of the collective was, in a time superficially marked by industrialization, to draw again from nature and to rediscover it through painting - an ideal entirely to Holiday's taste. The movement had a decisive influence on the life and career of the artist. In his diaries, he recorded in his many journeys how much he was touched by the landscapes of the Lake District. Besides nature, Holiday's greatest influence was his colleague Edward Burne-Jones. He frequented the artist's studio frequently and Burne-Jones' influence is evident in Holiday's work. Together they discussed problems of aesthetics and exchanged new methods and ideas. After Burne-Jones left Powell's Glass Works in 1861 to work for Morris & Co., Holiday followed in his footsteps and took on over 300 commissions during his career, most of them from overseas. As an illustrator he designed, among other things, Lewis Carroll's "The Hunt for the Snark". Holiday also collaborated with the architect William Burges and designed wall and ceiling paintings for Oxfords Worcester College. In his later career, he designed his own house: "Betty Fold", near Hawkshead. His wanderlust led him to Egypt in 1907 - a holiday with an effect that is clearly reflected in his later works. Always at Holiday's side was his wife Kate, who did embroidery work for Morris & Co.
One of his most famous works is, beside the painting "Dante and Beatrice" (1883), the "Brunel Memorial Window" in London's Westminster Abbey. Both works are excellent examples of Holiday's extraordinary artistic talent on various levels. Throughout his life he also made a name for himself as a socialist and supporter of the suffragette movement, alongside his wife Kate and daughter Winifred. Holiday died in London in 1927.