James Pryde
James Pryde | |
---|---|
Born | James Ferrier Pryde 30 March 1866[1] Edinburgh, Scotland |
Died | 24 February 1941[2] Kensington, London, England |
Spouse | Marian Symons |
Children | 1 |
Relatives |
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James Ferrier Pryde (30 March 1866 – 24 February 1941) was a British artist. A number of his paintings are in public collections, but there have been few exhibitions of his work. He is principally remembered as one of the Beggarstaffs, his artistic partnership with William Nicholson, and for the poster designs and other graphic work they made between 1893 and 1899, which influenced graphic design for many years.
Life
James Ferrier "Jimmy" Pryde was born at 23 London Street, Edinburgh, on 30 March 1866. He was the only son of the six children of David Pryde (1834–1907), who was headmaster of
In 1899 Pryde married Marian Symons, a musician; their daughter Betty was born in 1903. The marriage ended in separation in 1914.[3]
Work
In 1893 his sister
Between 1894 and 1899 Pryde tried his hand as an actor, playing small parts in several plays. Ellen Terry's son Edward Gordon Craig, with whom Pryde toured Scotland in 1895, described 'Jimmy' as 'one of the best painters who ever lived' and 'one of the biggest hearts on earth'. But Craig had no illusions about Pryde's dramatic ability:
as an actor he never really existed: but the idea of acting, the idea of the theatre – or rather the smell of the place, meant a lot to him. Yes, I think he got much 'inspiration' from the boards – and the thought and feel of it all, as of a magical place ...[5]
He was an associate of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers from 1901 and vice-president in 1921. His first one-man exhibition was held at the Baillie Gallery in 1911.[6] He also exhibited at the Goupil Gallery, the Leicester Galleries, the Grosvenor Gallery, London Salon, New English Art Club, Royal Hibernian Academy, Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts and Royal Scottish Academy.[7] In 1934 he was elected an honorary member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters.
His only work as a
He became ill in 1939, and died on 24 February 1941 in
Reception
Pryde did not belong to any artistic school or movement. His work was highly regarded in his lifetime; from 1912 he had the patronage of Annie Pearson, wife of Weetman Pearson, and from 1917 known as Viscountess Cowdray.[3]
In 1922 Frank Rutter, in his Some Contemporary Artists, described him as "stupendous". He had only two one-man shows, in 1911 at the Baillie Gallery and in 1933 at the Leicester Galleries.[8]: 55 In 1949 an Arts Council Memorial Exhibition toured Edinburgh, Brighton and London.[9] His work as a painter received little subsequent attention until 1992, when an exhibition was held at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh.[3][10]
References
- . (subscription required).
- . (subscription required).
- ^ . (subscription required). Accessed April 2013.
- ^ ISBN 0-7126-2079-6.
- ^ James Pryde; the Edgar Allan Poe of Painting, The Bottle Imp, University of Glasgow. Accessed April 2013.
- ^ James Pryde 1866–1941. Tate. Accessed April 2013.
- ^ James Ferrier Pryde, 1869-1941. The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler, University of Glasgow. Accessed April 2013.
- ^ Angeria Rigamonti di Cutò (2012). Sombreness, crime and modernity in the art of James Pryde (1866-1941). The British Art Journal 13 (2): 55–63. (subscription required).
- ^ Derek Hudson (editor) (1949). A Memorial Exhibition of Works by James Pryde, 1869-1941. London; Edinburgh: The Arts Council of Great Britain.
- ISBN 9780903598200.
Further reading
- International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers. Illustrated Souvenir Catalogue of the Exhibition of International Art, Knightsbridge, May 1898. London: W. Heinemann, 1898
- International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers. Catalogue of the Pictures, Drawings, Prints and Sculpture at the Third Exhibition of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, held in the galleries, 191 Piccadilly, October 7th to December 10th, 1901. London: Printing Arts Co., 1901
- Derek Hudson. James Pryde, 1866-1941. London: Constable, 1949
- Jane Johnson and Anna Gruetzner. Dictionary of British Artists 1880-1940. Woodbridge: The Antique Collectors' Club, 1980
- Kenneth McConkey. Memory and Desire: Painting in Britain and Ireland at the Turn of the Twentieth Century, Aldershot; Burlington VT: Ashgate, 2002
External links
- 33 artworks by or after James Pryde at the Art UK site