Samuel Forde

Last updated

Samuel Forde (1805–1828), was an Irish painter.

Early life

Forde, born at Cork on 5 April 1805, was the second son of Samuel Forde, a tradesman, who became involved in difficulties and went to America, deserting his family. [1] The elder brother was a talented musician, and was able to earn sufficient to send young Samuel to school, where he learnt Latin and French. A friend, Mr. Aungier, taught him Latin, and he learnt Greek by his own perseverance. Forde very soon displayed a talent for art, and though Cork did not offer much to inspire a youthful artist, his taste for literature helped to nourish and foster the high aspirations which distinguished, even in his schoolboy days, the numerous sketches on which he employed himself.

Contents

Art career

He became a student in the Cork Academy, drawing from the collection of casts which Lord Listowel had obtained for that institution. The master, Chalmers, was also a scene painter, and taught Forde distemper painting, so that he was able to be employed at the theatre. He had an intention of becoming a mezzotint engraver, and taught himself the art with materials roughly made by his own hands, but soon relinquished any further practice, becoming an art teacher, and subsequently master in the Cork Mechanics' Institute.

Among his fellow-students and intimate friends was Daniel Maclise. As well as Maclise, Forde's contemporaries include John Hogan and George Petrie. [2] Up to about twenty years of age, Forde was principally engaged on works of a decorative character painted in distemper. In 1826 he was able to execute works of his own invention, and give expression to the grand projects which his poetical mind conceived. His first picture was the Vision of Tragedy, the idea taken from John Milton, which was painted in distemper, in grey and white. A cartoon for this subject was in the possession of Mr. Justice Willes, and was presented by his nephew to the South Kensington Museum. Forde was continually occupied in projecting pictures of an ambitious nature. In November 1827 he painted in two days a Crucifixion for the chapel of Skibbereen. In October 1827 his lungs first became affected.

Death

Early in 1828 he commenced a large picture of the Fall of the Rebel Angels, but although he was able to dispose of the picture, he was not destined to complete it. He slowly sank under the increase of his consumptive symptoms, and died on 29 June 1828, at the age of twenty-three. He was buried in St. Finn Barr's churchyard at Cork.

Related Research Articles

Daniel Maclise Irish history, literary and portrait painter, and illustrator

Daniel Maclise was an Irish history painter, literary and portrait painter, and illustrator, who worked for most of his life in London, England.

Samuel Palmer English painter

Samuel Palmer Hon.RE was a British landscape painter, etcher and printmaker. He was also a prolific writer. Palmer was a key figure in Romanticism in Britain and produced visionary pastoral paintings.

Augustus Wall Callcott English painter

Sir Augustus Wall Callcott was an English landscape painter.

Sawrey Gilpin English painter

Sawrey Gilpin was an English animal painter, illustrator, and etcher who specialised in paintings of horses and dogs. He was made a Royal Academician.

Robert Smirke (painter) English painter

Robert Smirke was an English painter and illustrator, specialising in small paintings showing subjects taken from literature. He was a member of the Royal Academy.

George Richmond (painter) English painter

George Richmond was an English painter and portraitist. In his youth he was a member of The Ancients, a group of followers of William Blake. Later in life he established a career as a portrait painter, which included painting the portraits of the British gentry, nobility and royalty.

James Stark (painter) (1794 - 1859) British artist

James Stark was an English landscape painter. A leading member of the Norwich School of painters, he was elected vice-president of the Norwich Society of Artists in 1828 and became their president in 1829. He had wealthy patrons and was consistently praised by the Norfolk press for his successful London career.

William Brockedon English painter

William Brockedon was a 19th-century English painter, writer and inventor.

1805 in Ireland List of events

This is a list of events from the year 1805 in Ireland

Ramsay Richard Reinagle English painter

Ramsay Richard Reinagle was an English portrait, landscape, and animal painter, and son of Philip Reinagle.

Henry William Pickersgill English painter

Henry William Pickersgill RA was an English painter specialising in portraits. He was a Royal Academician for almost fifty years, and painted many of the most notable figures of his time.

Samuel William Reynolds English painter

Samuel William Reynolds was a mezzotint engraver, landscape painter and landscape gardener. Reynolds was a popular engraver in both Britain and France and there are over 400 examples of his work in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

<i>The Death of Nelson</i> (West painting) Painting by Benjamin West

The Death of Nelson is a painting by the American artist Benjamin West dated 1806.

Edward Bather, was Archdeacon of Salop.

Robert Gavin Scottish painter

Robert Gavin, R.S.A. was a Scottish painter.

John Pye

John Pye was a British landscape engraver.

José Álvarez Cubero Spanish sculptor

José Álvarez Cubero was a Spanish sculptor in the neoclassical style. He spent a large part of his career in Paris and Rome.

James Green (1771–1834) was an English artist, known as a portrait-painter.

George Edwards Hering English painter

George Edwards Hering was an English landscape painter.

John Leicester, 1st Baron de Tabley British politician

John Leicester, 1st Baron de Tabley was an English landowner, politician, amateur artist, and patron of the arts.

References

  1. ↑ "Samuel Forde (1805–28)." The Samuel Forde Project. Wordpress. Web. 11 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Lordan, Shane and Michael Waldron. "Samuel's Contemporaries." The Samuel Forde Project. Wordpress. Web. 11 August 2013.

Wikisource-logo.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : "Forde, Samuel". Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.