United Kingdom Art Artists Galleries (In Development)

The United Kingdom is steeped in a  long history of excellence in the arts. British contributions to literature are remarkable in their richness, variety, and consistency.

Now, with the advent of the Internet we now can join our artisan friends and colleagues from the United States, and universally share each others history and artistic influences

For many centuries in Britain and elsewhere, art and music were the domain of the nobility, who patronized the arts and set the tone and style into the Victorian era. Britain’s artistic output was focused on literature in the 16th and 17th centuries, and the country came late to Renaissance influences in art and architecture that had been prevalent on the Continent since the 15th century.

The earliest visual arts in Britain were most likely ornamentations on ordinary objects. Scandinavian wood carvings date from the 8th century, after Scandinavians came to Britain in considerable numbers. Decorative arts were particularly notable in early Christian Ireland, especially from the 6th to the 9th century.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries romantic painters appeared who emphasized the beauties and forces of nature (see Romanticism). This is seen in the landscapes of John Constable and J. M. W. Turner, whose paintings directly influenced French impressionism. Noted poet William Blake was also a painter, and he illustrated his poems and stories with imaginative drawings.

Scores of artists in the Victorian era painted specifically for middle-class tastes. Sir Edwin Henry Landseer was noted for paintings that often feature animals, such as dogs or wildlife. Frederick Leighton painted mythological and historical subjects and illustrated popular magazines. William Powell Frith painted large, busy canvases in the popular style known as genre painting, which realistically depicted scenes from everyday life. Sophie Anderson painted sweet children.

In reaction to Victorian art styles and middle-class materialism, with its concern for worldly objects, several painters came together in 1848 and founded a movement called the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. They sought to return to an earlier, simpler time, and their works exhibited the brightness, color, and purity of medieval and Renaissance painting done before the time of Italian artist Raphael. These painters included William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Sir Edward Burne-Jones, and Sir John Everett Millais. This return to earlier traditions affected other aspects of the arts as well. Artist and poet William Morris sought to return to medieval traditions in craftsmanship. He is credited with founding the Arts and Crafts movement, which became influential in furniture, decorative items, and textile designs.

Toward the end of the Victorian era, art nouveau (literally, “new art”) developed out of the Arts and Crafts movement. Art nouveau is a decorative style with strong elements of fantasy. It borrowed motifs from sources as varied as Japanese prints, Gothic architecture, and the symbolic paintings of William Blake. This style, which became popular in Europe, influenced many art forms as well as architecture and interior design. The art nouveau illustrations of Aubrey Beardsley, in particular, are still popular. Artists and architects from the Glasgow School, notably Charles Rennie Mackintosh, were noted for their work in both the Arts and Crafts and art nouveau styles.

Britain has produced many artists in the 20th century. They include sculptors Jacob Epstein, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, and Anthony Caro. Painters include Paul Nash, a war artist who painted scenes of landscapes and battles during both world wars; Sir Stanley Spencer, whose works often used biblical themes; and Graham Sutherland, who developed a unique style of landscape painting. Noted painters after World War II include Francis Bacon, whose paintings are steeped in the horrific; David Hockney, who also designed opera sets; and portrait painter Lucian Freud.