Alfred East

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the British artist. For the New Zealand politician, see Alfred William East.

Sir Alfred East (December 15, 1849 - September 28, 1913), was an English painter.

He was born in Kettering in Northamptonshire and studied at the Glasgow School of Art. His romantic landscapes show the influence of the Barbizon school. His The Art of Landscape Painting in Oil Colour was published in 1906. In April 1888 he had shared an exhibition at the galleries of the Fine Art Society with T.C. Gotch and W. Ayerst Ingram, and was commissioned the following year by Marcus Huish, Managing Director of the Society, to spend six months in Japan to paint the landscape and the people of the country. When the exhibition of 104 paintings from this tour was held at the Fine Art Society in 1890 it was a spectacuar success. He was awarded a Knighthood in 1910 by King Edward VII. His portrait was painted by Philip de Laszlo. On Sunday, 28 September 1913, Alfred East died at his London residence in Belsize Park. His body was taken back to Kettering and lay in state in the Art Gallery, where it was surrounded by the pictures he had presented to the town, and attracted crowds of several thousands.

The Alfred East Art Gallery, designed by John Alfred Gotch in Kettering is Northamptonshire's oldest purpose-built art gallery

[edit] Bibliography

• Peyton Skipwith, 'An Enlightened Artist in Japan', Country Life 5 January 1984
• Sir Philip Cortazzi, A British Artist in Japan, Print Pub, 1991
• John Ramm, 'From Barbizon With Love', Antique Dealer & Collectors Guide, August 1994, Vol 48, No.1