Frank O. Salisbury

Francis ("Frank") Owen Salisbury (1874-1962) was a Methodist artist from Harpenden in Hertfordshire who specialised in portraits, large canvases of historical and ceremonial events, stained glass and book illustration. In his heyday he made a fortune on both sides of the Atlantic and was known as “Britain’s Painter Laureate”. His art was steadfastly conservative and he was a vitriolic critic of Modern Art – particularly of his contemporaries Picasso, Chagall and Mondrian. His father, Henry Salisbury, described himself as a “plumber, decorator and ironmonger”, yet his son Frank would become one of the greatest society artists of his generation.

Beginnings

The ninth of twelve children, Salisbury was such a delicate child that he was educated at home, in the main by his student teacher sister, Emilie. He had only a few weeks formal schooling and began work by repairing bicycles at his father’s Cycle Depot inHarpenden. Uncertain as to his ability to find and maintain a job, the family determined that he be apprenticed to Henry James Salisbury, his eldest brother, who managed a major stained glass company in Alma Road, St Albans. He rapidly acquired all the practical skills of a stained glass artist and exhibited exceptional skills in the painterly detail that was applied to glass before its final firing. This led to his brother sponsoring him to attend Heatherley’s School of Art to further a career in painting. He then won a scholarship to the Royal Academy Schools where he won two silver medals and two scholarships. In due course he would have seventy exhibits accepted for the annual Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions.

Portraits

It is for portraiture that he is best known. His speed in producing portraits stemmed from his painting his own twin daughters every morning for an hour and his career began with child portraiture and his painting the Hertfordshire gentry and members of the Harpenden Methodist Church. A providential meeting with Lord Wakefield, founder of Castrol Oils and a Methodist philanthropist, saw his introduction to society portraiture. Salisbury’s being selected to paint the "Boy Cornwell in the Battle of Jutland" then brought him to the notice of Royalty. Lord Wakefield then arranged for him to paint President Woodrow Wilson whilst he was in London, but Wilson departed for Paris and the opportunity was lost. It was to be John W. Davis, American Ambassador to London, who encouraged Salisbury to go to the USA; Davis had met Salisbury at art receptions and had admired his child portraits.Twenty-five members of the Royal House of Windsor sat for Salisbury and he was the first artist to paint "HM Queen Elizabeth II". He painted "Winston S. Churchill" on more occasions than any other artist; the two iconic images of Churchill – "The Siren Suit" and "Blood, Sweat and Tears" are both Salisbury images. Mayoral regalia was a ready made requisite for the Salisbury style with "Councillor Sam Ryder" (of Ryder Cup fame) as Mayor of St Albans being the most famous of his civic images. Other significant portraits include those of "Richard Burton, Andrew Carnegie (posthumous), Sir Alan Cobham, Sir Robert Ludwig Mond, Maria Montessori, Montgomery of Alamein, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Benito Mussolini, John Player, Lord Rank, Jan-Christiaan Smuts and Sir Henry Wood." Salisbury was remarkably successful in the USA where he was deemed to have fulfilled the American Dream. He made thirteen visits, basing himself in Washington DC, Chicago and New York where his portraiture would be a roll call of American wealth. He painted six Presidents with his "Franklin D. Roosevelt" remaining as the official White House portrait to this day. Industrial and financial giants who sat for him included "Henry Clay Folger, Elbert Henry Gary, Edward Stephen Harkness, Will Keith Kellogg, Andrew William Mellon, John Pierpont Morgan, George Mortimer Pullman, John Davison Rockefeller Jr., and Myron C. Taylor." Salisbury produced several self portraits including depicting himself whilst painting the 1937 Coronation and his being Master Glazier in 1934.

Pageant

Salisbury’s great forte was in his painting of over forty large canvases of historical and national events, a field in which he was virtually unchallenged until 1951. The two most significant of these are "The Heart of Empire – the Jubilee Thanksgiving in St Paul's Cathedral 1935" and "The Coronation of their Royal Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth 1937."One of the great ironies of his art is that, although he was to all intents and purposes a pacifist, his introduction to Royalty, the aristocracy and overseas politicians came as a result of his war art, particularly his posthumous portraits of the fallen in the First World War. The large canvas of the "Boy Cornwell" was followed by "The King and Queen visiting the Battle Districts of France". It was Salisbury who was required, by Royal Command, to paint two large images of "The Burial of the Unknown Warrior" for the first Remembrance Day. War memorials followed on from this. During the Second World War he was required to paint "The Signing of the Anglo-Soviet Treaty" and one of his most endearing images is "The Briefing of an Air Squadron."

Faith

Salisbury was a Methodist who took his faith seriously and always considered his gifts to be God given. He manifested the Protestant work ethic and the Non-Conformist conscience. He produced much work for the mainstream denominations, in particular Methodism and the Salvation Army. He painted posthumous portraits of historical Methodist figures with perhaps his best known image being that of "John Wesley" in John Wesley's House in London. Salisbury arranged and paid for the restoration of Wesley’s House in 1934 which restoration stood the test of time for sixty years. He lived an alcohol free lifestyle and was firmly in favour of Prohibition in the USA. He refused to work on Sundays. Many of his associates including "Pierpont Morgan, Lord Wakefield, Will Kellogg" and "Andrew Mellon" were both rich industrialists and Christian philanthropists. His greatest gift to the British churches was his leaving Sarum Chase, his fabulous mansion studio in West Heath Road in West Hampstead, in trust to the British Council of Churches. However, the BCC sold the mansion and auctioned its contents. His range of portraits stretched from "Billy Graham", to four Salvation Army Generals, to "Pope Pius XII".

tained glass

But it was stained glass that remained his favourite, though not his most profitable, art form. Thirty-four windows have been confirmed as being designed by him with the largest collections being at Wesley's Chapel in London, the former National Children’s Home chapel in Harpenden, and the Forest Hill Methodist Church in London. All of his glass was installed in England with three notable exceptions in Medak Cathedral in India. He was elected Master of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass in 1933.

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The copyright of all of his paintings bar two is held by the Estate of Frank O. Salisbury. Authorised images appear in the books in the listing below. Significant collections of his work are held at the Chicago Historical Society, National Portrait Gallery in London, New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, Royal Air Force Museum in London, Wesley’s Chapel in London and the World Methodist Headquarters in North Carolina.

References

*Salisbury, Frank O. "Sarum Chase." 1953. John Murray.
*Barber, Benjamin Aquila. "The Art of Frank O. Salisbury." [1936.] F. Lewis.
*"The Studio of Frank O. Salisbury. SALISBURY 3210." Christie’s, London. 1985.McMurray, Nigel. "Frank O. Salisbury. Painter Laureate." 2003. Authorhouse.