Richard Caton Woodville

Infobox Artist
bgcolour =
name = Richard Caton Woodville


imagesize =
caption =
birthname =
birthdate = birth date|1856|01|07|mf=y
location = London, England
deathdate = death date and age|1927|08|17|1856|01|07|mf=y
deathplace = London, England
nationality = British
field = portrait, landscape, illustration, battle painting
training =Dusseldorf School
movement =
works =
patrons = "Illustrated London News"
influenced by =Wilhelm Camphausen, Eduard von Gebhardt, Gerome
influenced =
awards =

Richard Caton Woodville (The Second) ("b". January 7 1856, London, England; "d." August 17 1927, London, England) was an English artist, and illustrator, who is best known for being one of the most prolific and effective painters of battle scenes in the late nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries.

The son of American Richard Caton Woodville (The First), who was also a talented artist, Woodville studied at the Dusseldorf School under the great Prussian military artist Wilhelm Camphausen, and then Eduard von Gebhardt, before briefly studying in Russia and then Paris under Gerome. Woodville spend most of his career working for the "Illustrated London News" where he quickly developed a reputation as a talented reporter and writer, but was also published in "Cornhill Magazine", "Strand Magazine", and "The Tatler".

Richard Caton Woodville first experienced battle first-hand when he was sent by the "Illustrated London News" to report upon the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), and then again in the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War where he made numerous sketches, and also obtained photographs of the trenches at Tel-e-Kebir for his friend and co-artist Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville whom had been commissioned to paint a scene of the battle.

In 1879 Woodville's "Before Leuthen, Dec 3rd, 1757" was exhibited in the Royal Academy. It proved popular, and afterwards he began to regularly be exhibited in Burlington House, where 21 of his battle paintings were eventually shown. His most popular works there were ones that dealt with contemporary wars, such as the Second Anglo-Afghan War, Candahar [sic] , and Maiwand, "Saving the Guns" (Walker Art Gallery), the Zulu War, and the First Boer War. His works from Egypt were exhibited at the Fine Art Society in 1883, where his painting "The Moonlight Charge at Kassassin" proved very popular. The following year he exhibited by Royal Command another painting he had done of the war in Egypt, entitled "The Guards at Tel-e-Kebir" (Royal Collection).

He continued to paint scenes of battle, and few battles or wars that Great Britain fought during his life were not touched upon by him, including the Second Boer War, and World War I. Despite his precocious talent for capturing the dramatic moments of contemporary battles, Woodville also enjoyed recreating historical scenes in both oil, and watercolour. The "Illustrated London News" commissioned him to complete a commemorative special series recreating the most famous British Battles of history. He depicted "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (Royal Collection, Madrid) and "The Charge of the 21st Lancers at Omdurman" (Walker Art Gallery), "Battle of Blenheim", "Battle of Badajos" and several "Battle of Waterloo" pictures.

During World War I, Woodville was compelled to return to the depiction of current events, and three of his Great War works were displayed in the Royal Academy. These were "The 2nd Batt. Manchester Regiment taking six guns at dawn near St. Quentin", "Entry of the 5th Lancers into Mons", and "" (London Scottish Museum Trust) exhibited in the year of his death, 1927.

During his lifetime Woodville enjoyed great popularity and was probably considered the best artist of his genre. He wrote and well as painted, and was often the subject of magazine and journal articles. He had a deep passion for the British Army and had even joined the Royal Berkshire Yeomanry Cavalry in 1879, staying with them until 1914 when he joined the National Reserve as a Captain.

Richard Caton Woodville is still exhibited in the National Army Museum, the Tate, Walker Art Gallery, and the Royal Academy.

Military Works

*"Before Leuthen, Dec 3rd, 1757" (1879)
*"The Charge of the Light Brigade" (Royal Collection, Madrid)
*"Cruel To Be Kind", (1882, National Army Museum)
*"The Moonlight Charge at Kassassin" (1883)
*"Saving the Guns" (1883, Walker Art Gallery)
*"The Guards at Tel-e-Kebir" (1885, Royal Collection)
*"The Charge of the 21st Lancers at Omdurman" (Walker Art Gallery)
*"The Relief of the Light Brigade", (1897, National Army Museum)
*"General Wolfe Climbing the Heights of Abraham on the Morning of the Battle of Quebec", (1906, Tate)
*"Napoleon Crossing the Bridge to Lobau Island", (1912, Tate)
*"Poniatowski's Last Charge at Leipzig", (1912, Tate)
*"Marshal Ney at Eylau", (1913, Tate)
*"The First VC of the European War", (1914, National Army Museum)
*"" (1914, London Scottish Museum Trust)
*"The 2nd Batt. Manchester Regiment taking six guns at dawn near St. Quentin"
*"Entry of the 5th Lancers into Mons"

Non-Military Works

*"Ascending The Great Pyramid"
*"Tyrol - Turning The Great Corner"
*"Burma - Minister of State With Attendants"
*"Bull-Fighting"
*"Trades - Estate Agent 'Sold'"
*"Fishing For Bass On The South Coast of England"
*"London - Hyde Park In The Row"
*"Lost Their Way"

References

External links

*Roger T. Stearn, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/68891 ‘Woodville, Richard Caton (1856–1927)’] , "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 2 Jan 2008
*worldcat id|lccn-n90-680830
* [http://dl.lib.brown.edu/libweb/collections/askb/ Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library] Prints, drawings and water-colours