The paintings of Yorkshire-based artist Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-93) are well known and utterly distinctive. Yet the artist as a man is far less known than his beautiful images evoking moonlit nights, the luminescence of cityscapes in winter dusks and great sailing vessels at anchor. His early landscapes were influenced by the PreRaphaelite Brotherhood's ideals of painstaking detail, but he later developed a distinctive kind of industrial landscape, lit by moonlight, gaslight, or both. These urban scenes were very popular with the public, particularly in the north of England were he did so much of his work, but less so with the official art world.

The paintings of Yorkshire-based artist Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-93) are well known and utterly distinctive. Yet the artist as a man is far less known than his beautiful images evoking moonlit nights, the luminescence of cityscapes in winter dusks and great sailing vessels at anchor. His early landscapes were influenced by the PreRaphaelite Brotherhood's ideals of painstaking detail, but he later developed a distinctive kind of industrial landscape, lit by moonlight, gaslight, or both. These urban scenes were very popular with the public, particularly in the north of England were he did so much of his work, but less so with the official art world.

In this first comprehensive study of the artist,now issued in paperback, Robertson shows the full scope of Grimshaw's work - from the early paintings of the Lake District and Yorkshire landscapes to the townscapes, dockscenes, coastal views and richly colourful portrayals of sophisticated Victorian ladies. The author discusses the techniques of Grimshaw's art, and examines the many varieties of colour and mood that are captured in his paintings. He also assessesGrimshaw's place in Victorian art and society,comparing him with such contemporaries as James Tissot and Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema.Many of Grimshaw's paintings are in private collections and are here reproduced for the first time, adding to the appeal of this book, not only to art lovers and general readers interested in Victorian art, but also to dealers and collectors.An appendix lists all the public collections which hold examples of the artist's work.

Alexander Robertson is Senior Curator at Leeds Museums and Galleries. In 1979 he organized a major exhibition of Grimshaw's work.

PREFACE

THE LEEDS BACKGROUND

EARLY YEARS

KNOSTROP OLD HALL

PAINTER OF MOONLIGHT

'No MARKS OF HANDLING'

Grimshaw's Methods and Technique

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PHOTOGRAPHIC ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PAINTINGS IN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

INDEX