Jump to content

Horatio Walter Lonsdale

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Horatio Walter Lonsdale
The Banqueting Hall, Cardiff Castle, decorated by Lonsdale
Born1844
Mexico
Died1919 (aged 72–73)
NationalityEnglish
Notable work

Horatio Walter Lonsdale (1844-1919) was an English painter and designer.

Life and works

[edit]

Lonsdale was born in Mexico in 1844.[1] After training as an architect,[2] Lonsdale established a long partnership with the architect William Burges, working with him as his principal artist on many of Burges's major commissions,[1] including Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral,[3] Cardiff Castle,[4] Castell Coch and the Yorkshire churches.[5] Lonsdale worked so closely with Burges, particularly in the design of stained glass, that "it is often hard to say how much of any given design is Burges's and how much is (Lonsdale's) — designs were often initialled by both."[1] He also designed the zodiac windows and celestial ceiling at Mount Stuart House[6] and the silver casket in which the heart of Burges's great patron, John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute was transported to Jerusalem for burial in 1900.[7][a] Burges's biographer, Joseph Mordaunt Crook, summed up Lonsdale's career; "a draughtsman of exceptional precision, his best work was all for Burges. Without the master's control, much of his later work tends to be mechanical and vapid.”[8]

An exhibition of Lonsdale's work, organised by the Yale Center for British Art, was held at Gallery Lingard in 1984.[9] A collection of Lonsdale illustrations and cartoons, for the decoration of Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute where it is held, was catalogued in 2022.[10] In the same year, an exhibition held at the house, Fantasy to Fabrication: 19th century design at Mount Stuart, included examples of Lonsdale's art.[11] Lonsdale was a member of the Royal Academy.[12]

[edit]

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ Lonsdale also drew the cartoons for the frieze, dome and windows of the James A. Garfield Memorial in Cleveland, Ohio.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "H. W. Lonsdale (1844-1919)". Victorianweb.org. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  2. ^ Hannah 2012, p. 93.
  3. ^ "Horatio Walter Lonsdale (1844-1919)". Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720 - 1940. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Horatio Walter Lonsdale (1844-1919)". Stained Glass in Wales. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Christ the Consoler, Skelton". Historic England. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  6. ^ Walker 2000, p. 610.
  7. ^ Hannah 2012, p. 355.
  8. ^ Crook 2013, pp. 70–71.
  9. ^ "Horatio Walter Lonsdale catalogue". Yale Center for British Art. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  10. ^ Sheldrick, Abigail (3 October 2022). "Constellations, Murals & Mythology: Exploring the Lonsdale Archive Collection". Mount Stuart Estate. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Fantasy to Fabrication: 19th century design at Mount Stuart". The Decorative Arts Society. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Horatio Walter Lonsdale (b. 1844)". Royal Academy. Retrieved 15 January 2023.

Sources

[edit]