Search Results

Kirchner, Ernst Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in 20th-century art. He volunteered for army service in the First World War, but soon suffered a breakdown and was discharged. His work was branded as "degenerate" by the Nazis in 1933, and in 1937 more than 600 of his works were sold or destroyed. Kirchner was born in...

Kandinsky, Wassily Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in Odessa, where he graduated from Odessa Art School. He enrolled at the University of Moscow, studying law and economics, and went on to teach both subjects. He was successful in his profession and was offered a professorship (chair of Roman Law) at the University of Dorpat (today Tartu, Estonia). In Moscow, he saw an exhibition of paintings by Monet. He was particularly taken with th...

Kollwitz, Käthe Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) was a German artist, renowned for her powerful and emotive works that addressed social injustice, war and human suffering. Born in 1867 Königsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia), Kollwitz was the fifth child of a liberal, middle-class family. Her father, Karl Schmidt, was a Social Democrat and house builder, while her mother, Katherina Schmidt, was the daughter of a Lutheran pastor. Kollwitz's artistic journey began under the guidance of her father, who...

Kisling, Moïse Moïse Kisling (1891-1953) was a Polish-born French painter. Born in Kraków, then part of Austria-Hungary, to Jewish parents, Kisling studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. He left for Paris in 1910 at the age of 19. After moving to Montmartre, Kisling became a member of the Parisian avant-garde known also as the School of Paris, and developed close professional relationships with painters Amedeo Modigliani, Jules Pascin and other Montparnasse artists. Kisling gained recognition for portraying t...

Kirk, Maria Maria Louise Kirk (1860-1938), usually credited as M.L. Kirk or Maria L. Kirk, was an American painter and illustrator of more than fifty books, most of them for children. Her notable work includes illustrations for a US edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1904, for the first edition of 'The Secret Garden', and for several books by L.M. Montgomery and Johanna Spyri. Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Kirk studied art in Philadelphia at the School of Design for Women and t...

Kouwenhoorn, Pieter van Pieter van Kouwenhoorn or Pieter Kouwenhoorn (1599-c.1654) was a Dutch botanical illustrator. Kouwenhoorn was a glass painter working in Haarlem and Leiden in the Netherlands, and was one of the teachers of the painter Gerard Dou (1613-1675) and Hendrick Jansz. van der Smient (c.1600-1655). He also painted landscapes, portraits and mythological subjects. He was buried on 21 May 1654 in the 'Hooglandse Kerk' in Leiden.

Lander, John St. Helier John St Helier Lander (1868-1944) was a noted portrait painter. Born John Helier Lander, he added the St. to acknowledge his birthplace of Saint Helier in the Channel Islands. He was given his first paint box by Lillie Langtry, the famous beauty, actress and mistress of the Prince of Wales, later to become Edward VII. He studied at Calderon's School. On leaving school, he was sent to become a watchmaker at the age of fifteen, but spent so much time drawing that he was taken away and allow...

Lear, Edward Edward Lear (1812-1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limericks, a form he popularised. His principal areas of work as an artist were threefold: as a draughtsman employed to make illustrations of birds and animals, making coloured drawings during his journeys (which he reworked later, sometimes as plates for his travel books) and as a minor illustrator of Alfred, Lord Tennyson...

Larsson, Carl Carl Olof Larsson (1853-1919) was a Swedish painter representative of the Arts and Crafts movement. His many paintings include oils, watercolours and frescoes. He is principally known for his watercolours of idyllic family life. He considered his finest work to be Midvinterblot (Midwinter Sacrifice), a large painting now displayed inside the Swedish National Museum of Fine Arts. Larsson was born on 28 May 1853, in the Gamla stan neighbourhood of Stockholm, Sweden. His parents were extremely p...

Leighton, Lord Frederic Lord Frederic Leighton (1830-1896) was a prominent British painter and sculptor, celebrated for his classical and historical subject matter. Born on December 3, 1830, in Scarborough, Yorkshire, Leighton was the son of a medical doctor and grew up in a wealthy family. His artistic talent was evident from a young age, and he received his education at various European academies, including the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence and the École des Beaux-Art in Paris. Leighton's early works wer...

Lee, Sydney Sydney Lee RA (1866-1949) was a British wood engraver, active at the beginning of the twentieth century. He was a founder member of the Society of Wood Engravers (1920). He was also a painter in oils and a Royal Academician. Sydney Lee was born on 27 August 1866 in Manchester. He spent time in his father's mills, then enrolled at the Manchester School of Art, studying sculpture and relief modelling, and became interested in printmaking using metal and wood. He then studied under Walter Cr...

Leitch, Richard P. Richard Pettigrew Leitch (1827-1882?) was a Scottish artist, born 11th October 1927 to William Leighton Leitch (1804-1883), an artist, and Susannah Leitch, nee Smyllie. He was the oldest of at least five children. By 1841 the family had moved down to London and were living in Mornington Place, St. Pancras. William Leitch had been the Vice President of the Institute of Painters in Watercolours before his death. Richard was a landscape and water-colour painter and a good draughtsman on wood. He...

Lees, Charles Charles Lees RSA (1800-1880) was a Scottish portrait painter who specialised in sporting and recreational subjects. Lees was born in 1800 in Cupar, Fife, Scotland. He began his career in art training under the eminent Edinburgh portrait painter Sir Henry Raeburn. He went to Rome for six months, and on return spent the majority of his working life in Edinburgh, having his studio at 19 Scotland Street. Lees also taught drawing. In the 1830s Charles Lees, portrait painter is listed as living at ...

Laskoff, Franz Franz Laskoff (1869-1921) was born in Poland in 1869. As a young man Laskoff studied in Strasbourg, Paris and London. It was there that he found the greatest influences on his style, as his work with flat colours was certainly inspired by Aubrey Beardsley and the Beggarstaff Brothers. When he arrived in Italy in 1900 he went straight to work for Ricordi, and began producing exceptional posters for the company's largest accounts. His style was dramatically different from his contemporary c...

Lindley, John John Lindley FRS (1799-1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley was a nurseryman and pomologist and ran a commercial nursery garden. Although he had great horticultural knowledge, the undertaking was not profitable and George lived in a state of indebtedness. As a boy, John would assist in the garden and also collected wild flowers he found growing in the N...

Logsdail, William William Logsdail (1859-1944) was a prolific English landscape, portrait, and genre painter. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Royal Society of British Artists, the Grosvenor Gallery, the New Gallery (London), and others. He is notable for his realistic London and Venice scenes and his plein air style. He was born in the Close of Lincoln Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, May 1859. He was one of seven children, six boys and one girl. His father was a verger at the cathedral. As a boy, Willia...