Foster was born in North Shields, England of a primarily Quaker family, but his family moved south to London in 1830, where his father founded M. B. Foster & sons — a successful beer-bottling company.[1] He was schooled at Hitchin, Hertfordshire[2] and on leaving initially went into his father's business. However, noticing his talent for art, his father secured an apprenticeship with the wood-engraver, Ebenezer Landells,[2] where he worked on illustrations for Punch magazine and the Illustrated London News. Foster's boss was one of the founders of Punch, and for him was tasked to make and draw woodcuts, which were crafted with great finesse. Rural scenes taken from travels with his brother and friend Edmund Evans, could be supplemented by popular sporting events such as the early Oxford and Cambridge boat races. Landells was working from Fleet Street when in July 1846 a famous image of Tynemouth Priory appeared with Birket Foster's own name; his apprenticeship had come to a conclusion.
On leaving Landells' employ, he continued to produce work for the Illustrated London News and the Illustrated London Almanack, landing his first exhibition at the Suffolk Street Art Gallery, Westminster during the year 1843. His famous image of "A Christmas Holly Cart" was used by the new traders of seasonal cards, and included in the Illustrated London News by the end of 1848. He also found work as a book illustrator and, during the 1850s, trained himself to paint in watercolours. His illustrations of Longfellow’s Evangeline and books of poetry by other contemporaries were a great success,[2] and he quickly became a successful artist in watercolours. He married for the first time on 13 August 1850, a young Geordie woman, and a cousin. Anne, the daughter of Robert Spence of North Shields, was descended from Robert Foster of Hebblethwaite Hall. They hailed from the hilltop gentry farming stock. Bringing a dowry and money to London, the newly-wed couple moved into a salubrious address on the edge of London at Marsden Villa, Clifton Road, on Clifton Hill in the fashionable district of St Johns Wood. Foster's parents were residing nearby transforming the northern family into thoroughgoing Londoners.
Birket Foster became an Associate of the "Old" Watercolour Society (later the Royal Watercolour Society) in 1860[3] and exhibited some 400 of his paintings at the Royal Academy over more than 2 decades. Birket Foster travelled widely, painting the countryside around Scotland, the Rhine Valley, the Swiss lakes and in Italy, especially Venice. In 1863 he moved to Witley, near Godalming in Surrey where he had an elaborate Tudor-style house ("The Hill") built. Being friendly with Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris, he had the house decorated and furnished in contemporary style, with tiles and paintings by Burne-Jones and Morris' firm, Morris and Company. The same year he published a volume of "English Landscapes," with text by Tom Taylor.[4]
Although he had painted great numbers of landscape scenes from Scotland to the Mediterranean, it was after moving to Witley that Birket Foster produced the works for which he is best known—a sentimentalised view of the contemporary English countryside, particularly in the west Surrey area. Although criticised for their idealised view of rural life, they were recognised for their detail and execution. Birket Foster's work (along with that of other artists) was used by Cadburys, the chocolate manufacturer, on the cover of their chocolate boxes from the 1860s onwards.[5] Printed in 1861, The Carewes: a tale of the Civil Wars was the swashbuckling royalist family history of a gentry on the edge of Windsor Forest, illustrated with fine images and a dashing flourish; it was much appreciated in America. "the dainty water-colour drawings executed...appeal to the majority of the British public more than the works of any other." So wrote H.M. Cundall in 1906 in the preface to a first biography.[6]
He became ill in 1893 and moved to Weybridge. He continued painting, but died on 27 March 1899. His obituary in The Times referred to him as "certainly the most popular water-colour artist of our time".[7] He is buried at All Saints' Church in Witley.
In 1864, he married Frances, the daughter of Dawson Watson, and sister of the artist John Dawson Watson.[8] Their eldest son, also called Myles Birket Foster (1851–1922), was an organist and composer who studied at the Royal College of Music with Sullivan, Prout and Frederick Westlake. He was organist and choirmaster in Marylebone and at the Foundling Hospital Chapel among other places, and music director at the publisher Boosey & Hawkes. He composed symphonies, overtures, children's cantatas, a string quartet, trios and church music, and wrote a History of the Philharmonic Society (1913).[9]
References
^Records of M.B. Foster and Sons Ltd (The National Archive, UK)
myles, birket, foster, february, 1825, march, 1899, british, illustrator, watercolourist, engraver, victorian, period, name, also, found, myles, birkett, foster, elliott, 1860s, watermill, unknown, date, before, 1899, contents, life, work, friends, family, ref. Myles Birket Foster RWS 4 February 1825 27 March 1899 was a British illustrator watercolourist and engraver in the Victorian period His name is also to be found as Myles Birkett Foster Myles Birket Foster by Elliott amp Fry 1860s The Old Watermill unknown date before 1899 Contents 1 Life and work 2 Friends and family 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 External linksLife and work EditFoster was born in North Shields England of a primarily Quaker family but his family moved south to London in 1830 where his father founded M B Foster amp sons a successful beer bottling company 1 He was schooled at Hitchin Hertfordshire 2 and on leaving initially went into his father s business However noticing his talent for art his father secured an apprenticeship with the wood engraver Ebenezer Landells 2 where he worked on illustrations for Punch magazine and the Illustrated London News Foster s boss was one of the founders of Punch and for him was tasked to make and draw woodcuts which were crafted with great finesse Rural scenes taken from travels with his brother and friend Edmund Evans could be supplemented by popular sporting events such as the early Oxford and Cambridge boat races Landells was working from Fleet Street when in July 1846 a famous image of Tynemouth Priory appeared with Birket Foster s own name his apprenticeship had come to a conclusion A Birket Foster illustration from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow On leaving Landells employ he continued to produce work for the Illustrated London News and the Illustrated London Almanack landing his first exhibition at the Suffolk Street Art Gallery Westminster during the year 1843 His famous image of A Christmas Holly Cart was used by the new traders of seasonal cards and included in the Illustrated London News by the end of 1848 He also found work as a book illustrator and during the 1850s trained himself to paint in watercolours His illustrations of Longfellow s Evangeline and books of poetry by other contemporaries were a great success 2 and he quickly became a successful artist in watercolours He married for the first time on 13 August 1850 a young Geordie woman and a cousin Anne the daughter of Robert Spence of North Shields was descended from Robert Foster of Hebblethwaite Hall They hailed from the hilltop gentry farming stock Bringing a dowry and money to London the newly wed couple moved into a salubrious address on the edge of London at Marsden Villa Clifton Road on Clifton Hill in the fashionable district of St Johns Wood Foster s parents were residing nearby transforming the northern family into thoroughgoing Londoners Birket Foster became an Associate of the Old Watercolour Society later the Royal Watercolour Society in 1860 3 and exhibited some 400 of his paintings at the Royal Academy over more than 2 decades Birket Foster travelled widely painting the countryside around Scotland the Rhine Valley the Swiss lakes and in Italy especially Venice In 1863 he moved to Witley near Godalming in Surrey where he had an elaborate Tudor style house The Hill built Being friendly with Edward Burne Jones and William Morris he had the house decorated and furnished in contemporary style with tiles and paintings by Burne Jones and Morris firm Morris and Company The same year he published a volume of English Landscapes with text by Tom Taylor 4 Although he had painted great numbers of landscape scenes from Scotland to the Mediterranean it was after moving to Witley that Birket Foster produced the works for which he is best known a sentimentalised view of the contemporary English countryside particularly in the west Surrey area Although criticised for their idealised view of rural life they were recognised for their detail and execution Birket Foster s work along with that of other artists was used by Cadburys the chocolate manufacturer on the cover of their chocolate boxes from the 1860s onwards 5 Printed in 1861 The Carewes a tale of the Civil Wars was the swashbuckling royalist family history of a gentry on the edge of Windsor Forest illustrated with fine images and a dashing flourish it was much appreciated in America the dainty water colour drawings executed appeal to the majority of the British public more than the works of any other So wrote H M Cundall in 1906 in the preface to a first biography 6 He became ill in 1893 and moved to Weybridge He continued painting but died on 27 March 1899 His obituary in The Times referred to him as certainly the most popular water colour artist of our time 7 He is buried at All Saints Church in Witley Friends and family EditAs well as Edward Burne Jones and William Morris his artist friends and associates included Fred Walker Charles Keene and William Quiller Orchardson In 1864 he married Frances the daughter of Dawson Watson and sister of the artist John Dawson Watson 8 Their eldest son also called Myles Birket Foster 1851 1922 was an organist and composer who studied at the Royal College of Music with Sullivan Prout and Frederick Westlake He was organist and choirmaster in Marylebone and at the Foundling Hospital Chapel among other places and music director at the publisher Boosey amp Hawkes He composed symphonies overtures children s cantatas a string quartet trios and church music and wrote a History of the Philharmonic Society 1913 9 References Edit Records of M B Foster and Sons Ltd The National Archive UK a b c The Times Wednesday 29 March 1899 victorianweb org The Times 29 March 1899 Cloke Marsden amp Mooney Handbook of rural studies Sage Pubs Ltd 2006 p141 Cundall H M 1906 Birket Foster R W S A amp C Black Ltd p vii Death of Mr Birket Foster The Times 29 March 1899 p 11 The Launceston Examiner 30 March 1899 p 5 Leach Gerald British Composer Profiles 3rd ed 2012 p 87Bibliography EditIllustrated by FosterBeattie James The Minstrel or The Progress of Genisus George Routledge 1858 Cowper William The Task A Poem James Nisbet amp Co 1855 Falconer William The Shipwreck A Poem T Nelson 1887 Foster Myles Birket Beauties of English Landscape Routledge Warne amp Routledge 1862 Gillies Mary The Carewes A Tale of the Civil Wars W Kent amp Co 1861 Gray Thomas The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray Bickers amp Son 1859 Miller Thomas Common Wayside Flowers George Routledge 1860 Taylor Tom Birket Foster s pictures of English landscape George Routledge amp sons 1874 Wordsworth William The Deserted Cottage George Routledge amp Co 1859 Wordsworth William Poetical Works G Routledge 1858 About FosterCundall Herbert Minton Birket Foster R W S A amp C Black 1906 with colour plates Cundall Herbert Minton Birket Foster sixteen examples in colour of the artist s work A amp C Black 1910 Lewis Frank Birket Foster Leigh on Sea Lewis 1973 Reynolds Jan Myles Birket Foster London Batsford 1984 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Myles Birket Foster Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica article Foster Myles Birket M B Foster online ArtCyclopedia M B Foster biography and works The Border Collie Museum M B Foster biography Exploring Surrey s Past Biography Victorian Art in Britain Paintings by Miles Birket Foster Art Renewal Center Museum An old English mill 1881 etching Works by Birket Foster at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Myles Birket Foster at Internet Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Myles Birket Foster amp oldid 1120699206, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
