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Harry Hope Read

Harry Hope Read (1882 - 1959) was active/lived in United Kingdom, England.  Harry Read is known for Abstract figure, landscape and genre painting, pen and ink drawing of nudes.

Harold Hope Read was born in Greenwich, England in 1881 and later lived in Lewisham in London, Brighton and Tunbridge Wells, where he passed away in 1959. During his years in Tunbridge Wells, Hope Read lived an avant-garde lifestyle with his live-in housekeeper, life model and mistress, whom we know only as Hilda. Here the artist became known as the 'the Bohemian of Tunbridge Wells' and his work is now acknowledged as the precursor of that of Edward Ardizzone's (1900-1979).

Hope Read’s involvement with his patron, Charles Lambert Rutherston, and fellow artists William Orpen (1878-1931) and Sir William Rothenstein (1872-1945) has been credited for inspiring the series of paintings and drawings he titled High Life. In this series Hope Read depicts the wealthy and famous clientele of his colleagues in a lavishly detailed drawing style. Through this style he conveys the opulence of the members of high-society he encountered, including their luxurious costumes and grand interi   ...  [Displaying 1000 of 2755 characters.]  Artist bio

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Facts about Harry Hope Read

   Harry Hope Read  Born:  1882 - Greenwich, England
Died:   1959 - Tunbridge Wells, England
Known for:  Abstract figure, landscape and genre painting, pen and ink drawing of nudes
Name variants:  Harold Hope Read

Biography from the Archives of askART

Harold Hope Read was born in Greenwich, England in 1881 and later lived in Lewisham in London, Brighton and Tunbridge Wells, where he passed away in 1959. During his years in Tunbridge Wells, Hope Read lived an avant-garde lifestyle with his live-in housekeeper, life model and mistress, whom we know only as Hilda. Here the artist became known as the 'the Bohemian of Tunbridge Wells' and his work is now acknowledged as the precursor of that of Edward Ardizzone's (1900-1979).

Hope Read’s involvement with his patron, Charles Lambert Rutherston, and fellow artists William Orpen (1878-1931) and Sir William Rothenstein (1872-1945) has been credited for inspiring the series of paintings and drawings he titled High Life. In this series Hope Read depicts the wealthy and famous clientele of his colleagues in a lavishly detailed drawing style. Through this style he conveys the opulence of the members of high-society he encountered, including their luxurious costumes and grand interiors.

In our collection of pen and ink and wash drawings by Hope Read we see these themes recurring frequently, often with caricatured figures indicating the artist’s disdain for this grandiose world. Alongside these works in the collection is Rubenesque portraits of plump nudes which he skillfully depicts in small and expressive pen lines, evocative of Ruben’s energetic brushstrokes.

Another section of the collection is a series of watercolour landscapes, which are executed in an impressionistic and occasionally pointillist* style. Hope Read regularly submitted works to the Royal Academy's* Annual Exhibition and exhibited works at the Alpine Gallery, the New English Art Club*, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours* and the National Society of British Artists. Read also contributed political cartoons to Punch Magazine.

Source:
Website of Sulis Fine Art, 2021

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Biography from Roseberys

Hope Read became close to artists such as William Orpen (1878-1931) and William Rothenstein (1872-1945) when living and working in Brighton, where he had moved in 1910. It was his exposure to the lifestyles of Orpen and Rothenstein, alongside his wealthy patron Charles Lambert Rutherston (1866-1927), which have been credited with inspiring his series of works entitled 'The High Life'. These works, which depict lavishly-dressed figures in fanciful, theatrical settings, often exhibit a humorous, lightly mocking tendency, as in the present work, which depicts two older men who lean in, somewhat lecherously, towards an elegantly-dressed young lady with feathers in her hair.


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