,,british ,,artists ,,birket ,,foster1 ,r4,w4,s4 ,,in ,,the ,,same ,,series ,,george ,,morland ,,john ,,pettie1 ,r4,a41 ,h4,r4,s4,a4 ,,kate ,,greenaway ,a4 ,,and ,c4 ,,black 4 ,,soho ,,square 4 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,agents ,,america ,,the ,,macmillan ,,company #fd #ff ,,fifth ,,avenue1 ,,new ,,york ,,australasia ,,oxford ,,university ,,press #bje ,,flinders ,,lane1 ,,melbourne ,,canada ,,the ,,macmillan ,,company ,,of ,,canada1 ,,ltd4 ,,st4 ,,martin',s ,,house1 #gj ,,bond ,,street1 ,,toronto ,,india ,,macmillan ,,company1 ,,ltd4 ,,macmillan ,,building1 ,,bombay #cji ,,bow ,,bazaar ,,street1 ,,calcutta ,illustration3 ,gleaners ,,birket ,,foster ,r4,w4,s4 ,,sixteen ,,examples ,,in ,,colour ,,of ,,the ,,artist',s ,,work ,,with ,,an ,,introduction ,,by ,h4 ,m4 ,,cundall1 ,i4,s4,o41 ,f4,s4,a4 ,illustration ,,published ,,by ,a4 ,c4 ,,black #d1 #e #f ,,soho ,,square1 ,,london ,,mcmx ,,list ,,of ,,plates ,,owner ,,of ,,original #a4 ,gleaners ,barnet ,lewis1 ,esq4 #b4 ,going ,home #c4 ,loch ,leven ,castle #d4 ,shrine at the ,entrance of the ,courtyard of the ,ducal ,palace1 ,venice ,sir ,charles ,seeley #e4 ,entrance to the ,grand ,canal1 ,venice ,barnet ,lewis1 ,esq4 #f4 ,birthplace of ,burns1 near ,ayr #g4 ,sunset with ,cattle ,bethnal ,green ,museum #h4 ,in ,full ,cry ,barnet ,lewis1 ,esq4 #i4 ,children by the ,sea ,jesse ,haworth1 ,esq4 #aj4 ,by the ,thames ,barnet ,lewis1 ,esq4 #aa4 ,a ,surrey ,cottage #ab4 ,the ,donkey that would not go ,sharpley ,bainbridge1 ,esq4 #ac4 ,passing the ,flock ,barnet ,lewis1 ,esq4 #ad4 ,near ,godalming #ae4 ,the ,blackberry ,gatherers #af4 ,the ,happy ,time of ,life ,,birket ,,foster ,the dainty water-colour paintings executed by ,birket ,foster probably appeal to the majority of the ,british public more than the work of any other artist4 ,for many years during the early part of his career he was engaged in drawing on wood-blocks for the engraver1 from which he acquired a minuteness in detail that continued to pervade his paintings in later life4 ,the result was that he produced scenes from ,nature with an exactness that the most uninitiated in art are able to understand and appreciate4 ,the chief features1 however1 in ,birket ,foster's paintings are the poetic feeling with which he indued them1 and the care and felicity with which his compositions were selected4 ,these qualities lend a great charm to his drawings1 and especially to those representing the homely scenes1 so frequently selected from that picturesque part of ,surrey1 where he lived for many years4 ,he revelled in sunny landscapes1 with sheep roaming in the distance and with rustic children playing in the foreground2 he was also attracted by peaceful red-brick cottages covered with thatch1 and enlivened by domestic scenes4 ,it is perhaps by these rural paintings that the artist is best known4 ,he1 however1 wandered far afield in search of the picturesque2 he was an indefatigable painter1 and produced works selected from all parts of ,england1 ,wales1 and ,scotland4 ,birket ,foster was especially partial to the ,northern counties and the district surrounding his native town in ,northumberland4 ,his rambles were not confined solely to his own country2 he travelled frequently on the ,continent2 ,venice1 as well as the ,rhine1 had its charms for him4 ,the picturesque scenery of ,brittany has also been portrayed by his brush1 and on one occasion he went as far as ,spain and ,morocco in pursuit of his art4 ,birket ,foster1 as he is generally known1 or ,myles ,birket ,foster1 to give him his full name1 was born at ,north ,shields on ,february #d1 #ahbe4 ,his ancestors held good social positions for many generations in the ,north ,country1 and were staunch members of the ,society of ,friends4 ,one1 ,sarah ,forster1 as the family name was originally spelt1 married a descendant of ,margaret ,fell of ,swathmoor ,hall1 who1 after the death of her first husband1 ,judge ,fell1 was united to ,george ,fox1 the founder of the ,quakers4 ,in #ahcj the artist's father migrated with his family to ,london1 voyaging all the way by sea4 ,he took up his residence at #dj ,charlotte ,street1 ,portland ,place1 and founded the well-known firm of ,m4 ,b4 ,foster and ,sons4 ,quitting school at an early age1 young ,birket ,foster was at first placed in his father's business2 but1 owing to an accident1 he did not remain long in that position4 ,as the youth showed a decided tendency towards art1 his father consulted a ,mr4 ,stone1 a die-engraver1 with whom he had a slight acquaintance1 and it was arranged that the son should be apprenticed to him4 ,before1 however1 the articles of apprenticeship could be signed1 ,mr4 ,stone unfortunately committed suicide4 ,in his dilemma the father next sought the assistance of a fellow-townsman1 ,ebenezer ,landells1 who at that time had established his reputation as a wood-engraver4 ,he offered to take the boy into his business to see whether the work would suit him4 ,the offer was accepted1 and the day on which ,birket ,foster entered ,landells' office may be said to be the commencement of his artistic career4 ,in #ahda ,landells1 in conjunction with ,henry ,mayhew1 ,mark ,lemon1 and others1 started ,punch4 ,most of the early woodcuts for this publication were produced in ,landells' office2 ,birket ,foster was employed to draw and cut numerous initial letters1 and on one occasion he was entrusted to make a full-page political cartoon representing ,lord ,john ,russell as ,jack ,sheppard4 ,when ,the ,illustrated ,london ,news was commenced by ,herbert ,ingram in #ahdb1 ,landells was engaged to produce many of the illustrations1 and ,birket ,foster was employed by him in making drawings for them4 ,this he continued to do for many years after he left ,landells' establishment4 ,the most characteristic works of ,birket ,foster for this periodical were the charming engravings which appeared in the musical supplements and the ,christmas numbers4 ,he also made many drawings for ,the ,illustrated ,london ,almanack for #ahdh and subsequent years4 ,at this period our artist was greatly sought after by publishers to execute pencil drawings for wood-engravings for books1 and from the year #ahdg to #ahfc more than eighty different volumes1 produced by various firms1 were illustrated by dainty engravings after his drawings4 ,after the year #aheh ,birket ,foster practically abandoned the drawing on wood-blocks1 and devoted himself almost entirely to water-colour painting4 ,he received little or no instruction in the art1 and in later years1 when he was frequently pestered by persons asking him to give them lessons in painting1 he used to say that he never received any lessons1 so he never gave them1 believing the best instruction to be obtained from studying the great masters4 ,he was a profound admirer of ,turner and ,clarkson ,stanfield1 and it is probable that he was more influenced by the latter's works than by those of any other artist1 especially with regard to composition4 ,he delighted to surround himself with paintings by these and other artists4 ,with regard to his method of working1 ,birket ,foster's early training for drawing on wood-blocks considerably influenced his water-colour work1 which was very dissimilar to the wash methods of the early school of water-colour painters4 ,he1 indeed1 worked with his brush as dry as it well could be1 and probably no artist in using the medium of water-colours ever used so little water4 ,of course1 all painting may be said to be drawing with a brush1 but ,birket ,foster's was practically drawing to a peculiar degree1 not washing with a brush4 ,he used a very fine brush with very little paint in it1 and owing to his habit of frequently putting it between his lips to make the point of it as fine as possible1 it used to be said that the paint came out of the artist's head4 ,birket ,foster worked very rapidly in his own way of obtaining the effects he desired1 and his remarkable gift for composition enabled him to people his scenes with wonderful facility and felicity4 ,he never engaged a professional model2 his children were all sketched from the rustic boys and girls1 whom he found in the course of his wanderings4 ,in #ahfj ,birket ,foster was unanimously elected an associate of the ,old ,water-,colour ,society1 and became a full member two years afterwards4 ,he greatly appreciated the honour conferred upon him1 and thoroughly gave his best interests to the ,society4 ,he was a most prolific worker1 and beside the large number of water-colour paintings exhibited at the ,old ,society1 to which he contributed more than four hundred and fifty1 many of his drawings were bought by the picture-dealers straight from his studio1 and in some cases he received direct commissions for paintings from collectors4 ,birket ,foster1 like many other water-colour artists1 turned his attention to painting in oils1 and for the nine years1 #ahfi to #ahgg1 he regularly contributed oil paintings1 thirteen in all1 to the ,exhibitions at the ,royal ,academy1 but after that period he abandoned this medium1 as he found that his little water-colour gems were far more appreciated by the public4 ,in #ahgf ,foster was elected a member of the ,royal ,academy of ,berlin4 ,although the rural scenery of his native country had its peculiar charms for his pencil1 still ,birket ,foster was greatly attracted by the grander views to be obtained on the ,continent4 ,his early visits were made to the ,rhine1 but subsequently the ,italian lakes and ,venice were his favourite hunting grounds in search for bits to sketch4 ,the word bits is particularly applicable in the case of ,birket ,foster1 for he almost invariably preferred to make a drawing of some detail rather than a broad landscape4 ,he used to say that the mountain scenery of ,switzerland was too panoramic and had no attractions for him4 ,it is somewhat remarkable that whilst he relied to a great extent on lanes and fields1 and hedgerows and rustic children1 for his ,english drawings1 the views for his ,continental paintings were largely selected from towns with architectural details introduced into them4 ,the first visit made to the ,continent by ,birket ,foster was in #aheb1 when he was commissioned by a publisher1 who was bringing out an illustrated edition of ,hyperion1 by ,longfellow1 to follow in the footsteps of ,paul ,flemming1 and to depict on the spot the varied scenes amid which the poet had laid the incidents of his story4 ,paul ,flemming1 as is well known1 was ,longfellow himself1 and the romance was a passage in the author's own life4 ,from that date ,foster made almost annual tours along the ,rhine and through ,switzerland1 but it was not until the year #ahfh that he was first able to feast his eyes upon the beauties of ,venice1 and afterwards he made numerous subsequent trips to ,italy4 ,our artist for many years resided at ,st4 ,john's ,wood1 and when he took seriously to water-colour painting he at first selected his subjects from the fields about ,hampstead and ,highgate4 ,he soon1 however1 wandered farther afield1 and was attracted by the picturesque scenery of ,surrey4 ,during his wanderings in this delightful county he found himself at ,witley1 near ,godalming1 and he resolved to have a residence there4 ,it cannot be said that ,witley was discovered by ,birket ,foster1 for other artists were there before him4 ,j4 ,c4 ,hook1 ,r4,a41 had already built himself a residence and studio upon an eminence with a beautiful view overlooking the ,weald of ,surrey4 ,there can1 however1 be no doubt that the genial disposition and the liberal hospitality of the owner of ,the ,hill afterwards attracted many of his fellow-artists to the neighbourhood4 ,witley station stands at a spot where the railway emerges from a deep cutting with pine woods on either side1 and at this period there were but few houses or even cottages in the vicinity1 for the village itself lies a mile and a quarter to the northward2 but ,birket ,foster managed to secure the possession of a picturesque cottage called ,tigbourne1 situated by the corner of the road leading to ,hambledon at the foot of ,wormley ,hill1 and resided there during the summer months4 ,birket ,foster eventually became so pleased with the neighbourhood that he determined to take up his permanent abode at ,witley4 ,after lengthy negotiations1 he secured a beautiful site1 between ,wormley ,hill and the railway station1 on which he erected a house which was called ,the ,hill1 and finally quitted ,st4 ,john's ,wood4 ,he was practically his own architect1 and residing near by at his cottage1 he was enabled personally to superintend the erection of the entire building4 ,in order that its newness should not offend the artistic eye1 he purchased as many weather-worn tiles off the old cottages in the neighbourhood as possible1 and placed them on the roof of his house4 ,a great amount of care was bestowed on the internal decorations4 ,william ,morris was consulted1 and ,burne-,jones painted seven canvases illustrating the legend of ,st4 ,george and the ,dragon1 which formed a frieze round three sides of the dining-room4 ,burne-,jones was also commissioned to make many other designs for the adornment of ,the ,hill2 the decorated tiles round the fire-places and stained glass in the windows were all designed by him4 ,he also painted a large screen of eight folds1 upon which were sixteen events of the life of ,st4 ,frideswide4 ,these scenes were afterwards reproduced in the windows of ,christ ,church ,cathedral at ,oxford4 ,the ,hill was an open house to all ,birket ,foster's friends1 and particularly to his brother-artists4 ,he was never more pleased than when he was entertaining his guests1 and being specially fond of music1 many of the social gatherings were enhanced by musical performances4 ,one of the most frequent visitors was ,frederick ,walker1 ,a4,r4,a43 he was a special favourite1 at all times welcome1 and was one of the few who had an influence on ,birket ,foster's painting1 especially his figures4 ,he was in the habit of going to ,witley whenever he felt inclined1 without waiting for an invitation1 a bedroom known as ,freddy's room being reserved for him4 ,walker had an immense love for the place1 which he called ,paradise1 and greatly regretted that he had not sufficient money to purchase a cottage which ,j4 ,c4 ,hook1 ,r4,a41 had built near his house1 the situation of which ,walker considered romantic--such a sweep of glorious country4 ,another constant visitor was ,charles ,keene1 the celebrated black and white artist of ,punch4 ,after ,birket ,foster had removed from ,tigbourne ,cottage he still rented it that he might make sure of the presence of an agreeable and congenial occupant1 and persuaded ,keene to become a tenant4 ,keene was greatly delighted with this retreat1 of which he wrote3-- ,the stillness here after ,london is delicious4 ,the only sound is the ring of the village blacksmith's hammer in the distance or the occasional cluck of a hen1 and the wind roars through the trees of a night1 which lulls me pleasantly to sleep4 ,as may be seen by glancing through the titles of his exhibited paintings1 the neighbourhood around ,witley had a great charm for ,birket ,foster1 and drawings made on ,hambledon ,common and in the village of ,chiddingfold--with their picturesque cottages roofed with thatch or red tiles1 now fast disappearing1 and their leafy lanes with happy children gathering wild-flowers1 or the beautiful view from his own residence overlooking the ,surrey ,weald1 with ,hindhead and ,blackdown in the distance and glimpses of the ,brighton ,downs beyond--are most appreciated by the public1 and it is by these paintings he is best known4 ,birket ,foster1 as already stated1 made very many tours through different parts of ,england and ,scotland1 and although he was not what may be termed a seascape artist1 he was fond of making drawings of children playing on the seashore4 ,later in life he revisited many of the watering-places which he depicted for ,the ,illustrated ,london ,news in his early days1 and instead of sketches for wood-blocks1 he painted many charming little scenes4 ,another phase of ,birket ,foster's art was his love for painting fruit and flowers4 ,he was greatly attracted by ,william ,hunt's work4 ,as may be expected1 the same stippling in paintings by ,hunt appears in works of ,foster2 but whilst the former nearly always painted his fruit pieces the same size as in ,nature1 the latter produced almost miniature representations of them4 ,in #ahic ,birket ,foster was attacked by a serious illness1 and yielding to the pressure of medical advice1 he was obliged to abandon much of his work and reluctantly to give up ,the ,hill4 ,he removed to ,braeside1 ,weybridge1 and here he resided quietly1 devoting himself to his painting as much as possible1 until his death1 which occurred six years later4 ,he was buried in ,witley churchyard2 a ,celtic cross1 with the simple inscription1 ,in memory of ,birket ,foster4 ,born ,feb4 #dth1 #ahbe4 ,died ,march #bgth1 #ahii1 marks the spot where lie the remains of this great water-colour artist1 who painted ,english landscape with such a pure feeling and high perception of the beauty of ,nature4 ,birket ,foster was twice married--firstly1 in #ahej1 to his cousin1 ,ann ,spence1 by whom he had five children1 three sons and two daughters2 and secondly1 in #ahfd1 to ,frances ,watson1 a sister to ,john ,dawson ,watson1 the well-known painter and member of the ,old ,water-,colour ,society4 ,illustration3 ,going ,home ,illustration3 ,loch ,leven ,castle ,illustration3 ,shrine at the ,entrance of the ,courtyard of the ,ducal ,palace1 ,venice ,illustration3 ,entrance to the ,grand ,canal1 ,venice ,illustration3 ,birthplace of ,burns1 near ,ayr ,illustration3 ,sunset with ,cattle ,illustration3 ,in ,full ,cry ,illustration3 ,children by the ,sea ,illustration3 ,by the ,thames ,illustration3 ,a ,surrey ,cottage ,illustration3 ,the ,donkey that would not go ,illustration3 ,passing the ,flock ,illustration3 ,near ,godalming ,illustration3 ,the ,blackberry ,gatherers ,illustration3 ,the ,happy ,time of ,life 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's ,notes ,captions were added to the plates for convenience4 ,italics styled text is shown within underscores4 ,bold styled text is shown within equal signs4