John Melhuish Strudwick | Pre-Raphaelite painter

John Melhuish Strudwick (1849-1935) studied at the Royal Academy Schools, where he was not a successful student. Following this, he worked as a studio assistant to Burne-Jones and Stanhope. The influence of Burne-Jones is clearly visible in his work. Stanhope was a highly talented individual in his own right, however, and his paintings may be judged on their own considerable merits.

His pictures used a naive, flat perspective, and were much-praised by George Bernard Shaw, who commented on the beauty and accuracy of his depiction of landscape, sky, and foliage. Following developments in the early 20th century the art world had no room for Strudwick and his work, and due to this he was forced to cease painting, he was quite literally shamed into artistic silence. He lived on to a great age I am pleased to say, and at his death the Times obituarist paid tribute to his charming, kind, and interesting character. | Art Renewal Center