Richard Jack

Background

Jack was born on February 15, 1866 in Sunderland, County Durham, United Kingdom.

Education

Richard Jack studied at York School of Art before winning a national scholarship to the Royal College of Art in 1886. There he won a gold medal and in 1888 a travelling scholarship to the Académie Julian.

Career

On his return to London in the early 1890s, Richard Jack worked for a time on the staff of The Idler and for Cassell's Magazine as a black-and-white artist. He was awarded a silver medal at the 1900 Paris International Exhibition and at the Carnegie International in Pittsburgh in 1914.

In 1916, he accepted a commission in the Canadian Army to paint for the Canadian War Records Office, becoming Canada's first official war artist. Two large paintings were commissioned by Lord Beaverbrook: "The Second Battle of Ypres, 22 April to 25 May 1915", and "The Taking of Vimy Ridge, Easter Monday 1917." Both paintings are currently on permanent display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario.

A portrait of King George V, commissioned by the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham, was later bought by the monarch himself. He subsequently painted portraits of Queen Mary, King Alphonso of Spain, and various interiors at Buckingham Palace. Jack immigrated to Canada in 1938, where he painted landscapes as well as portraits.

Jack was a master draftsman and there was no question that he understood color and form. His grand and romantic style glorified every subject he touched. A painting by him of composer Colin McAlpin is in the collection of the Leicester Arts and Museums Service.

The artist usually worked from a studio and relied on a variety of references, including photographs that were taken of the front. His war art concentrated on the collective triumph rather than the individual agony of war. He used his Montreal studio as a base for field trips across Canada, and before his death in 1952 — at age 87 — he was well known for his Canadian wilderness paintings.

Achievements

• Richard Jack was known as a painter of portraits, figure subjects, interiors and landscapes. He was gifted with several awards during his time as a painter and was also known for creating portraits of several members of the royal family. He was greatly famous in Canada for his paintings "Battle of Vimy Ridge", "Love Tunes the Shepherd's Reed", "Sir George H. Fisher-Smith", and "Berkeley George Andrew."

Works

More photos

• painting

  • Battle of Vimy Ridge

    1918

  • Charles Paxton Markham

  • Love Tunes the Shepherd's Reed

  • Mrs Stansfield Richardson, MBE

  • Rehearsal with Nikisch

  • Sir George H. Fisher-Smith

  • The Flower Seller

  • Berkeley George Andrew

  • British Industries. Steel

  • Colin McAlpin

  • Councillor W. Edgar, JP

  • Jonathan Simpson

  • Lieutenant Colonel L. Robson, CMG, DSO

  • Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood

  • Painting from Life

  • Sir James P. Hinchcliffe, Chairman of the County Council of the West Riding of Yorkshire

Views

Richard Jack adhered to the artistic traditions of Impressionism. Richard Jack also concentrated on the collective triumph rather than the individual agony of war.

Membership

He became a member of the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal Institute of Painters.