HAMERTON

hamerton, philip gilbert (1834-1894), english artist and author, was born at laneside, near shaw, close to oldham, on the 10th of september 1834. his mother died at his birth, and having lost his father ten years afterwards, he was educated privately under the direction of his guardians. his first literary attempt, a volume of poems, proving unsuccessful, he devoted himself for a time entirely to landscape painting, encamping out of doors in the highlands, where he eventually rented the island of innistrynych, upon which he settled with his wife, a french lady, in 1858. discovering after a time that his qualifications were rather those of an art critic than of a painter he removed to the neighbourhood of his wife's relatives in france, where he produced his _painter's camp in the highlands_ (1863), which obtained a great success and prepared the way for his standard work on _etching and etchers_ (1866). in the following year he published a book, entitled _contemporary french painters_, and in 1868 a continuation, _painting in france after the decline of classicism_. he had meanwhile become art critic to the _saturday review_, a position which, from the burden it laid upon him of frequent visits to england, he did not long retain. he proceeded (1870) to establish an art journal of his own, _the portfolio_, a monthly periodical, each number of which consisted of a monograph upon some artist or group of artists, frequently written and always edited by him. the discontinuance of his active work as a painter gave him time for more general literary composition, and he successively produced _the intellectual life_ (1873), perhaps the best known and most valuable of his writings; _round my house_ (1876), notes on french society by a resident; and _modern frenchmen_ (1879), admirable short biographies. he also wrote two novels, _wenderholme_ (1870) and _marmorne_ (1878). in 1884 _human intercourse_, another valuable volume of essays, was published, and shortly afterwards hamerton began to write his autobiography, which he brought down to 1858. in 1882 he issued a finely illustrated work on the technique of the great masters of various arts, under the title of the _graphic arts_, and three years later another splendidly illustrated volume, _landscape_, which traces the influence of landscape upon the mind of man. his last books were: _portfolio papers_ (1889) and _french and english_ (1889). in 1891 he removed to the neighbourhood of paris, and died suddenly on the 4th of november 1894, occupied to the last with his labours on _the portfolio_ and other writings on art. in 1896 was published _philip gilbert hamerton: an autobiography_, 1834-1858; and a _memoir by his wife_, 1858-1894.