Artists Illustrating Boys' Fashions: Eyre Crowe (England, 1824-1910)



Figure 1.-Crowe left us this scene of from Wigan in the industrial Midlamds -- 'Lancashire mill girls in 1874 relaxing at lunchtime'. It depicts an image of the industrial revolution that is different than often not csee in history textbooks which commonly convey exploitation. These girls are not depicted to convey ecploitation. In fact they were receiving wages that were substantially above what they could have earned before the industrial revolution.

Eyre Crowe was an English artist. We mention him under American artistrs because he painted important American scenes, including images of ante-bellum slavery. We do not know much about him. He primarily painted historical art and genre scenes. He chose his subjects for their social importance. He style was realism. A good example is an industrial revolution image, 'Lancashire mill girls in 1874 relaxing at lunchtime' (figure 1). An important American work is 'Slaves waiting for sale' Richmond, Virginia, 1861. What we see is a somewhat sanitized view of slavery without the whips, blood hounds, and chains commonly see in Abolitioniist images. Most notably the mothers are depicted with their children. This is an important work because so few American artists produced works on slvery. The date is when he painted it, not when he observed the scene. Eyre was born in London, but was raised in France. His father was journalist Eyre Evans Crowe which probably explain his realist and journalist approach to art. His brother was journalist, diplomat and art historian Joseph Archer Crowe. His brother's son also Eyre Crowe became an important British diplomat. Eyre was a pupil of William Darley and later of Paul Delaroche in Paris. He traveled to the United States as amanuensis (literary or artistic asistant) to famed novelist William Makepeace Thackeray between (1852-53). He published With Thackeray in America (1893) and Thackeray's Haunts and Homes (1897). He exhibited at the Royal Academy in London between 1846 and 1908. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy (1876).








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Created: May 18, 2002
Last updated: 1:16 AM 2/25/2007