Sir Francis Bernard Dicksee KCVO PRA (27 November 1853 – 17 October 1928) was an English Victorian painter and illustrator, best known for his pictures of dramatic literary, historical, and legendary scenes. He also was a noted painter of portraits of fashionable women, which helped to bring him success in his own time.

Frank Dicksee
Frank Bernard Dicksee
Born(1853-11-27)27 November 1853
Died17 October 1928(1928-10-17) (aged 74)
London, England, UK

Life

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Dicksee's father, Thomas Dicksee, was a painter who taught Frank as well as his sister Margaret from a young age. The family lived in Fitzroy Square, Bloomsbury.[1] Dicksee enrolled in the Royal Academy Schools in 1870 and achieved early success. He was elected to the Academy in 1891 and became its president in 1924.[2]

 
The Two Crowns, 1900

He was knighted in 1925, and named to the Royal Victorian Order by King George V in 1927. In 1921 Dicksee exhibited at the first exhibition of the Society of Graphic Art in London.[3]

Dicksee painted The Funeral of a Viking (1893; Manchester Art Gallery), which was donated in 1928 by Arthur Burton in memory of his mother to the Corporation of Manchester. Victorian critics gave it both positive and negative reviews, for its perfection as a showpiece and for its dramatic and somewhat staged setting, respectively. The painting was used by Swedish Viking/Black metal band Bathory for the cover of their 1990 album, Hammerheart.

A book on Frank Dicksee's life and work with a full catalogue of his known paintings and drawings by Simon Toll was published by Antique Collector's Club in 2016.[4]

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See also

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Dicksee by J. P. Mayall[5][6]

References

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  1. ^ "Fitzroy Square Pages 52-63 Survey of London: Volume 21, the Parish of St Pancras Part 3: Tottenham Court Road and Neighbourhood. Originally published by London County Council, London, 1949". British History Online. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  2. ^ ""Francis Bernard Dicksee (1853–1928)" Phryne". Archived from the original on 6 July 2008.
  3. ^ "List of Members", Catalogue of the First Annual Exhibition of the Society of Graphic Art, London: Society of Graphic Art: 45–48, January 1921
  4. ^ Toll, Simon (2016). Frank Dicksee 1853-1928 : his art and life. Woodbridge: ACC Art Books. ISBN 9781851498314.
  5. ^ Dicksee by J. P. Mayall from Artists at Home, published 1884
  6. ^ "Image Collections". www.nga.gov.
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Cultural offices
Preceded by President of the Royal Academy
1924–1928
Succeeded by