Frederick Morgan

Frederick Morgan (1847 – 3 April 1927) was an English painter of portraits, animals, domestic and country scenes. He became known for his idyllic genre scenes of childhood. Biography Morgan was born in London to John Morgan and his wife, Henrietta Hester Clare. His father was a successful genre artist sometimes known as 'Jury Morgan' (after one of his paintings The Gentlemen of the Jury). At the age of 14, he was taken out of school by his father who then tutored him in art. At the age of 16, while still studying with his father, his first picture, The Rehearsal, was exhibited at the Royal Academy, and, after a hiatus of several years, his paintings were shown there regularly. For a while he worked as a portrait artist for an Aylesbury photographer; this training proved to be crucial as it "taught him how to observe closely and to give the greatest attention to detail." Eventually he turned to other subjects for his art, in particular idyllic genre scenes of country life and childhood. For many years, starting in 1874, Thomas Agnew & Sons' purchased all the work he produced. Over this period he painted some of his most popular works such as The Doll’s Tea Party (1874), Emigrants' Departure (1875) and School Belles (1877). Most of his painting was done in the village of Shere close to Guildford, a well-known retreat for artists. He also painted in Normandy, including Midday Rest (1879) and An Apple Gathering (1880).