FILDES, Sir LUKE (1843-1927)

**PRICE ON APPLICATION**
 
"Portrait Study" (c.1890)
oil on canvas
50 x 40cm
signed lower right
*private collection, Sydney
 
Sir Samuel Luke Fildes KCVO RA is an important British Painter and Illustrator. He was student at the Warrington School of Art, then moved to the South Kensington Art School where he met Hubert von Herkomer and Frank Holl. All three men became influenced by the work of Frederick Walker, the leader of the social realist movement in Britain. He joined the staff of The Graphic Newspaper, a weekly illustrated publication in 1869. In 1870 he had given up working for The Graphic and had turned his full attention to oil painting. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy (A.S.A.) in 1879, and a Royal Academician (R.A.) in 1887; and was knighted by King Edward VII in 1906. In 1918, he was appointed as Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) by King George V. Fildes produced a large number of caricatures for Vanity Fair under the nom de crayon "ELF". He and Henry Woods were regarded as leaders of the Neo-Venetian school. His works are represented in many major galleries & institutions including the Tate Britain, National Portrait Gallery and the AGNSW.