Russell Flint
Biography
Late in 1912, he and his wife went to Italy where they rented a studio in Rome.
There he discovered a local model called Peppina from Anticoli Corrado in the Sabine Hills.
This girl, with her rural charm and beauty, was such a perfect subject for William that he soon became enchanted by the freedom of the Sabine Hills and the peasant girls who lived there.
Far removed from city culture, William was so inspired by the imagery and drama of their lives that even time spent in Florence and Venice could not surpass his discovery in rural Italy.
William was commissioned in the First World War and became Admiralty Assistant Overseer of Airships.
This took him back to his native Scotland, where in 1919 he painted a tiny watercolour called Hilda´s Bonnet on the linen of a fragment of HM Airship 24 which he had previously commanded.
Post World War I, William Russell Flint´s artistic career began to flourish.
He decided to become a full time painter, ceasing his work as an illustrator, and for a time the colourful fashions of his female models reflected the cultural changes taking place after the deprivation of the War.
Leaving London he travelled to France and Spain, until the Civil War, where he produced wonderful paintings reflecting the local scenery and culture.
He was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1924, full member in 1933 and in 1936 became President of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour.
After living on a turkey farm near Totnes, Devon during the Second World War, he and his wife moved back to London where the post war period became Russell Flint´s greatest.
His talent with both the watercolour medium and his skill in depicting the female formcreated a hallmark style which would later become legendary.
In 1947 W. Russell Flint was knighted by King George VI alongside the actor, Laurence Olivier and the musician, Malcolm Sargent.
In 1962 his work was acknowledged by a retrospective exhibition in the Diploma Gallery of the Royal Academy, giving pleasure to more than 21,000 visitors.
At the time, Charles Wheeler, the President, paid tribute to the artist, describing his watercolour technique as a ´baffling skill´.
Sir W. Russell Flint died in December 1969, aged 89. He left behind one of the finest and most sought after collections of watercolours in the World.
A modest man, he always remained genuinely grateful for the talent he had been born with and once said "I have always painted for fun.
If it ceased to be fun I would stop painting".
Sir William RussellFlint. 1880-1969.
Sir William, born in 1880, entered the world of art as a commercial apprentice at the age of fourteen.
Over the next seventy five years he was to rise to the pinnacles of his chosen profession. He became president of the
Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours, Trustee of the Royal Academy of Art, Senior Royal Academician and a Knight Bachelor,
yet the later professional critics chose to regard him as a great enigma.
When he was singularly honoured by a retrospective exhibition of his works at the Royal Academy in 1962 the Art Critic
of the Apollo magazine wrote, somewhat condescendingly, that although he "belonged so clearly,m so honourably to the line of
English nineteenth century watercolourists, Russell Flint remains of almost no consequence at all...
his art seldom rises above a level of incidental triviality, he has rarely produced a picture that meant anything more than
the evocation of an imaginary landscape where olive skinned gypsies or English maidens disport themselves.
The unlikely setting gives their nudity an air of respectability."
Critics, of course have, by definition, to find something to criticise, but William Russell Flint rarely rose to such baiting.
Francis Flint, worked as a professional designer/watercolourist; on 4/4/1880 he became the father of William Russell Flint.
It was a great help for Flint that his father worked in an artistic areas.
In his younger days William Russell Flint went to the Daniel Stewart's College,
and then became a pupil of the Edinburgh Institution College, it was here that Russell Flint developed his work on line and colour
which turned into his particularly well known style painting .
Sir William Russell Flint was an apprentice for six years at an Edinburgh print factory, his job was that of a draughtsman, which
helped to produce the skill needed to achieve what was to become amongst the finest watercolourists worldwide..
In the early 1900s Sir William Russell Flint started drawing illustrations for the London News.
This was the time before photography had arrived to feed the population's thirst for knowledge via images, a time where drawings and engravings were
the only means of portraying images in literature of any content, and where a certain subtlety and accuracy were essential in the portrayal of particular scenes.
This particular magazine was distributed and read across The British Empire which was at that time the majority of the world. Consequently the words,
Russell Flint beacame well known throughout the civilised world. This led the worldwide fame he later enjoyed as an international watercolourist.
In the early 1900s and throughout world war I, Russell Flint created and illustrated books that have now become famous classics, such as Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales".
During the war, Flint served as Admiralty Assistant Overseer in the Royal Navy;
Sir William Russell Flint was able to visit Scotland and able to continue his studies at art college.
When the war was over in 1918, William Russell Flint travelled extensively throughout Europe, and in particular, La France, immensley ejoying painting and drawing
the many fascinating scenes that he would encounter during his everyday adventures, many of Russell Flint's published prints show his travels across France,
and capture a delicate and subtle atmosphere of that particular period.
The Royal Academy accepted Russell Flint as 'associate' member and after a short time in 1933 he became a fulltime commitee member.
Three years later he was offered the prestigeous position of President for "The Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour",
and throughout 1940-45, Sir William and Sybylle Flint made their home on a poultry farm in Devon.
Having been in the Royal Air Force, Russell Flint could be permitted access to Devonport Dockyard,(this scene was published by Flint,
and was critically acclaimed as a painting with wonderful perspective) and work, to his heart's content.
Syblle and William and were eventually able to return home to Peel Cottage in London,
and within 2 years he was awarded the title of Sir.
Sir William worked as a watercolourist the entirity of his life until he died aged 89.
The professional work he produced as an artist over many years helped him to achieve the ability to create a unique style that became
his forte. The paintings produced were looser and he was able to illustrate with superb professionalism, an array of depths that could give life to
architecture and all manner of exotic material, not forgetting his models.
Russell Flint through the medium of his paintings has managed to give, and indeed still does immense enjoyment to thousands of people the world over.
The original watercolour paintings and limited edition signed prints, have now set the benchmark for artists and collectors worldwide, as a superlative excellence in the use of watercolour,
and Sir William's fine paintings are enjoyed by many and regarded amongst the most excellent works on paper to date.
Our Nottinghamshire studio displays a large collection of Russell Flint's original work and his limited edition prints.
If you wish to visit , please call the phone number below
Sir William was admired by his contemporaries, and had a warm personality which he was eager to share with people of similar minds.
Francis Wighton Flint had been an artist on a more commercial scale and, Russell Flint started work in a printing factory, working there for 6 years,
and gained much knowledge about the industry including many processes that were involved in producing pictures.
Russell Flint of Scottish descent originally came from Edinburgh, 1880, his natural flair for using a watercolour brush soon caught the attention of his work colleagues
and private collectors.
The early part of Russell Flint's life was spent studying at the college in Edinburgh, he then worked for 6 yrs. in the litho printing factory,
Russell Flint decided that a life and work in London was for him, and he an official medical artist, drawing with great precision, the human anatomy for the medical world.
At the begining of the century Russell Flint took a position in a London magazine, creating illustrations, this was a move that helped him to show his talents across the world
,due to the distribution of the magazine.
Sibylle Sueter, the daughter of an Admiral and Russell Flint were married the same year,
Russell Flint's painting career was being much appreciated by both art critics and the
general public so much so that within 2 years he became an independant artist, and was the illustrator for many great classical books such as
The Odyssey of Homer, and The Tales of Canterbury Tales by Chaucer.
Throughout the first world war his position in the Navy was to oversee the airships as an Admiralty assistant. He travelled back to his native Scotland,
and using a piece of the very airship that had been in his charge during the war, he painted a watercolour called 'Hilda's Bonnet'.
At the end of 1918, Russell Flint's artistic flair began to be recognized internationally. He was able to travel across Europe, producing a portfolio of wonderful
watercolour paintings illustrating the gentle romantic countryside life on the continent.
In the 1920s Sir William Russell Flint was made an associate member of theAcademy Royal, and several years later his membership became fulltime.
Shortly afterwards he was honoured by the Watercolour painters Royal Society with the title of President
.
The Flints left the turkey farm in Devon, that had been their home during the 14-18 war, Syblle and Russell Flint returned to their Campden Hill, cottage in London,
where Russell Flint's career flourished in the aftermath of the war years and as the Britain gradually began to rebuild after the age of hardship,
and began to look towards the pleasures of the arts again.
Flint's great knowledge of watercolour painting and his natural ability to portray the female form in its wonderful entirety produced an unmistakable and unique style
that has made him famous throughout the world. Many artists have often attempted to copy his style and techniques, but none have ever suceeded in mastering the subtleties
that made his paintings so wonderful.
Russell Flint became a Sir in 1947, and some 15 years later the paintings of Sir William Russell Flint were given the highest possible honour in a
large exhibition at the Royal Academy's, Diploma Gallery.
It was at this time that the Royal Academy president, Mr Wheeler
complimented the art of Russell Flint by describing it as wonderful piece of work and a puzzling skill.
As a successful artist in his own right, Russell Flint took the opportunity to travel, mainly in Europe, and a great deal in France
he painted and drew many scenes, a vast range of landscapes from Switzerland and Scotland to Spain and Italy.
For over 30 years the paintings and prints by Sir William Russell Flint view here have been our speciality
500 limited edition prints, personally signed and unsigned editions after his death; A wonderful collection original watercolour paintings and drawings, are also for sale.
In the heart of the French countryside, near the beautiful towns of Brantome and St. Jean du Cole lies La Chabroulie, Holiday house to let in Dordogne France view.
Limited edition prints, in particular the signed, limited edition prints (ie. pre 1969) were in enormous demand at the date of publication,
the entire edition would often be sold out within several hours of the prints being released.
Unlike books, a 'second' edition of these prints is never produced, and apart from the original painting these prints are the only original hand signed, limited editions
that have over the years become very collectable and sought after artworks, some of which are almost one hundred years old.
A master of watercolour painting, Sir William Russell Flint's work enjoys the recognition amongst the finest and most experienced art of our time.
Please see a collection of work by some of the world's finestartists:- widlife paintings of David Shepherd. His signed prints
and paintings are a amazing portrayal not only of the animals he paints, but of the atmosphere and landscapes throughout the world.
The work of one incredibly talented artist, who painted the working lives of everdayday people in the 1960s is now of the geatest importance to both art collectors and and financial investors.
The signed prints and paintings of L.S.Lowry view have been increasing in value on a regular basis and his work according to recent studies, is now more sought
after and of greater investment value than many modern British artists.
