Philip Wilson Steer

Philip Wilson Steer 1860-1942, English landscape painter. Steer worked largely in the tradition of French impressionist painting and was considered the greatest English landscape painter of his day. He brought to his subjects a considerable understanding of pattern, color, space, and especially light effects. Examples of his work are Chepstow Castle, Music Room (Tate Gall., London) and a self-portrait (Uffizi). The Tate Gallery owns many of his works.

Steer, Philip Wilson (1860–1942). British painter (of landscapes and occasional portraits and figure compositions), born in Birkenhead, son of an undistinguished portrait painter, Philip Steer (1810–71). With Sickert (his friend and exact contemporary), Steer was the leader among the progressive British artists in his generation who looked to France for inspiration. He turned to painting after giving up a job in the Department of Coins and Medals in the British Museum in 1878 and had his main training in Paris, 1882–4, first at the Académie Julian and then the École des Beaux-Arts. He revisited France on several occasions, but unlike Sickert he never mastered the language (indeed he left the École des Beaux-Arts when—to reduce numbers—new regulations were introduced forcing all foreign students to take stiff examinations in French). With other admirers of French painting, he was one of the founders of the New English Art Club in 1886 and he regularly exhibited there. In 1892 George Moore wrote ‘it is admitted that Mr Steer takes a foremost place in what is known as the modern movement', and around this time Steer was indeed at his peak, producing the beach scenes and seascapes that are regarded not only as his finest works but also as the best Impressionist pictures painted by an Englishman. They are remarkable for their great freshness and their subtle handling of light, and unlike Sickert's paintings they are devoid of any social or literary content. Among them are several depicting the seaside resort of Walberswick in Suffolk, where he had friends and often stayed at this period.

After about 1895 Steer's work became more conventional and more closely linked to the English tradition of Gainsborough (especially in portraits), Turner, and Constable. In the 1920s he turned increasingly to watercolour. He taught at the Slade School from 1893 to 1930 and in 1931 was awarded the Order of Merit. His sight began to fail in 1935 and he had stopped painting by 1940. His work is well represented in the Tate Gallery, London. In character Steer was benign, modest, and dryly amusing, inspiring affectionate regard in almost everyone who knew him. He was a confirmed bachelor and a hypochondriac who carried his worries about his health to comic lengths: in his own home ‘he donned a hat to go downstairs, because of the changes of temperature between one room and another’ ( Bruce Laughton, Philip Wilson Steer, 1971).

Steer, Philip Wilson (b Birkenhead, 28 Dec. 1860; d London, 21 Mar. 1942). English painter (of landscapes and occasional portraits and figure compositions), son of an undistinguished portrait painter, Philip Steer (1810–71). With Sickert (his friend and exact contemporary), Steer was the leader among the progressive British artists of his generation who looked to France for inspiration. He had his main training in Paris, 1882–4, first at the Académie Julian and then the École des Beaux-Arts, and he revisited France on several occasions. With other admirers of French painting, he was one of the founders of the New English Art Club in 1886 and he regularly exhibited there. In 1892 the Anglo-Irish novelist George Moore wrote, ‘it is admitted that Mr Steer takes a foremost place in what is known as the modern movement’, and around this time Steer was indeed at his peak, producing the beach scenes and seascapes that are regarded not only as his finest works but also as the best Impressionist pictures painted by an Englishman. They are remarkable for their great freshness and their subtle handling of light, and unlike Sickert's paintings they are devoid of any social or literary content. Among them are several depicting the seaside resort of Walberswick in Suffolk, where Steer had friends and often stayed at this period.

After about 1895 Steer's work became more conventional and more closely linked to the English tradition of Gainsborough (especially in his portraits), Turner, and Constable. In the 1920s he turned increasingly to watercolour. He taught at the Slade School from 1893 to 1930 and in 1931 was awarded the Order of Merit. His sight began to fail in 1935 and he had stopped painting by 1940. In character he was benign, modest, and dryly amusing, inspiring affectionate regard in almost everyone who knew him. He was a confirmed bachelor and a hypochondriac who carried his worries about his health to comic lengths: in his own home ‘he donned a hat to go downstairs, because of the changes of temperature between one room and another’ ( Bruce Laughton, Philip Wilson Steer, 1971).