Grimshaw biography

John Atkinson Grimshaw is a remarkable painter who is less widely appreciated than he should be, for many reasons: little is known of his life, he worked mainly in the north of England, most of his paintings are in private collections and he was unfashionably versatile yet he became one of the worlds artist.

John Atkinson Grimshaw first began painting while working as a clerk for the Great Northern Railway.

He encountered bitter opposition from his parents, but after his marriage in 1858 to a cousin of T.S. Cooper, he was able to devote himself full time to painting. Self-taught, Grimshaw started exhibiting in Leeds in the 1860's with minutely observed still life's.

John atkinson grimshaw biography

By 1870, he was successful enough to rent a 17th century mansion, following the death of three of his children at his Leeds home. He called it Castle by the Sea, perched on a cliff top, it has magnificent views of both the north and south bays.

The name of his