Henry Bright was a distinguished British artist predominantly known for landscape painting.
Born in Saxmundham, Suffolk, Henry Bright’s formative years were spent pursuing a career as a chemist. His father, Jerome, a clockmaker, encouraged the young man to find a trade - dissuading him from artistic pursuits. Following an apprenticeship, he worked as a dispenser for Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, employing every spare moment to draw from nature.
There’s a fascinating character to the Suffolk countryside, which compels those with an eye for beauty to capture its majesty. Tranquil rivers, shimmering streams, leafy woods, rustic mills and vast irrepressible skies - coastal and inland, have inspired artists for generations. Gainsborough and Constable were smitten and Bright followed suit.
The Norwich School
His precocious skill for drawing was soon noticed by his peers, who urged him to ditch the apothecary in favour of the brush. His decision to do so led him to Norfolk and into the welcoming arms of a provincial art movement known as the Norwich School. Influenced by masters of the Dutch Golden Age, such as Meindert Lubbertszoon Hobbema (1638-1709) and Jacob van Ruisdael (1628/9-1682), its members were inspired by the natural environment. He was trained by Alfred Stannard (1806-1889), John Berney Crome (1794-1842) and John Sell Cotman (1782-1842), each aiding his technique. And by 1836, he’d debuted at London’s British Institution, introducing him to a pool of eager buyers.
JMW Turner
Beyond East Anglia, Bright undertook numerous study trips across the British Isles and on the continent. During one such trip, he made the acquaintance of JMW Turner (1775-1851) and the pair struck up a lifelong friendship. He accompanied Turner on at least two tours and evidently impressed the distinguished academician. A Victorian critic later commented that Bright’s skies were second only to Turner himself.
The Complexity Of Nature
He often selected views involving complex elements such as ragged buildings, crags, wrecked mills, and transient weather effects. His version of nature was all-encompassing, not limited to clichéd vignettes of a sentimental ideal. This simple sketch titled ‘Clumps of Trees’ speaks volumes.
With oils, he often worked on wide canvases to emphasise a panorama. Many of these use a building as its focal point, yet also convey a sense of harmony - in tone and composition. His ‘Scene in the Scottish Highlands’ sold at Christie’s in 2006.
He could also turn his hand to dramatic coastal views whereby a rolling, brooding, sky creates atmosphere and tension. ‘North Beach, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk’ is particularly Turner-esque.
Queen Victoria
His motivation to paint the truth brought with it originality and a host of exclusive patrons including Queen Victoria and the Grand Duchess Marie of Russia. During a trip to Brodrick Castle on the Isle of Arran, Scotland, he carried the latter on his back while traversing a stream.
Bright spent the majority of his career in London, exhibiting twelve times at the Royal Academy. He did so while also establishing himself as a leading drawing master for aristocratic offspring. Highly regarded in the ‘right circles’, he was soon elected as a member of the New Society of Painters in Watercolours.
In a review of his life, the art critic Frederic Gordon Roe stated that “Bright roamed the earth with an avid eye for quaint cottage corners, picturesque tree forms or glimpses of wild moorland scenery”. He did so magnificently.
Henry Bright is represented in numerous public collections including The British Museum, Norwich Castle Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Tate Gallery and the Courtauld Institute of Art.
Exhibited
Royal Academy, British Institution, New Society of Painters in Watercolours, Liverpool Academy.
Public Collections
The British Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Tate Gallery, Courtauld Institute of Art, The Huntington Library in California, Wichita Art Museum in Kansas, The University of Nottingham, Abbot Hall, Beecroft Art Gallery, Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, Bury Art Museum, Christchurch Mansion, Ferens Art Gallery, Glasgow Museums Resource Centre, Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Leicester Museum & Art Gallery, Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery, National Maritime Museum, National Trust for Scotland Culzean Castle, National Trust Anglesey Abbey, Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Nottingham City Museums & Galleries, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Somerset Heritage Centre, The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum.
Timeline
1810
Born in Saxmundham, Suffolk, England, to Jerome Bright, a clockmaker, and Susannah Denny.
Apprenticed to a chemist in Woodbridge, Suffolk.
Apprenticed to Paul Squires, a chemist in Norwich, Norfolk.
Worked as a dispenser at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.
Trained under Alfred Stannard (1806-1889). Also possibly by John Berney Crome (1794-1842) and John Sell Cotman (1782-1842).
1833
Married Eliza Brightley in Saxmundham.
1836
Moved to Paddington, London, with his wife and children.
Debuted at the British Institution.
Undertook sketching tours of England, Scotland, Wales and the continent. During one of these trips, he struck up a friendship with JMW Turner (1775-1851).
1839
Elected a member of the New Society of Painters in Watercolours where he exhibited until 1844.
1843
Debuted at the Royal Academy with ‘Sketch on the Rhine-Moonlight’. Twelve works were shown between 1843 and 1876.
1844
‘Entrance to an Old Prussian Town’ purchased by Queen Victorian via the New Society of Painters in Watercolours.
1848
Moved to Ealing, London.
His wife passed away.
1854
Lived in St John's Wood, London.
1858
Moved to Saxmundham for health reasons.
1860
Lived in Redhill, Surrey.
1873
Died in Ipswich, Suffolk.
Obituary - Bury & Suffolk Standard
“Henry Bright, a Suffolk artist of considerable repute, who had resided in Ipswich during the last five years, died at his residence in Anglesea-road on Sunday last. The deceased was born at Saxmundham in June, 1814, and when a child showed those indications of natural talent which in maturer years raised him to a high position as an artist. He may be said to have used pencils as the toys of his childhood, drawing being his earliest amusement.
He was apprenticed to a chemist and druggist at Woodbridge, and at the expiration of his time he removed to Norwich, where a part of his duties was to act as dispenser to the Norwich Hospital. Whilst at Woodbridge his his leisure hours were occupied by sketching and painting, and his removal to Norwich, placing him, as it did, amongst Crome, Cotman, the elder Ladbrook, Stark, Vincent, and others of the Norwich school of artists, stimulated him to increased exertions with his pencil.
The work of a druggist was naturally unsuited to the taste and genius of such a man as Henry Bright, and with his father's consent he relinquished the pestle and mortar and started for London to devote himself entirely to art. There he soon became intimate with David Cox, Samuel Prout, and other kindred spirits of the water-colour school, and in a few years was elected a member of the New Water Colour and other societies of artists, and subsequently of the Graphic Society.
For more than 20 years he regularly devoted a certain portion of every year to travelling, and his paintings of scenery on the Rhine, the coast of France and Holland, the Isle of Arran, the Yorkshire moors, &c., were the results of these various tours. It was on one of the trips that he made the acquaintance of the celebrated J. M. W Turner - an acquaintance which ripened into friendship and lasted until death.
Mr. Bright, for some years, while residing in London, devoted himself to teaching drawing and painting, and his celebrity may be judged by the fact that for many years he realised nearly two thousand pounds a-year from this branch of his profession, and numbered among his pupils the sons and daughters of English nobles. His paintings won for him a niche in the temple of fame. For splendid sky effects Bright was second only to Turner. In some of his pictures the sky is surcharged with heavy clouds, and the portrayal of rain is singularly powerful. He frequently selected for his subject the sedgy banks of an English stream, and by the enchanting power of his artistic mind, he imbued its secluded and quiet character with the charm of tender sentiment and delicious repose.
His crayon drawings were almost unequalled, and in all respects he may be said to have been a worthy associate in art with Gainsborough and Constable, of whom Suffolk people may well be proud. Many gentlemen in Suffolk have in their possession valuable works by Mr. Bright, but the largest and finest of his pictures, among which are ‘Orford Castle,’ are in the possession of Chas. T. Maud, Esq., of Bath.”
Further reading: https://dn790005.ca.archive.org/0/items/henrybrightborn100roefuoft/henrybrightborn100roefuoft.pdf