Alfred Conquest was an accomplished English painter of plein-air views, predominantly known for his work in north-west France and Cornwall.

Born in Woodford, Essex, little is known about Conquest’s early years but it’s conceivable that he trained in Paris. This is apparent as, from the outset, his loose and spirited style was distinctly influenced by his French contemporaries. It’s possible that he studied with Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1836-1911) and Léon Bonnat (1833-1922) at the Académie Julian.

In contrast to the British, the French celebrated individual freedoms and offered a great sense of liberality with regard to landscape painting. Greater emphasis was placed upon painting nature from life, as the artist saw it, and less on replicating every minutia. It was an ideology that Conquest relished and, as such, he spent countless hours working across the Channel.

In 1882, he debuted at the Paris Salon with a view of Pont-Aven, a quaint commune in Brittany, famed for its artistic heritage. Captivated by its unspoilt scenery, artists had flocked here for over two decades and created something akin to a bohemian idyll. It would’ve been a fascinating time for the enthusiastic Englishman.

Two years later, he was shown at London’s Royal Academy with ‘On the Breton Shore’ and his career began to gain traction back home. In 1885, following an exhibition of the 19th-Century Art Society, a critic at The Magazine of Art praised his “strong, luminous, and high-toned sketch of ‘Low Tide on the Coast of Normandy,’ with its shining sand, black rocks, and silver sky.”

He continued to exhibit at the Royal Academy until 1890 but became displeased at its structure and the apparent cronyism within the selection committee. In a letter to the Pall Mall Gazette, he described it as “a club for the advancement of private interests” where “personal tastes and friendly feelings (however unconsciously) will always guide the hanging of pictures”. Unsurprisingly, he advocated a model similar to the one adopted at the Paris Salon.

Towards the turn of the century, Conquest moved to the South East of England and appears to have faded into obscurity. A newspaper advertisement in 1897, refers to his ‘Riviera studio’, which was offered for rent.

He’s represented at the Guildhall Art Gallery in London.

Exhibited

Royal Academy, Paris Salon, Royal Society of British Artists, New Gallery, 19th-Century Art Society, The Grosvenor Gallery.

Public Collections

Guildhall Art Gallery in London.

Timeline

1849

Born in Woodford, Essex, to John Conquest, a solicitor, and Susan Conquest (nee Caldecott).

1851

Lived in Woodford, Essex, with his mother, siblings, and staff.

1861

Lived in Woodford, Essex, with his mother, siblings, and staff.

1881

Lived in Stonton Wyville, Leicestershire, with Charles and Emma Armstrong, their children, and staff. Listed as a brother-in-law. Occupation recorded as ‘Artist. Painter’.

1882

Shown at the Paris Salon with ‘Pont-Aven, Finistère’.

1883

Shown at the Paris Salon.

1884

Lived in Woodford, Essex.
Shown at the 19th-Century Art Society.
Shown at the Society of British Artists. Breton coast. Caffieri. 
Shown at the Royal Academy with ‘On the Breton shore’.

1897

Rented out his studio in the Riviera.

1901

Boarded in Hastings, Sussex. Occupation recorded as ‘Artist. Painter’.

1911

Lived with his sister, Emma Little, in Hastings, Sussex. Occupation recorded as ‘Artist (Painter)’.

1928

Died in Tonbridge, Kent.

Reviews

The Building News (1884) following an exhibition of the 19th-Century Art Society.

“Mr. Alfred Conquest's fine picture, ‘Path by the River,’ a landscape in a grey tone. Standing out against a winter's sky are some silvery-barked trees, leafless, the whole composition and colour displaying a true sentiment.”

Royal Cornwall Gazette (1885) following an exhibition at The Grosvenor Gallery.

“Mr. Alfred Conquest's ‘On the Quay, St. Ives’ (217) marks a creditable ‘first appearance’ at the Grosvenor, and we congratulate him on having thus attained classic ground almost at the outset of his artistic career.”

The Magazine of Art (1885) following an exhibition of the 19th-Century Art Society.

“Mr Alfred Conquest has done an excellent piece of rapid work in his strong, luminous, and high-toned sketch of ‘Low Tide on the Coast of Normandy,’ with its shining sand, black rocks, and silver sky.”

Pall Mall Gazette (1886). His own words.

“In reply to an article on ‘The Revolt Against the Royal Academy,’ although it is admirably written, I think that no amount of reforming, even if it can be done, will make the Royal Academy work in a satisfactory way. The Academy is, has been, and will remain, I firmly believe, in spite of any Commission that may sit, ‘a club for the advancement of private interests,’ and to keep it free from personal bias and prejudice would be impossible. What the artists want is an exhibition modelled, so far as can be, on the system of the Paris Salon; the jury of selection voted for by the artist exhibitors themselves, and a jury as at Paris of thirty or forty members; for in a small number, as at the Royal Academy, several are always quite out of touch with a great portion of the work sent in. With a large and representative jury all kinds of art are understood; favouritism is almost impossible, and every branch of art is represented. 

On works being received let them be numbered 1, 2, 3, or received without number by vote of jury and registered in a book, and pictures placed according to their numbers. No favour can be shown, as the book is open for the exhibitors to refer to. Until an exhibition with a system of this sort is instituted and at the Royal Academy it never would be - personal tastes and friendly feelings (however unconsciously) will always guide the hanging of pictures, and artists can never be fairly or justly treated.”

Ipswich Journal (1888) following an exhibition at the Royal Academy.

“Alfred Conquest, Woodford, Essex, has a delightful little work which he calls ‘December in Brittany,’ hung on the line in the first gallery. The elements are simple. It is only a small patch of trees. The foreground is strewn with ruddy autumn leaves, but affectionately encircling the tree tops is a beautiful silvery haze - which we associated with pictures by the famous Frenchman, Corot - and which Mr. Conquest has painted with a skilful brush in colour of first-rate quality. In his other work ‘Through the Beech Woots, Pont Aven,’ the pathway is in capital perspective, the trees are careful studies from nature, the figures are admirably drawn, and the landscape has considerable atmospheric charms.”