Rowland Holyoake was a Royal Academy trained British painter of portraits, scenes and landscapes.

Born in London, Rowland Holyoake’s father was the distinguished figure painter, William Holyoake (1834-1894), a regular exhibitor at the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) and a popular curator at Royal Academy Schools. Given this, it’s conceivable that, from an early age, the young man was taught the rudiments of drawing. His father had moved to the capital from Birmingham, where it’s likely that he worked in the circle of John Breakspeare (1856-1914), the still life painter. He furnished Rowland with the middle name of ‘Breakspeare’, possibly as a tribute.

Following the death of Rowland’s mother, he was raised for a time by his uncle Austin Holyoake, a painter and publisher, while his father moved into a boarding house. This coincided with his enrolment at the Royal Academy Schools. In 1881, his precocious skill as a draughtsman was rewarded when the Royal Academy accepted one of his chalk drawings for display via ‘The National Art Competition’, which was followed a year later by a silver medal. A critic described him as a “worthy son of a worthy father” who “is steadily advancing in his profession”. In 1884, at just 23, he debuted at the Royal Academy with ‘For The Banquet’ and continued to exhibit a further 22 works over the course of 20 years. He was also shown frequently at the RBA.

He developed a reputation for both portraits and scenes depicting predominantly female subjects. Like his father, he was a relatively bold colourist, which uplifted the underlying finesse of his portrayals. There’s a vague echo of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in some of his works and his oeuvre could also be loosely-connected with the ‘Aesthetic Movement’. But equally, one can see the influence of the Birmingham figure painters, such as William Arthur Breakspeare RBA RBSA (1856-1914). Indeed, Holyoake lived next to Breakspeare during the early 1890s.

When into his later years, he lived alone in Tufnel, Islington and, perhaps due to the onset of World War I, took employment as a clerk at the ‘Machine Gun Records’. It’s unclear whether he continued to paint and sadly it appears he dropped off the artistic map.

Rowland Holyoake worked during a transformative time for British art and during his early years, he would’ve been considered as progressive. He brought together the learned teachings of his father with the latest emerging ideas of modernity. Underpinning his success was his aptitude for drawing, gained after years of patient study, and meticulous observation.

He’s represented at the Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina.

Exhibited

Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Artists, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Walker Art Gallery, Royal Hibernian Academy, Royal Yorkshire Jubilee Exhibition, Crystal Palace Picture Gallery, 

Public Collections

The Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina.

Timeline

1861

Born in London as ‘Rowland Breakspeare Holyoake’ to William Holyoake (1834-1894), an artist, and Mary Catherine Holyoake (nee Webster).

1865

Death of his mother.

1871

Lived in Marylebone, London, with his uncle Austin Holyoake, a painter and publisher, aunt, cousins and staff.

Enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools.

1881

Chalk drawing (from the ‘antique’) accepted by the Royal Academy via The National Art Competition.
Lived in Marylebone, London, with his father, sister and a housekeeper. Occupation recorded as ‘Artist. Student RA’.

1882

Awarded a silver medal in The National Art Competition.

1884

Debuted at the Royal Academy with ‘For The Banquet’.

1891

Lived in Hampstead, London. Occupation recorded as ‘Artist (Portrait)’. The census records him as living alone, yet also records the head of the ‘household’ as William Arthur Breakspeare (1856-1914) RBA RBSA, the artist. Also listed in the household is John Fraser (1858-1927), the marine artist.

1894

Death of father.

1895

Present in the village of Blewbury, Berkshire.

1911

Lived alone in Tufnel, Islington, London. Occupation recorded as ‘Artist’.

1921

Boarded in Islington. Occupation recorded as ‘Clerk’ for ‘Machine Gun Records’ at Crystal Palace.

1928

Died in Willesden, London.

Reviews

The Hants & Sussex News (1905)

“Mr. Rowland Holyoake, who is a rising portrait painter of very considerable merit, has a charming picture in the Royal Academy (No. 737) of Miss Ethel K. Casson, the daughter of Mr. William A. Casson, the well-known authority on local government law. Mr. Holyoake studied in the Academy Schools, where he was a prizeman, and his work always finds a place in the Exhibition, as the hanging committee appear to recognise that he is a coming man.

Among the many different experiments in art, some of which tend to breadth of effect with the sacrifice of details, whilst others dwell entirely on detail and ignore depth and tone almost to the extent of exaggerating pre-Raphaelitism there is nothing to choose, for the observer must be guided by his own individual fancy. Mr. Holyoake, however, has hit the happy medium in his picture and given us work which is not distinguishable alone for its technical fineness but is broad enough in its scope to give an artistic finish to a portrait. Few pictures in the Academy this year give so fine effects of colour and lighting as this one, standing as it does well between the work of Mr. Sargent on the one hand and Mr. F. C. Cooper on the other.”