Biography
Herbert Royle was an accomplished British landscape painter who found a natural home for his quiet temperament among the woods, valleys and hills of northern England and the Scottish Highlands. Trained partly under the celebrated landscape painter John Buxton Knight, he developed a sensitive approach to painting - inspired by the changing effects of light, weather and season.
From 1918, Royle became particularly associated with Wharfedale in Yorkshire, painting its bluebell woods, farms, river valleys, snow-covered fields and familiar landmarks repeatedly over several decades. He often returned to places close to home, observing how their character altered throughout the year. Figures appear frequently but unobtrusively - gathering bluebells, cutting timber, tending cattle or working the land - becoming part of the landscape rather than its principal subject.
A shy and somewhat unusual character, Royle appears to have found considerable freedom outdoors. He was also a keen walker and climber and made numerous painting trips to the Western Highlands of Scotland, occasionally exchanging his paintings with local crofters in return for accommodation. His atmospheric Scottish views reveal the same sensitivity evident in his Yorkshire works, with boats, distant hills and human activity frequently reduced to small accents within expansive surroundings.
Despite his retiring personality, Royle enjoyed considerable professional success. He exhibited extensively in Britain and abroad, attracted distinguished patrons, and saw his works enter numerous public collections. His paintings suggest a man who found himself most comfortably before a quiet view - and, happily, found a living by painting it.
Known For
Atmospheric landscape painting, particularly views of Wharfedale, Bolton Abbey and Nesfield; bluebell woods, winter landscapes and scenes of the Western Highlands of Scotland.
Student Of
John Buxton Knight
Lived In
Patricroft, Lancashire; Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire; Nesfield, near Ilkley, Yorkshire
Member Of
Manchester Academy of Fine Arts; Liverpool Academy; Sandon Studios Society
Exhibited At
Royal Academy; Royal Scottish Academy; Royal Society of British Artists; Royal Institute of Painters in Oils; Glasgow Institute; Walker Art Gallery; New English Art Club; Yorkshire Union of Artists; exhibitions in Brussels, Munich and Bombay.
Public Collections
Atkinson Art Gallery; Craven Museum & Gallery; Harris Museum & Art Gallery; Manchester Art Gallery; Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate; Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds; Walker Art Gallery; Williamson Art Gallery & Museum; Bradford Museums & Galleries.
Timeline
1870
Born in Patricroft, near Manchester, the son of James Royle, a newsagent.
Late 19th century
Studied at the Harris Institute in Preston and Southport School of Art. He also received lessons from the noted landscape painter John Buxton Knight at his studio in Drayton, Middlesex, whose approach had an important influence on his own.
Early career
One of Royle's first paintings as a student was reportedly purchased by Judge Walton, later Lord Chief Justice of England.
1893 onwards
Exhibited with the New English Art Club and at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. He subsequently exhibited widely with numerous leading British institutions and artistic societies.
Early 20th century
Established a successful reputation as a landscape painter. Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby, became a patron and owned six of his oil paintings at Knowsley Hall.
1918
Left Lancashire and settled in Wharfedale, initially living at Bolton Abbey. The surrounding Yorkshire countryside became one of the defining subjects of his career.
1924
Moved to the Manor House at Nesfield, near Ilkley. Despite its imposing name, the house had neither electricity nor running water, which was collected from the village pump. Royle maintained a studio in an old army hut on the hillside above his home.
1920s-1940s
Became associated with the "Wharfedale Group" of painters, which included his friend Kershaw Schofield. Royle repeatedly painted the Wharfe valley, Bolton Abbey, Nesfield and the surrounding countryside in different seasons and weather conditions.
Throughout his career
Made walking and climbing expeditions to the Western Highlands of Scotland, where he painted extensively. At Beinn Alligin and Diaberg in Wester Ross, he reportedly gave paintings to local crofters in payment for his lodgings.
Winter painting trips
Royle continued working outdoors despite the cold. One recollection describes him carrying a hot potato in his pocket so that he could warm his fingers while searching the moors for subjects. His famously modest diet was said to consist largely of rice pudding and ginger biscuits.
1947
Cartwright Hall, Bradford, held an exhibition of his work.
1950
A spring exhibition of Royle's landscape paintings was held at King's Hall, Ilkley.
1958
Died aged 87. At his own request, his ashes were scattered in the Scottish Highlands.
1978
The Manor House Museum at Ilkley held a retrospective exhibition of his work.
Described By Others
Writing in The Dalesman in 1976, U. P. Holden remembered Royle as a "plain, slight man with an elfin look", whose poor physique may have contributed to considerable shyness. Yet this reserve apparently disappeared among those he knew well. Royle would relax, tell stories and jokes, and entertain his companions by speaking in Scottish brogue or Yorkshire dialect.
Accounts of his life at Nesfield reinforce the impression of an unusually modest and self-contained figure. He neither smoked nor drank, lived simply and continued venturing into the countryside throughout the seasons in search of subjects.