William Frederick Yeames RA (18 December 1835–3 May 1918) was an oil painter in oil on canvas English. He is the one portraying a Royalist’s son when questioned by Parliamentarians under the English Civil War in ‘And When Did You Last See Your Father?’
Biography
Born in Taganrog, Russian Empire, Yeames was the son of a British consul who had been stationed in the region. In 1842, his father died suddenly, and Yeames was sent to school in Dresden. He started to study painting at this school, and early exposure to art encouraged him in his passion for the visual arts, which eventually set him on the path toward a distinguished career in painting.
By 1848, having squandered his family fortune, Yeames settled in London. There, he took classes in anatomy and composition with George Scharf and was a student of F. A. Westmacott in art. He rapidly improved, and from 1852 to 1853 he spent two years in Florence under the tutelage of such masters as Enrico Pollastrini and Raphael Buonajuti. While in Florence, he was absorbed into the history of art of Italy, making studies from frescoes by masters such as Andrea del Sarto, Ghirlandaio, and Gozzoli. He returned to Rome and continued his copying of Old Masters, this time, particularly of frescoes by Raphael in the Vatican.
Where Was Park Place Established?
In 1859, Yeames returned to London, where he established a studio in Park Place. Along with other prominent artists, he founded the St John’s Wood Clique. The clique consists of such members as Philip Hermogenes Calderon, Frederick Goodall, and George Adolphus Storey, among others. This clique is especially famous for a certain genre of historical and narrative paintings. Those paintings have histories intricately stitched into their subject matters.
Yeames’s style, which was in itself innovatory in a real sense, eventually became merged into one that later became known as the “problem picture,” the genre that had viewers wriggle with their unresolved dilemmas or paradoxes presented in the picture. In 1905, Yeames designed a mural for the Royal Exchange in London titled The Foundation of St Paul’s School, 1509. He has indeed mastered historical moments in monumental style.
Who is William Frederick Yeames married to?
He got married to Anne Winfield on 18 August 1865 to Major James Stainbank Winfield of the East India Company, who is the brother to the photographer David Wilkie Wynfield. In between holidays spent in Hever Castle, they maintained their comfortable home life in London.
Critical Acclaim
During his career, Yeames could not gain proper critical acclaim. Despite this, he exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1859 and, in 1866, was made an Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA). His works, however, the public loved much, but in his style being unconventional and story-telling narration, his paintings were not represented in the choicest galleries of the times.
Unlike the other artist groups at that time, the St John’s Wood Clique was pretty regular. Yeames and his contemporaries did not embrace bohemianism but instead joined a group that made for an artists with relatively stable and mature careers. The members specialize more or less in Tudor and Stuart subjects, taken often rather from historical events and occasions than to exact historical correctness.
Where Did Yeames Die?
Yeames died in Teignmouth, Devon, on 3 May 1918. His influence continues through his art and the substantial impact he has left behind on the world of art, specifically his problem pictures and his narrative paintings. In 2000, at his former house, 8 Campbell Road, Hanwell, London, a blue plaque was mounted where Yeames had lived between 1894 and 1912.
Inspiration for Paintings
The inspiration for the painting was derived from Yeame’s contemplation of the hard moral dilemmas children faced during such turbulent times. The young boy, modeled by Yeames’s nephew James Lambe Yeames, sits at the center of the composition. His innocent, questioning gaze contrasts with the stern interrogators around him, among whom can be identified a Roundhead officer, recognizable in his military garb and orange sash, along with other Parliamentarians. Around him stand his relatives: a girl, something of a type after Yeames’s niece Mary Yeames, peering anxiously for her turn to come under the observation, their mother and elder sister sitting in the background, representing anxiety and distress.
It is again a fine blend of innocence with the roughest war truths. The blond locks of the lad and the suit of blue portend his gullibility, his purity, whereas, ironically, the Parliamentarians also have a humane shape; even the chief questioner appears to be the nicer eyepiece. Even the sergeant consoling to the small lass has shown him a more humane part of character amidst all that is happening.
Why is When Did You Last See Your Father Popular?
And When Did You Last See Your Father? quickly became a celebrated painting, getting wide notice and becoming something of a staple of the debate over narrative art. The painting was bought in 1878, just one year after the Walker Art Gallery opened in 1877. Also between 1933 and 1989, Madame Tussauds in London exhibited a life-size waxwork tableau based on the painting, casting in wax for generations the sad scene that Yeames painted.
Where is and When Did You Last See Your Father Displayed?
The painting is located in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. Madame Tussauds London also displayed a life-sized waxwork scene from the painting between 1933 and 1989.
Who was the St John’s Wood Clique?
The members of the St. John’s Wood Clique include William Frederick Yeames, Philip Hermogenes Calderon, Frederick Goodall, and George Adolphus Storey. The clique was known to focus more on historical and narrative art and unfinished dilemmas that are often reflected in his works.
Would Yeames have also struggled for prominence?
Yes, though successful in a popular way, Yeames did not have critical success in his work. His style and concern over narration were a bit less ideal for galleries such as the Royal Academy of Arts.
Is there any commemoration for William Frederik?
A blue plaque was erected in 2000 at his former house, 8 Campbell Road, Hanwell, London, to commemorate his work for art and history.