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Victorian Art in Britain |
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Sidney
Harold Meteyard
1868 -1947
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Meteyard was born in Stourbridge in the West Midlands. One can only wonder at the mentality of parents who gave him the Christian names both Sidney and Harold-there was no escape. He was essentially a follower of Edward Burne-Jones, and one of his most artistically successful followers at that. His most famous painting is "I am Half Sick of Shadows" (Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery), and a beautiful and accomplished painting it is, based on Tennyson's poem the Lady of Shallot. Sometimes the gallery actually has this picture out on display, rather than in store with most of its great 19th century collection. The colours in the painting are vivid and rich, the flowers in the foreground are wonderfully well done, as is the deeply coloured drapery of the Lady, who as modelled by the painter's wife Kate. Some time ago I saw a self-portrait of the painter as an earnest and serious young man, in a Sotheby's catalogue. Meteyard had studied at the Birmingham School of art, and subsequently lectured there. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1900 until 1920, when his pictures would have been regarded as extremely old fashioned. Meteyard continued to live in the Birmingham area all his life, and seems to have been rather a diffident individual. Considering he lived until Spring 1947, little is known about him.
DEATH NOTICE OBITUARY
-The Birmingham Post Monday April 7th
Mr Sidney Harold Meteyard, Honorary Secretary of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, and formerly for 45 years a member of the teaching staff of the Birmingham Central School of Arts and Crafts died on Good Friday at Malt House Farm, Cookhill near Alcester. An outstanding service Mr Meteyard rendered to
Birmingham was to introduce the late Alderman S Grey, then Lord Mayor, to
the late Mr Howard Paget who had intimated to Mr Meteyard-while the latter
was working at Elford Curch-his desire to give Elford Hall to Birmingham.
Mr Meteyard was a distinguished
craftsman and teacher. He chiefly taught design and life drawing.
He designed many war memorials. He executed the Roll of Honour, now in the
Hall of Memory, of those from Birmingham who made the ultimate sacrifice
in the 1914-1918 war. He did a similar work, now in St Paul’s Cathedral
for the Royal Engineers. He
also executed the Memorial Tablet now in Lichfield Cathedral. He designed
stained glass windows for many churches. The panels that were formerly on
each side of the organ in the Town Hall, and are now in the Historical
Museum of Canon Hill Park, were also his work. Mr Meteyard was a student of the late Edward R Taylor,
during whose reign the Birmingham School of Art rose to a position of
eminence, notably on the craft side. He also studied with the late Mr E S
Harper, and the late Mr J V Jelley at the Central School. Many tributes have been paid to Mr Meteyard’s ability
as a teacher, but they were not fewer than the acknowledgements of his
kindness and courtesy to many students. In recent years he suffered a
great disability through failing eyesight; he had been almost blind for
the last year. Mrs Meteyard died a year or so ago. She was a former
art-pupil of her husband, and afterwards they worked together, especially
on stained glass windows. MY COMMENTS I t is rather surprising to see what little mention this obituary makes of Meteyard the painter in oil and watercolour, but it is fairly easily explained. He was a painter who, unhappily for him was born too late. Artistically he was heavily influenced by Burne-Jones. But he was born over thirty years after the great man, and as he reached his artistic prime his work would have been regarded with a mixture of condescension and contempt. As a result of this Meteyard had little choice but to make his living by teaching, book illustration, and the design of stained-glass windows. This is very sad when one realises just how
competent a painter he was, and, that he produced at least one
masterpiece. That masterpiece was “I am Half-Sick of Shadows” of 1913.
This picture is richly coloured- sumptuous is a description used
frequently when describing it. I have often seen this work at Birmingham
Museum and Art Gallery, where it has been on loan for some considerable
time. The sitter for the Lady was the artist’s wife Kate. By the time the painting was completed in 1913, it would
already have been regarded as an anachronism by the art establishment, as
I mention above. It looks back to works on the same subject by Holman-Hunt
and Waterhouse, quoting them as it were in the use of the mirror, but in
the unusual pose of the model, the vivid colours, the flowers in the
foreground, and the intricate embroidery the painter puts his own stamp on
the work. And to produce a masterpiece, provide guidance and sympathy to
his students, and to lead a thoroughly worthwhile life is more than most
human beings achieve. Sources : a number, the most important being "The Last Romantics" an invaluable book, which I give the highest possible recommendation yet again. This excellent book is available both on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk |