FRITH will be much thought of in some future day because he has illustrated the age in which we live, so that his pictures will remain valuable as far as they are true, while they will also be admired for their charming execution. . . . As Hogarth's scenes are for ever authorative, so in a lesser degree will be Frith's; but in a lesser degree only, as our pictorial newspapers now narrow the field for the painter in this respect. — William Bell Scott, Autobiographical Notes.
One of the greatest difficulties besetting me has always been the choice of subject. My inclination being strongly towards the illustration of modern life, I had read the works of Dickens in the hope of finding material for the exercise of any talent I might possess; but at the time the ugliness of modern dress frightened me, and it was not till the publication of Barnaby Rudge was presented to us, that I felt my opportunity had come, with the cherry-coIoured mantle and the hat and pink ribbons. [Frith quoted in Wallis, 56]
[••• = reproduction on this site.]
Large Social Panoramas
- Ramsgate Sands, 1854•••
- Derby Day, 1858•••
- The Railway Station, 1862•••
- Poverty and Wealth•••
- The Marriage of the Prince of Wales, 1865***
- The Salon d'Or, Hamburg: Le Jeu Est Fait, Rien Va Plus, 1871•••
- Blessing the Chrildren at Boulogne, 1874
- Making Merry in Olden Times, 1847
- Coming of Age in Olden Times, 1849
Genre Paintings, most with Several Figures
- The Fishing Party
- Measuring Heights, 1863
- A Wise PetThe New Recruit
- A Private View at the Royal Academy, 1881
- Study for Many Happy Returns of the Day, 1852***
Artists and Models
- Scene from 'The Spectator'•••
- The Artist in His Studio, 1867***
- The Sleepy Model, 1853
- The Artist and His Model, 1860
Fancy and Costume Pictures, most set in Eighteenth Century
- The Sidelong Glance, 1845
- Bargaining
- The Rejected Poet, 1852 and 1863***
- The Love Token, 1854
- Back to Back, 1867
- Widow Wadman Lays Siege to Uncle Toby, 1861
- Claude Duval
- Roger de Coverly and the Perverse Widow, 1869
- The Interrupted Letter, 1901
Subjects from English History
- Charles II's Last Sunday, 1867
- Nell Gwynne at Drury Lane, 1869
- Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn Deershooting at Windsor, 1872
- Charles II and Lady Castlemaine, 1899
Portraits and Frith's Fair Ladies
- Self-portrait, 1838
- Self-portrait, 1876•••
- Contemplation
- Flower, 1845
- Feeding Time, 1850
- Charles Dickens, 1859***
- Polly Peachem, 1875
- Portrait of Amy Robart and Janet, 1870
- Dolly Varden, c.1842-49***
- Dolly Varden, 1876
- Making a Posy
- The Flower Sellet, 1863
- The Flower Girl, 1865
- Portrait of Isabel Lucinda Smith
- The White Dress, 1882
- At Homburg, 1870
- The New Frock, 1889***
The Road to Ruin — a Hogarthian series
- College
- The Royal Enclosure at Ascot
- Arrest
- Struggles
Bibliography
Bills, Mark, and Vivien Knight, eds. William Powell Frith: Painting the Victorian Age. New Haven & London: Yale Univ. Press, 2006. 180 + xi pp. Hardback, £40.00. Paperback, £20.00. ISBN 0-300-12190-3. [Review by Jacqueline Banerjee, Contributing Editor, UK]
Frith, William Powell. My Autobiography and Reminiscences. 3 vols. London: Bentley & Son, 1887-88.
Newall, Christopher. A Celebration of British and European Painting of the 19th and 20th Centuries. London: Peter Nahum, nd [1999?]. Pp. 38-39.
Noakes, Aubrey. William Frith Extraordinary Victorian Painter: A Biographical and Critical Essay. London: Jupiter, 1978.
Panton, Mrs. J. E. [née Frith]. Leaves from a Life. 1908.
A Victorian Canvas: The Memoirs of W. P. Frith, R. A.. Ed. Nevile Wallis. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1957.
Last modified 7 November 2022