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Henry
Holiday (1839 - 1927)
The eminent Victorian painter and
designer was involved in the design of the East Window and others of the
Stained Glass windows in Emmanuel Church.
He studied at the Royal Academy Schools
from 1854, and became chief designer at Powell and Sons, a stained glass
maker, in 1863 where he fulfilled more than 300 commissions, many for
American clients.
As a painter, he excelled in drapery,
producing cold-faced figure subjects close in spirit to the work of
Rossetti. He visited India in 1871, and in 1872 and much later in 1907 went
to Egypt, painting a series of watercolours and illustrations on modern
Indian and ancient Egyptian themes respectively. As well as stained glass,
painting and illustration, he also produced some sculpture and carving,
frescos, and enamelwork.
His best known painting is 'The Meeting
of Dante and Beatrice' (1883) which can be found in the Walker Art Gallery
in Liverpool.
However, Holiday's life’s work lay in the
field of Stained Glass and he continued to provide designs until 1926. His
windows are to be found throughout the English Churches, in Wales, Scotland
and abroad, especially in the United States where his glass was very
popular in the last decades of the 19th century.
His glass in the 1890’s was very
colourful and attractive, his emerald greens, purples, pinks and golds
providing a fresh change from the more restricted palettes of the other
artists of the time. Examples of his work will be found at Worcester
College - Oxford, St Mary Magdalene - Paddington and at Casterton in
Cumbria, Fylingdale in Yorkshire, Summerfield School in Oxford and St
Michael’s Church, in Lewes, Sussex.
Perhaps the greatest of his legacy to the
stained glass field are the Brunel Memorial Window in Westminster Abbey,
the West Window to Southwark Cathedral and the Great Rose Window at St.
George’s, Catford in South London. There is good Stained Glass by him in
the Birmingham Museum
and Art Gallery. Other examples are in American churches, for example
the Church of St Thomas, Washington DC, and the Memorial to General Lee in
St Paul's, Richmond Va.
For more about Henry
Holiday The Artist
Cumbria connection
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