Herbert Arnould Olivier (British, 1861-1952)

Herbert Arnould Olivier, R.I. was a British artist, best known for his portrait and landscape paintings. He was an uncle of Laurence Olivier.

Olivier was born in Battle, East Sussex, England, where his father Henry Arnould Olivier was a clergyman. His brothers were Henry (1850–1935), who had a military career, ending as a colonel; Sydney (the father of Noël and Daphne), who became Governor of Jamaica and later Secretary of State for India; and Gerard (1869-1939), a clergyman (the father of Laurence Olivier). He also had four sisters.

Olivier was educated between 1875-1877 at Sherborne School, a public school in Dorset and in 1922 gave his painting Easter Morn to the school.

The painting was originally intended for a church in Italy but it was put in such a bad light that he refused to leave it there.

He studied at the Royal Academy Schools beginning in 1881, where he won the Creswick Prize in 1882.

Olivier exhibited extensively, including the Royal Academy starting in 1883, the R. P., the R. I. and the Paris Salon.

He taught at the Bombay School of Art in the 1880s. He went to Kashmir with the Duke and Duchess of Connaught in 1884.

In 1885 he showed 66 of the paintings from his trip to Kashmir at the Fine Art Society.

These works were considered "effective, though hard and coarse in colour" by critics. He had a one-man exhibition at the Grafton Galleries in 1908.

In 1917, Olivier was appointed an official War Artist and in 1924 he presented to the nation, for display in 'the new War Museum at South Kensington', a number of paintings, including The Supreme War Council (the original of which was given to the French Government and displayed in the Palace of Versailles), The Armistice Meeting, The Military Representatives in Conference, The Peace Signature Table, and various portraits.

The paintings now form part of the collections of the Imperial War Museum.

Also in the museum's collection is a doodle that British Prime Minister David Lloyd George made on a blotter at Versailles, which Olivier retrieved from the negotiating table.

Olivier was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 1887 and to the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours in 1929 where a major retrospective exhibition of his work was held in 1935.

He is mentioned in Mallalieu's British Watercolor Artists and Davenport's Art Reference. He may have been the H. A. Olivier whose work was reproduced in 20 colour plates for The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Historical and Descriptive, Cassell and Co. Ltd, London, 1908.

His work and biography are published in The Modern British Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture, Chamont, London 1964.

In later life his work tended towards large ceremonial works using oils.

He gave his painting, Lord Selborne and Bishop Gore-Browne to the Athenaeum Club in 1937 where it remains prominently displayed in the Morning Room opposite Darwin.

He died in Hayling Island, Hampshire. | Source: © Wikipedia

Herbert Arnould Olivier, RI (9 settembre 1861-2 marzo 1952), è stato un artista Britannico, noto soprattutto per i suoi ritratti e paesaggi. Era lo zio di Laurence Olivier.

Olivier è nato a Battle, nell'East Sussex, in Inghilterra, dove suo padre Henry Arnould Olivier era un pastore.

I suoi fratelli erano Henry (1850–1935), che ebbe una carriera militare, finendo come colonnello; Sydney (il padre di Noël e Daphne), che divenne governatore della Giamaica e poi Segretario di Stato per l'India; e Gerard (1869–1939), un pastore (il padre di Laurence Olivier). Aveva anche quattro sorelle.

Olivier studiò tra il 1875-1877 alla Sherborne School, una scuola pubblica nel Dorset e nel 1922 diede alla scuola il suo dipinto Easter Morning.

Il dipinto era originariamente destinato a una chiesa in Italia, ma fu messo in una tale cattiva luce che si rifiutò di lasciarlo lì.

Studiò alla Royal Academy Schools a partire dal 1881, dove vinse il Premio Creswick nel 1882.

Olivier espose ampiamente, tra cui la Royal Academy a partire dal 1883, il R.P., il R.I. e il Salon di Parigi.

Insegnò alla Bombay School of Art negli anni '80 dell'Ottocento. Andò in Kashmir con il duca e la duchessa di Connaught nel 1884. Nel 1885 mostrò 66 dei dipinti del suo viaggio in Kashmir alla Fine Art Society.

Queste opere sono state considerate "efficaci, anche se di colore duro e grossolano" dalla critica. Nel 1908 tenne una mostra personale alle Grafton Galleries.

Nel 1917, Olivier fu nominato artista di guerra ufficiale e nel 1924 presentò alla nazione, per l'esposizione nel "nuovo Museo della guerra a South Kensington", una serie di dipinti, tra cui The Supreme War Council (il cui originale fu donato a il governo francese ed esposto alla Reggia di Versailles), The Armistice Meeting, The Military Representatives in Conference, The Peace Signature Table e vari ritratti.

I dipinti fanno ora parte delle collezioni dell'Imperial War Museum. Nella collezione del museo c'è anche uno scarabocchio che il primo ministro britannico David Lloyd George ha fatto su una carta assorbente a Versailles, che Olivier ha recuperato dal tavolo delle trattative.

Olivier fu eletto alla Royal Society of British Artists nel 1887 ed al Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolors nel 1929, dove nel 1935 si tenne un'importante mostra retrospettiva del suo lavoro. È menzionato in British Watercolor Artists di Mallalieu e Art Reference di Davenport.

Potrebbe essere stato HA Olivier il cui lavoro è stato riprodotto in 20 tavole a colori per The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Historical and Descriptive, Cassell and Co. Ltd, Londra, 1908.

Il suo lavoro e la sua biografia sono pubblicati in The Modern British Paintings, Drawings, e Sculpture, Chamont, Londra 1964.

In seguito il suo lavoro tendeva a grandi opere cerimoniali ad olio.

Nel 1937 diede il suo dipinto, Lord Selborne e il vescovo Gore-Browne all'Athenaeum Club, dove rimane ben visibile nella Morning Room di fronte a Darwin. Morì a Hayling Island, nell'Hampshire. | Fonte: © British Wikipedia