EDWARD HANDLEY-READ (1870 - 1935)

Edward Handley-Read studied at the South Kensington School of Art and Westminster School of Art under Fred Brown before entering the Royal Academy School. He first started working as an illustrator but turned to painting and was an accomplished portrait painter. In 1895 he became a member of the Royal Society of British Artists. During the First World War he served in the Artists’ Rifles and his time in at the front resulted in a number of striking depictions of the war, many of which were exhibited at the Leicester Galleries in London. By the 1920s his work largely concentrated on landscape and coastal paintings, often featuring elegant figures.