Francis Owen Salisbury CVO (18 December 1874 – 31 August 1962) was an English artist who specialised in portraits, large canvases of historical and ceremonial events, stained glass and book illustration. In his heyday he made a fortune on both sides of the Atlantic and was known as "Britain's Painter Laureate". His art was steadfastly conservative and he was a vitriolic critic of Modern Art – particularly of his contemporaries Picasso, Chagall and Mondrian.

Personal life

Salisbury was born on 18 December 1874 at Harpenden, Hertfordshire. His father was Henry Salisbury, a plumber and glazier, and his mother was Susan Hawes. His first Royal Academy exhibit was a portrait of Alice and he often painted pictures of their children. in 1932, in Hampstead, London. Its title refers to the fact that it commemorates Churchill receiving the Freedom of the City of London.), but on that occasion his request for a sitting was refused, and he worked from photographs and other paintings. They were unveiled on the same day as a nearby memorial to John Carless V.C. which hung in the Bengal Court of the British Empire Exhibition, Wembley, 1924, was presented to the India Office, as a gift from the artist when the exhibition closed. It is now in the British Library. The scene, after the wedding of the Duke of York in 1923, shows "The four Indian orderly officers of the King, who that year were Sikhs, passed the grave of the Unknown Warrior in the Abbey, and spontaneously paid tribute. ... The orderly officers, the Dean and Chapter, and others in the painting sat for their portraits."

Faith

Salisbury was a Methodist who took his faith seriously and always considered his gifts to be God given. He manifested the Protestant work ethic and the Non-Conformist conscience. He produced much work for the mainstream denominations, in particular Methodism and the Salvation Army. He painted posthumous portraits of historical Methodist figures with perhaps his best known image being that of John Wesley in John Wesley's House in London. Salisbury arranged and paid for the restoration of Wesley's House in 1934 which restoration stood the test of time for sixty years. He lived an alcohol free lifestyle and was firmly in favour of Prohibition in the US. He refused to work on Sundays. Many of his associates including Pierpont Morgan, Lord Wakefield, Will Kellogg and Andrew Mellon were both rich industrialists and Christian philanthropists. He bequeathed Sarum Chase in trust to the British Council of Churches. However, the BCC sold the mansion and auctioned its contents. His range of portraits stretched from Billy Graham, to four Salvation Army Generals, to Pope Pius XII.

Stained glass

But it was stained glass that remained his favourite, though not his most profitable, art form. One of his earliest pieces of stained glass is the east window (depicting Christ, knights and angels) of St. Michael and All Angels Church, Bassett, Southampton.

Thirty-four windows have been confirmed as being designed by him with the largest collections being at Wesley's Chapel in London, the former National Children's Home chapel in Harpenden, and the Forest Hill Methodist Church in London. All of his glass was installed in England with three notable exceptions in Medak Cathedral in India. He was elected Master of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass in 1933.

Images

The copyright of all of his paintings bar two is held by the Estate of Frank O. Salisbury. Authorised images appear in the books in the listing below. Significant collections of his work are held at the Chicago Historical Society, National Portrait Gallery in London, New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, Royal Air Force Museum in London, Wesley's Chapel in London and the World Methodist Headquarters in North Carolina.

Other Pictures

During World War II, when traveling around the world painting portraits of dignitaries was impractical, as well as dangerous, Frank took to painting pictures of displays of flowers.

References

Sources

  • Salisbury, Frank O. "Sarum Chase. " 1953. John Murray.
  • Barber, Benjamin Aquila. "The Art of Frank O. Salisbury. " [1936.] F. Lewis.
  • "The Studio of Frank O. Salisbury. SALISBURY 3210." Christie's, London. 1985.
  • McMurray, Nigel. "Frank O. Salisbury. Painter Laureate." 2003. Authorhouse.
  • Works at the National Portrait Gallery