thumbnail|right|250px|Henry O'Neil, The Pre-Raphaelite, a satire on the [[Pre-Raphaelites painted by O'Neil in 1857]]

The Clique was a group of English artists formed by Richard Dadd in the late 1830s. Other members were Augustus Egg, Alfred Elmore, William Powell Frith, Henry Nelson O'Neil, John Phillip and Edward Matthew Ward.

They have been described as "the first group of British artists to combine for greater strength and to announce that the great backward-looking tradition of the Academy was not relevant to the requirements of contemporary art."

Foundation

thumb|[[The Derby Day by William Powell Frith.]]

Information about the activities of The Clique derives mainly from the reminiscences of Frith and a short essay published in The Art Journal in 1898 by Gilbert Imray, a friend of the group. Both state that the group called themselves by this name at the time and that they formed a sketching club. Imray describes the aspirations of some members and explains that at their meetings they would all produce drawings on the same subject and ask non-artists such as Imray to judge the merits of the works.

They met together at the end of the 1830s and early 1840s. The group broke up in 1843 when Dadd was incarcerated after murdering his father. The others all became successful members of the Royal Academy of Arts (though O'Neil only became an associate member, not a full member). Their work was supported by the newly founded periodical The Art Journal.

Ideas

The Clique was characterised by their rejection of academic high art in favour of genre painting, following the precedents of William Hogarth and David Wilkie. This was in line with their view that art should be judged by the public, not by its conformity to academic ideals.

In the 1850s most members of the Clique became inveterate enemies of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, believing their art to be willfully eccentric and primitivist. Frith and O'Neil wrote many attacks on Pre-Raphaelite principles. However Egg became a friend and supporter of William Holman Hunt.

Portraits of members of the Clique were commissioned by Patrick Allan-Fraser for Hospitalfield House in Arbroath.

In the 1860s another group of artists with similar ideas became known as the St. John's Wood Clique.

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File:Napoléon prison.jpg|Napoleon in the Prison of Nice in 1794 by Edward Matthew Ward, 1841

File:William Powell Frith Dolly Varden 1843.jpg|Dolly Varden by William Powell Frith, 1842

File:Edward Matthew Ward (1816-1879) - The Disgrace of Lord Clarendon, after his Last Interview with the King - Scene at Whitehall Palace, in 1667 (replica) - N00431 - National Gallery.jpg|The Disgrace of Lord Clarendon by Edward Matthew Ward, 1846

File:Edward Matthew Ward (1816-1879) - The South Sea Bubble, a Scene in 'Change Alley in 1720 - N00432 - National Gallery.jpg|The South Sea Bubble by Edward Matthew Ward, 1847

File:William Powell Frith - An English Merrymaking a Hundred Years Ago.jpg|An English Merrymaking a Hundred Years Ago by William Powell Frith, 1847

File:Drawing for the Militia.png|Drawing for the Militia by John Phillip, 1849

File:Edward Matthew Ward (1816-1879) - The Execution of the Marquis of Montrose - 1877-12 - Salford Museum and Art Gallery.jpg|The Execution of the Marquis of Montrose by Edward Matthew Ward, 1853

File:Josephine Signing the Act of her Divorce.png|Josephine Signing the Act of Her Divorce by Edward Matthew Ward, 1853

File:John Phillip (1817-67) - "El Paseo" - RCIN 404597 - Royal Collection.jpg|El Paseo by John Phillip, 1854

File:Edward Matthew Ward (1816-1879) - Charles II (1630–1685), and Nell Gwyn (1650–1687) - 528-1882 - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|Charles II and Nell Gwyn by Edward Matthew Ward, 1854

File:John Phillip (1817-67) - The Letter-Writer of Seville - RCIN 401188 - Royal Collection.jpg|The Letter-Writer of Seville by John Phillip, 1854

File:William Powell Frith (1819-1909) - At the Opera - PRSMG , P240 - Harris Museum.jpg|At the Opera by William Powell Frith, 1855

File:Henry Nelson O'Neil - Eastward Ho (1857).jpg|Eastward Ho! by Henry Nelson O'Neil, 1858

File:John Phillip (1817-67) - The Dying Contrabandista - RCIN 404562 - Royal Collection.jpg|The Dying Contrabandista by John Phillip, 1858

File:Oneil1859.jpg|Home Again, by Henry Nelson O'Neil, 1859

File:Edward Matthew Ward (1816-79) - Queen Victoria at the Tomb of Napoleon, 24 August 1855 - RCIN 402019 - Royal Collection.jpg|Queen Victoria at the Tomb of Napoleon by Edward Matthew Ward, 1860

File:John Phillip (1817-67) - The Marriage of Victoria, Princess Royal, 25 January 1858 - RCIN 406819 - Royal Collection.jpg|The Marriage of Victoria, Princess Royal by John Phillip, 1860

File:A Volunteer (O'Neil).png|A Volunteer by Henry Nelson O'Neil, 1860

File:Claude Duval (painting).png|Claude Duval by William Powell Frith, 1860

File:The Parting Cheer RMG F3201.tiff|The Parting Cheer by Henry Nelson O'Neil, 1861

File:Augustus Leopold Egg - The Travelling Companions - Google Art Project.jpg|The Travelling Companions by Augustus Egg, 1862

File:Edward Matthew Ward (1816-1879) - Hogarth's Studio in 1739 - YORAG , 349 - York Art Gallery.jpg|Hogarth's Studio in 1739 by Edward Matthew Ward, 1863

File:The Landing of HRH The Princess Alexandra at Gravesend, 7th March 1863 by Henry Nelson O'Neil.jpg|The Landing of Princess Alexandra at Gravesend by Henry Nelson O'Neil, 1864

File:William Powell Frith (1819-1909) - Uncle Toby and the Widow Wadman - N01781 - National Gallery.jpg|Uncle Toby and the Widow Wadman by William Powell Frith, 1865

File:William Powell Frith - The Marriage of the Prince of Wales, 10 March 1863.JPG|The Marriage of the Prince of Wales by William Powell Frith, 1865

File:Henry-Nelson-O'Neil Before-Waterloo 1868.jpg|Before Waterloo by Henry Nelson O'Neil, 1868

File:The Fair Toxophilites William Powell Frith RAMM.jpg|The Fair Toxophilites by William Powell Frith, 1872

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References

Literature

  • Cowling, Mary. Victorian Figurative Painting. London, Andreas Papadakis Publisher, 2001.
  • Valentine, Helen, ed. Art in the Age of Queen Victoria: Treasures from the Royal Academy of Arts Permanent Collection. New Haven and London, Yale University Press/Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1999.