ford madox brown - eTheses Repository - University of Birmingham

[1796-1875], and Jules Dupré [1811-1889].' 3 As Ronald Parkinson reveals, on his
return to London, Anthony pioneered the technique of painting en plein air and this
seems to have had quite an effect on Brown's landscape painting. However, as there
is only one study relating to Brown's landscapes in the Birmingham collection a full
exploration falls beyond the scope of this thesis but certainly holds potential for
further research.
Brown shared a studio in Tudor Lodge with William Cave Thomas. The friendship
established in the mid-1840s appears to have continued throughout their careers.
The influence of Thomas has been discussed, briefly, in chapter two in connection
with The Spirit of Justice, Brown's entry in the 1845 Westminster Competition and
his idea to paint a scene from the life of King Alfred. Brown's early diary entries, in
particular are peppered with entries relating to with Thomas. Most involve
discussions which often went on into the night ('supped with Thomas & stopped till
½ 1 !!!!') and occasionally became heated: 'walked till 11 with Thomas. Had an
argument, tried to persuade him that to imitate the true tone of the model it must be
painted so that when held up beside it would not be like it in coulour [sic].' 4 In
1848 these discussions led to their both writing letters on the state of British art
training and patronage to The Builder, an architectural periodical popular with
artists. Very little has been written on Thomas and further, close investigation of
these articles and his work would allow a greater insight into Brown's change of
style in the mid-1840s. 5 Like Brown, Thomas was a friend of the Pre-Raphaelites
3
Op. cit. at note 2.
4
16 October 1847 and 18 May 1848 (Virginia Surtees, ed., The Diary of Ford Madox Brown, New
Haven and London, pp. 10, 41).
5
Teresa Newman and Ray Watkinson discuss Thomas' articles, and their work would make an
excellent starting point for further research (see Ford Madox Brown and the Pre-Raphaelite Circle,
London, 1991, pp. 41-43).
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