Portrait of Alfred Elmore R.A. in his studio, ca. 1859

William Maw Egley (1826 - 1916)

RA Collection: Art

Alfred Elmore (1815Ð1881) was a regular exhibitor of historical and genre scenes at the Royal Academy. This portrait depicts Elmore at work in his studio, probably that in 1 St Alban’s Road, Kensington, where Elmore lived from 1858 until his death in 1881. On the easel is his painting The Tuilleries, 20 June, 1792, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1860. Oddly, Elmore’s studio appears to be a rather dark room in his house rather than a purpose built studio, so that the effect is informal and domestic rather than practical and professional.

Egley and Elmore probably knew each other through the painter William Powell Frith, RA (1819-1909). Elmore appointed Frith his executor, and Egley had worked as Frith’s assistant in his early years. This painting was given to the Academy by Frith’s daughter, Mrs. Oppenheim.