Eyre Crowe visited the southern states of America in 1852-1853 and was intrigued and appalled by the slave trade there. His experiences led him to create a series of sketches and paintings intended to further the abolitionist cause. Each of these are described in more detail in the ‘Slavery Pictures’ part of this website.

Eyre Crowe's grave, Kensal Green Cemetery, 12 December 2010

One hundred years ago today, on 12 December 1910, Eyre Crowe died at the age of 86. It seemed to his obituarist in The Times (13 December 1910) that he ‘had long outlived any artistic celebrity that he may once have had’ – that he was a relic of the mid-Victorian age, an artist who had lived so long that he had been virtually forgotten. The journalists who reported his death may indeed have had to look up his achievements. Despite continual participation in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition every year until 1908, it was true that Crowe’s longevity had not been matched by critical and financial success in his latter years.

One hundred years later, it is possible to look back at the full sweep of Crowe’s life and career without prejudice, and to appreciate the artworks created by him, many now regarded as interesting and vivid depictions of prosaic contemporary life, such as slaves waiting to be sold, mill girls on their lunch break, a crush at the theatre door, and men working in an iron foundry.

To commemorate Crowe’s life, I left a cheerful plant next to the grave in which he was buried with his father and nephew, at Kensal Green cemetery in west London.

Reproduction of 'School Treat' by Eyre Crowe A.R.A. (1878)

I’ve been given a copy of a magazine reproduction of Eyre Crowe’s School Treat (1878) by a fellow fan of Crowe’s work. The critics were not very kind about this picture – follow the link to see more about the work.

'Pulling the boat ashore' by Eyre Crowe, 1871

A private owner has let me know about a painting in his possession, thought to be by Eyre Crowe and dating from 1871. Pulling the boat ashore seems to show a group of Breton women pulling a fishing boat onto a beach. The composition of the picture, with multiple characters arranged in a line, is very reminiscent of other paintings by Crowe, including At the pit-door (1873)  The Dinner Hour, Wigan (1874), and Nelson Leaving England for the Last Time (1888).

More on Delaroche’s life and work.

It includes all the same information about Eyre Crowe and his artworks, but with a brand new look and feel.

Click on the tabs at the top to see articles relating to Eyre Crowe and his life. The ‘Pictures’ tab is the place to start to find out more about all of Eyre Crowe’s known paintings, drawings and sketches.