{{Short description|British artist and art writer (1872–1945)}} {{Use British English|date=October 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}} {{Infobox artist | honorific_prefix = Sir | name = William Rothenstein | image = William Rothenstein photo by George Charles Beresford 1920.jpg | image_size = 200px | alt = | caption = Rothenstein by [[George Charles Beresford]] in 1920 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1872|01|29}} | birth_place = [[Bradford]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], England | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1945|02|14|1872|01|29}} | death_place = [[London]], England | spouse = Alice Knewstub | children = 4, including [[John Rothenstein|John]] and [[Michael Rothenstein|Michael]] | field = Painting | training = [[Bradford Grammar School]], [[Slade School of Fine Art]]<br />[[Académie Julian]] | movement = | works = | patrons = | awards = | elected = | website = <!-- {{URL|Example.com}} --> }} '''Sir William Rothenstein''' (29 January 1872 – 14 February 1945) was an English painter, printmaker, draughtsman, lecturer, and writer on art. Though he covered many subjects – ranging from landscapes in France to representations of Jewish synagogues in London – he is perhaps best known for his work as a war artist in both [[world war]]s, his portraits, and his popular memoirs, written in the 1930s. More than two hundred of Rothenstein's portraits of famous people can be found in the [[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] collection. The [[Tate Gallery]] also holds a large collection of his paintings, prints and drawings. Rothenstein served as principal at the [[Royal College of Art]] from 1920 to 1935. He was knighted in 1931 for his services to art. In March 2015 'From Bradford to Benares: the Art of Sir William Rothenstein', the first major exhibition of Rothenstein's work for over forty years, opened at Bradford's [[Cartwright Hall|Cartwright Hall Gallery]], touring to the [[Ben Uri Gallery & Museum|Ben Uri]] in London later that year.
==Personal life== [[File:William Rothenstein photo by George Charles Beresford 1902.jpg|thumb|upright|Sir William Rothenstein, photo by [[George Charles Beresford]], 1902]] William Rothenstein was born into a [[Ethnic Germans|German]]-[[Jewish]] family in [[Bradford]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], where he was educated at [[Bradford Grammar School]]. His father, Moritz, emigrated from Germany in 1859 to work in Bradford's burgeoning [[textile industry]]. Soon afterwards he married Bertha Dux and they had six children, of whom William was the fifth.<ref name="Speaight">{{cite book|author=Robert Speaight|publisher=Eyre & Spottiswoode|year=1962|title= William Rothenstein: the Portrait of an Artist in his Time}}</ref>
William's two brothers, Charles and [[Albert Rutherston|Albert]], were also heavily involved in the arts. Charles (1866–1927), who followed his father into the wool trade, was an important collector – and left his entire collection to [[Manchester Art Gallery]] in 1925.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manchestergalleries.org/the-collections/about-the-collection-2/history-of-the-collection/ |title=Manchester City Galleries – History of the Collection |publisher=Manchestergalleries.org |date=22 June 2006 |access-date=19 January 2014}}</ref> Albert (1881–1953) was a painter, illustrator and costume designer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/64533 |title=Albert Rutherston |publisher=Oxforddnb.com |access-date=19 January 2014}}</ref> Both brothers changed their surname to Rutherston during the [[First World War]].<ref name="Speaight"/>
[[File:Alice Kingsley (1869–1955).png|thumb|Alice Kingsley (Knewstub)]] In 1899, he married Alice Knewstub, an actress known as Alice Kingsley and the daughter of Walter John Knewstub.<ref name="Speaight"/> The couple had four children: John, Betty, Rachel and Michael. [[John Rothenstein]] later gained fame as an art historian and art administrator (he was Director of the [[Tate Gallery]] from 1938 to 1964 and was knighted in 1952).<ref>[[Edward Chaney]], "The Vasari of British Art: Sir John Rothenstein... and the Importance of Wyndham Lewis", ''Apollo'', vol. CXXXII, no. 345 (November 1990), pp. 322–26</ref> [[Michael Rothenstein]] was a talented printmaker.<ref>Nicholas Usherwood, 'Rothenstein, (William) Michael Francis (1908–1993)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/53298, accessed 30 January 2014]</ref>
==Education== Rothenstein left [[Bradford Grammar School]] at the age of sixteen to study at the [[Slade School of Art]], London (1888–93), where he was taught by [[Alphonse Legros]], and the [[Académie Julian]] in Paris (1889–1893), where he met and was encouraged by [[James McNeill Whistler]], [[Edgar Degas]] and [[Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec]].<ref name="npg">{{cite web|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person.php?LinkID=mp03885|title=National Portrait Gallery – Person- Sir William Rothenstein|publisher=National Portrait Gallery|access-date=5 February 2009}}</ref> While in Paris he also befriended the Anglo-Australian artist [[Charles Conder]], with whom he shared a studio in Montmartre.<ref name="Speaight"/>
==Career==
===Artist=== [[File:Auguste Rodin par William Rothenstein.jpg|thumb|Rothenstein's portrait drawing of [[Auguste Rodin]]]] [[File:Aubrey Beardsley by William Rothstein.jpg|thumb|Rothenstein's drawing of [[Aubrey Beardsley]]]] In 1893 Rothenstein returned to Britain to work on "Oxford Characters" a series of lithographic portraits, eventually published in 1896<ref>{{Cite ODNB|title = William Rothenstein|year = 2004|url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/35842|doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/35842|last1 = Lago|first1 = Mary}}</ref> Other portrait collections by the artist include ''English Portraits'' (1898), ''Twelve Portraits'' (1929) and ''Contemporaries'' (1937).<ref name="Speaight"/> In Oxford he met and became a close friend of the [[caricature|caricaturist]] and [[Parody|parodist]] [[Max Beerbohm]], who later immortalised him in the short story [[Enoch Soames]] (1919). During the 1890s Rothenstein exhibited with the [[New English Art Club]] and contributed drawings to ''[[The Yellow Book]]'' and ''[[The Savoy (periodical)|The Savoy]]''.
In 1898–99 he co-founded the Carfax Gallery (or Carfax & Co) in St. James' Piccadilly with [[John Fothergill (innkeeper)|John Fothergill]] (later innkeeper of the Spread Eagle in Thame).<ref name="etheses.whiterose.ac.uk"/> During its early years the gallery was closely associated with artists [[Charles Conder]], [[Philip Wilson Steer]], [[Charles Ricketts]] and [[Augustus John]]. It also exhibited the work of [[Auguste Rodin]], whose growing reputation in England owed much to Rothenstein's friendship.<ref name="etheses.whiterose.ac.uk"/> Rothenstein's role as artistic manager of the gallery was abandoned in 1901, whereupon the firm came under the management of his close friend [[Robbie Ross|Robert Ross]]. Ross left in 1908, leaving the gallery in the hands of longtime financial manager Arthur Clifton. Under Clifton the gallery was the home for all three exhibitions of the [[Camden Town Group]], led by Rothenstein's friend and close contemporary [[Walter Sickert]].<ref name="Samuel Shaw, ‘The Carfax Gallery and the Camden Town Group’, in Helena Bonett, Ysanne Holt, Jennifer Mundy (eds.), the Camden Town Group in Context, May 2012">{{cite book|url=http://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/camden-town-group/samuel-shaw-the-carfax-gallery-and-the-camden-town-group-r1104371 |title=Samuel Shaw, 'The Carfax Gallery and the Camden Town Group' (The Camden Town Group in Context) |chapter=The Carfax Gallery and the Camden Town Group |work=Tate Etc. |date=May 2012 |isbn=978-1-84976-385-1 |access-date=19 January 2014}}</ref>
In 1900 Rothenstein won a silver medal for his painting ''The Doll's House'' at the [[Exposition Universelle (1900)|Exposition Universelle]].<ref name="etheses.whiterose.ac.uk" /><ref>[http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/rothenstein-the-dolls-house-n03189 ''The Doll's House''] ''Tate Etc.''.</ref> This painting continues to be one of his best-known and most critically acclaimed works, and was the subject of a recent in-depth study published by the Tate Gallery.<ref>Samuel Shaw (ed.), In Focus: The Doll’s House 1899–1900 by William Rothenstein, Tate Research Publication, 2016, [http://www.tate.org.uk/research/publications/in-focus/the-dolls-house-william-rothenstein/the-painting, accessed 13 May 2016]</ref>
The style and subject of Rothenstein's paintings varies, though certain themes reappear, in particular an interest in 'weighty' or 'essential' subjects tackled in a restrained manner. Good examples include ''Parting at Morning'' (1891), ''Mother and Child'' (1903) and ''Jews Mourning at a Synagogue'' (1907) – all of which are owned by the Tate Gallery.<ref name=etheses.whiterose.ac.uk>{{cite web |author=Samual Shaw|url=http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/1106/1/EquivocalPositionsWilliamRothenstein.pdf |title='Equivocal Positions': The Influence of William Rothenstein, c. 1890–1910|date=August 2010|access-date=25 October 2015|publisher=[[University of York]]}}</ref><ref name=Riggs3>{{cite web |author=Terry Riggs|url=http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=22133&searchid=14554 |title=''Parting at Morning'' (1891) |date=December 1997|access-date=25 October 2015|work=[[Tate Etc.]]}}</ref><ref name=Riggs2>{{cite web |author=Terry Riggs|url=http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=16590&searchid=14554 |title=''Mother and Child'' (1903) |date= January 1998|access-date=25 October 2015|work=[[Tate Etc.]]}}</ref><ref name=Riggs1>{{cite web |author=Terry Riggs|url=http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=12923&searchid=14554&currow=22&maxrows=43 |title=''Jews Mourning at a Synagogue'' (1907) |year=1998|access-date=25 October 2015|work=[[Tate Etc.]]}}</ref>
Between 1902 and 1912 Rothenstein lived in [[Hampstead]], London, where his social circle included [[H. G. Wells]], [[Joseph Conrad]] and the artist [[Augustus John]]. Amongst the young artists to visit Rothenstein in Hampstead were [[Wyndham Lewis]], [[Mark Gertler (artist)|Mark Gertler]] and [[Paul Nash (artist)|Paul Nash]].<ref name="etheses.whiterose.ac.uk"/> During this period Rothenstein worked on a series of important paintings in the predominantly Jewish [[East End of London]],<ref name="etheses.whiterose.ac.uk"/> some of which were included in the influential 1906 exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquaries at the [[Whitechapel Gallery]].<ref name="etheses.whiterose.ac.uk"/>
Another feature of this period are the celebrated interiors he painted, the most famous of which is ''The Browning Readers'' (1900), now owned by [[Cartwright Hall]] gallery, Bradford. Most of Rothenstein's interiors feature members of his family, especially his wife Alice. Reminiscent of Dutch painting (particularly Vermeer and Rembrandt), they are similar in style to contemporary works by [[William Orpen]], who became Rothenstein's brother-in-law in 1901, marrying Alice's sister Grace.<ref name="etheses.whiterose.ac.uk"/><ref>[https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-browning-readers-23319 ''The Browning Readers'' (1900)]. Your Paintings. BBC.</ref> Other notable interiors include ''Spring, The Morning Room'' (c.1910) and ''Mother and Child, Candlight'' (c. 1909).<ref>[https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/spring-the-morning-room-17954 ''Spring, The Morning Room''] (c. 1910). Your Paintings. BBC.</ref><ref>[https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/mother-and-child-candlelight-62003 ''Mother and Child, Candlight''] (c. 1909) Your Paintings. BBC.</ref>
Rothenstein maintained a lifelong fascination for Indian sculpture and painting, and in 1910 set out on a seminal tour of the subcontinent's major artistic and religious sites. This began with a visit to [[Ajanta Caves|the ancient Buddhist caves of Ajanta]], where he observed [[Christiana Herringham|Lady Christiana Herringham]] and [[Nandalal Bose]] making watercolour copies of the ancient [[fresco]]es. He subsequently contributed a chapter on their importance to the published edition. The trip ended with a stay in [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], where he witnessed the attempts of [[Abanindranath Tagore]] to revive the techniques and aesthetics of traditional Indian painting.<ref>[http://www.burlington.org.uk/magazine/back-issues/2010/201004/ Rupert Richard Arrowsmith, "An Indian Renascence and the rise of global modernism: William Rothenstein in India, 1910–11"], ''[[The Burlington Magazine]]'', vol.152 no.1285 (April 2010), pp.228–235.</ref>
He was a member of the [[International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers]].<ref name="etheses.whiterose.ac.uk" />
===Royal College of Art===
[[File:Francis Derwent Wood, R.A. - William Rothenstein - 1921 - Rothenstein-98995-2.jpg|thumb|upright|Chalk drawing of [[Francis Derwent Wood]], inscribed 'To F Derwent Wood – Homage from W Rothenstein, 1921'. Wood was Professor of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art when Rothenstein was Principal.<ref name="A+H">{{cite web |title=The List |url=https://www.abbottandholder-thelist.co.uk/ |publisher=[[Abbott and Holder]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122193921/https://www.abbottandholder-thelist.co.uk/ |archive-date=22 November 2020 }}</ref> ]]
Rothenstein was principal of the [[Royal College of Art]] from 1920 to 1935,<ref name="npg"/> where he encouraged figures including [[Edward Burra]], [[Evelyn Dunbar]], [[U Ba Nyan]] and [[Henry Moore]]. Moore was later to write that Rothenstein "gave me the feeling that there was no barrier, no limit to what a young provincial student could get to be and do".<ref>Alan Wilkinson, ed. ''Henry Moore: Writings and Conversation'' University of California Press, 2002. p. 47</ref> Rothenstein was a master of lobbying and advocacy for his students, notably when, thanks to his efforts, [[Edward Bawden]] and [[Eric Ravilious]] were commissioned to paint a mural in the dining room of [[Morley College]].<ref name="AFriend">{{cite book|author=Andy Friend|publisher=Thames &Hudson|year=2017|title=Ravillious & Co |isbn=978-0-500-23955-1}}</ref> After being appointed, he introduced greater informality and was permitted to appoint practising artists, including [[Paul Nash (artist)|Paul Nash]] and [[Edward Johnston]] as visiting lecturers. In due course, those students who built successful careers were invited back to the college to lecture.<ref name="AFriend"/>
===Writer=== Rothenstein wrote several critical books and pamphlets, including ''Goya'' (1900; the first English monograph on the artist), ''A Plea for a Wider Use of Artists & Craftsmen'' (1916) and ''Whither Painting'' (1932). During the 1930s he published three volumes of memoirs: ''Men and Memories, Vol I and II'' and ''Since Fifty''.<ref name="Speaight"/> ''Men and Memories Volume I'' includes anecdotes about [[Oscar Wilde]] and many other friends of Rothenstein's, including Max Beerbohm, James Whistler, Paul Verlaine, Edgar Degas, and John Singer Sargent.<ref>''Oscar Wilde Selected Letters'', ed. Hart-Davis, R. Oxford, 1979, p105</ref>
==Recognition== Rothenstein was [[knight]]ed in the [[New Year Honours]] in 1931.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/14719/page/13|title='The KING has been graciously pleased to signify His Majesty's intention of conferring the Honour of Knighthood on the following ...Professor William Rothenstein, M.A., Hon., A.R.C.A. Principal, Royal College of Art. For several years Professor of Civic Art, Sheffield University'|publisher=[[Edinburgh Gazette]]|date=6 January 1931|page=13}}</ref> [[Rabindranath Tagore]], a Nobel Prize winner, dedicated his famous poetry collection ''[[Gitanjali]]'' to William Rothenstein.<ref>''Gitanjali'' by Rabindranath Tagore published by Macmillan</ref>
In 2011 the BBC and the Public Catalogue Foundation began cataloguing all of his paintings in public ownership online.<ref name="William Rothenstein at Your Paintings">[https://artuk.org/search/search/search/keyword:william-rothenstein William Rothenstein]. Your Paintings. BBC.</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== * Lago, Mary, and Karl Beckson, eds. ''Max and Will: Max Beerbohm and William Rothenstein, their friendship and letters, 1893–1945.'' (1975). * Lago, Mary. ''Imperfect Encounter: Letters of William Rothenstein and Rabindranath Tagore'' (1972) * Rothenstein, John. ''Summer's Lease: Autobiography 1901–1938'' (1965) * Rothenstein, William. ''Men and Memories: Recollections, Vol. I (1872-1900) and Vol. II (1900-1922)'' (1931 and 1932, respectively) * Rothenstein, William. ''Since Fifty: Men and Memories, 1922-1938'' (1939) * Rothenstein, William. ''Men and Memories: Recollections, 1872-1938, Abridged with Introduction and Notes'' by Mary Lago (1978) * Rothenstein, William, ''Twenty-Four Portraits: With Critical Appreciations by Various Hands'', George Allen & Unwin Ltd., (1920) * Speaight, R., ''William Rothenstein: The Portrait of an Artist in his Time'' (1962) * Shaw, Samuel, ''From Bradford to Benares. The Art of Sir William Rothenstein'' (Bradford Museums and Galleries, 2015) {{ISBN|978 0 9466 5767 4}} * MacDougall, Sarah, ed., ''William Rothenstein and His Circle'', Ben Uri Gallery and Museum (2016)
== External links == *{{Art UK bio}} *[http://www.1890s.ca/HTML.aspx?s=rothenstein_bio.html William Rothenstein – Short Biography at Yellow Nineties Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220005538/http://www.1890s.ca/HTML.aspx?s=rothenstein_bio.html |date=20 December 2013 }} *[http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/specialcollections/lago.htm Mary Lago Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719212129/http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/specialcollections/lago.htm |date=19 July 2013 }} at the [[University of Missouri]] Libraries. Personal papers of a Rothenstein scholar. *[http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~hou00491 The William Rothenstein Papers], [[Houghton Library]], Harvard University *[http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISORESTMP=results.php&CISOVIEWTMP=item_viewer.php&CISOMODE=grid&CISOGRID=thumbnail%2CA%2C1%3Btitle%2CA%2C1%3Bdescri%2C200%2C0%3Bdate%2CA%2C0%3Bnone%2CA%2C0%3B20%3Brelevancy%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOBIB=title%2CA%2C1%2CN%3Bdate%2CA%2C0%2CN%3Bdescri%2C200%2C0%2CN%3Bnone%2CA%2C0%2CN%3Bnone%2CA%2C0%2CN%3B20%3Brelevancy%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOTHUMB=20+%284x5%29%3Brelevancy%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOTITLE=20%3Btitle%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOHIERA=20%3Bdate%2Ctitle%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOSUPPRESS=1&CISOPARM=%2Ftb1+%3Acreato%3ARothenstein%2C+William%2C+Sir%2C+1872-1945 UNCG American Publishers' Trade Bindings: Sir William Rothenstein] {{Subject bar|commons=yes|commons-search=Category:William Rothenstein|s=yes|s-search=Author:Will Rothenstein|d=yes|d-search=Q2580416}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothenstein, William}} [[Category:1872 births]] [[Category:1945 deaths]] [[Category:19th-century English male artists]] [[Category:19th-century English painters]] [[Category:20th-century English male artists]] [[Category:20th-century English painters]] [[Category:Académie Julian alumni]] [[Category:Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art]] [[Category:Artists from Bradford]] [[Category:English Jews]] [[Category:English male painters]] [[Category:English people of German-Jewish descent]] [[Category:English portrait painters]] [[Category:People associated with the Royal College of Art]] [[Category:People educated at Bradford Grammar School]] [[Category:World War I artists]] [[Category:20th-century British war artists]] [[Category:World War II artists]]