Philip Wilson Steer stands as one of the most compelling and significant figures in British painting during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, in 1860, and passing away in 1942, his life spanned a period of immense artistic change. Steer navigated these currents with a unique sensibility, forging a path that blended the radical innovations of French Impressionism with the enduring traditions of British landscape painting. He was not only a prolific and evolving artist but also a highly influential teacher, shaping a generation of British painters. His legacy is cemented by his evocative landscapes, his foundational role in the New English Art Club, and his long tenure at the Slade School of Fine Art.
Early Life and Artistic Formation
Philip Wilson Steer's artistic inclinations were perhaps inherited; his father, Philip Steer, was a portrait painter. The younger Steer experienced the loss of his father in 1871. His formal education began at a local preparatory school before he attended Hereford Cathedral School in 1875, where he developed an early interest in collecting coins and medals. His path towards a career in art solidified as he sought formal training.
Initially, Steer studied at the Gloucester School of Art around 1874, followed by a period at the South Kensington Art School in London from 1880 to 1881. His ambition led him to apply to the prestigious Royal Academy Schools, but his application was unsuccessful. This rejection proved serendipitous, prompting him to look towards Paris, the vibrant heart of the European avant-garde, for his artistic education.
Parisian Immersion and Impressionist Awakening
In 1882, Steer embarked for Paris. He enrolled first at the Académie Julian, a popular destination for foreign students, where he studied under the highly academic painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Subsequently, he gained admission to the esteemed École des Beaux-Arts, studying under another established figure, Alexandre Cabanel. While his formal instruction was rooted in academic tradition, it was the artistic ferment outside the ateliers that truly captivated him.
Paris exposed Steer directly to the revolutionary works of the French Impressionists. He absorbed the lessons of painters like Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Édouard Manet. The American expatriate James McNeill Whistler, whose tonal harmonies and atmospheric effects resonated deeply in London, was also a significant presence whose influence Steer encountered. He frequented galleries, including exhibitions at the Goupil Gallery where he himself showed works like *Fantaisie* and *Discovery* in 1884, and spent time studying the Old Masters in the Louvre. This period was crucial for developing his understanding of light, colour, and capturing fleeting moments, hallmarks of the Impressionist approach.
Return to London and the New English Art Club
Returning to England around 1884, Steer settled in London and began to establish his artistic career. The London art scene was largely dominated by the conservative Royal Academy. Steer, along with other artists who felt constrained by the Academy's exhibition policies and aesthetic preferences, sought alternative venues and associations.
A pivotal moment came with the founding of the New English Art Club (NEAC) in 1886. Steer was a central figure in this movement, alongside contemporaries like Walter Sickert, Frederick Brown, and others sympathetic to French developments. The NEAC provided a crucial platform for artists influenced by Impressionism and other progressive styles, challenging the RA's hegemony. Steer and Sickert, in particular, became leading figures associated with what was sometimes termed "London Impressionism," adapting French techniques to British subjects and sensibilities.
The Height of Impressionism: Walberswick and Coastal Scenes
The late 1880s and early 1890s marked the zenith of Steer's engagement with Impressionism. He spent considerable time painting on the Suffolk coast, particularly in the village of Walberswick. This location inspired some of his most celebrated works, characterized by their vibrant palettes, broken brushwork, and brilliant capturing of seaside light and atmosphere.
Works such as *The Beach at Walberswick* (c. 1889), *Knucklebones* (1888-89), and the iconic *Girls Running, Walberswick Pier* (1888-94, though often dated closer to 1894 for completion/exhibition) exemplify this phase. These paintings often depict children playing on the beach, figures silhouetted against the bright sea and sky, or the expansive vistas of the coastline under changing weather conditions. Steer demonstrated an exceptional ability to render the dazzling effects of sunlight on water and sand, using flickering touches of colour to convey movement and the immediacy of the observed moment. His approach, while clearly indebted to Monet and Renoir, retained a distinctly English feel in its subject matter and perhaps a slightly more restrained lyricism.
Influences and Artistic Dialogue
Steer's artistic identity was shaped by a rich dialogue between different influences. The French Impressionists provided the initial spark and technical tools for capturing modern life and atmospheric effects. Monet's handling of light and series paintings, Degas's compositional innovations and figure studies, and Whistler's emphasis on aesthetic harmony and tonal subtlety all left their mark.
However, Steer remained deeply connected to the British landscape tradition. He held the great masters J.M.W. Turner and John Constable in high esteem throughout his career. Turner's mastery of light and atmosphere, particularly in his later, more abstract works, and Constable's direct observation of nature and vigorous brushwork, provided enduring inspiration. Steer sought to reconcile the Impressionist concern with fleeting effects with the structural solidity and poetic sentiment found in the British masters. Other influences sometimes cited include the rich colour and dynamic compositions of Peter Paul Rubens and the atmospheric landscapes of Adolphe Monticelli.
His relationship with Walter Sickert was particularly important during the formative years of British Impressionism. They were key allies in the NEAC and shared an interest in modern subjects and French techniques, though their paths would diverge stylistically, with Sickert exploring more urban, interior scenes with a darker palette.
A Shift Towards Tradition
From the mid-1890s onwards, a noticeable shift occurred in Steer's work. While he never entirely abandoned the lessons of Impressionism, his style gradually evolved towards a more traditional, structured approach, often drawing more explicitly on the English landscape masters he admired, including Thomas Gainsborough alongside Constable and Turner.
His palette often became more muted and tonal, his compositions more formally arranged, and his brushwork less broken, sometimes favouring broader handling or more delicate washes, especially in his watercolours. He increasingly turned to inland landscapes, painting views around locations such as Richmond, Knaresborough, Bridgnorth, and Ludlow. Works like *Bird-nesting, Ludlow* (1898), *A View at Ludlow* (1898-99), and *Richmond Castle* (1903) reflect this change. This evolution wasn't a rejection of his earlier phase but rather a synthesis, integrating his understanding of light and atmosphere within a framework rooted in the classical landscape tradition.
Portraiture and Figure Studies
Although primarily celebrated for his landscapes, Steer was also an accomplished painter of portraits and figure subjects throughout his career. His training under academic painters like Bouguereau and Cabanel provided a solid foundation in figure drawing. His portraits often display a sensitivity to character and a sophisticated handling of paint, sometimes reflecting the influence of Whistler or Manet.
One notable work is the *Portrait of Mrs Cyprian Williams* (1891), which shows his skill in formal portraiture combined with a certain freshness. The painting titled *Blue Period Portrait of a Lady* (c. 1900), now in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, uses a predominantly blue palette to create an elegant and slightly melancholic mood; the title is likely descriptive rather than indicating a direct link to Picasso's specific Blue Period. Figure studies and nudes also formed part of his oeuvre, often treated with the same interest in light and form as his landscapes.
The Slade Professor: A Legacy of Teaching
In 1893, Steer was appointed as a Painting Instructor at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, a position he held with great distinction until 1930. The Slade, under the leadership of figures like Frederick Brown and Henry Tonks (another influential painter-teacher), became the most progressive and important art school in Britain during this period. Steer played a crucial role in its success.
He was known as a quiet, somewhat reserved man, but his teaching was highly respected. His style was described as encouraging observation and individual development, marked by dignity and a dry sense of humour rather than dogmatic pronouncements. He taught generations of students, exerting a profound influence on the course of twentieth-century British art. Among the many artists who passed through the Slade during his long tenure and likely benefited from his presence and guidance was the Irish painter Jack B. Yeats. Others associated with the Slade during this era include Augustus John and William Orpen. Steer's dedication to teaching cemented his position as a central figure in the London art world.
Later Life and Watercolours
Steer continued to paint actively into his later years. He received significant recognition, including the prestigious Order of Merit in 1931, a high honour reflecting his esteemed position in British culture. As his eyesight began to fail in his later years, he increasingly turned to watercolour.
His late watercolours often revisit the landscape themes that preoccupied him throughout his life – coastal scenes, river valleys, and rolling hills. These works are characterized by their fluidity, atmospheric transparency, and often a remarkable economy of means. Even with declining vision, he retained his ability to evoke light, space, and the essential character of a place through broad washes and suggestive lines. These late works form a poignant coda to a long and productive career.
Legacy and Collections
Philip Wilson Steer occupies a unique and pivotal position in the history of British art. He was instrumental in introducing and adapting the principles of French Impressionism for a British audience, demonstrating that its techniques could be applied to native landscapes and subjects with compelling results. He masterfully synthesized these modern French influences with the deep-rooted traditions of British landscape painting, particularly the legacies of Constable and Turner.
His influence extended beyond his own canvases through his decades of teaching at the Slade, shaping the development of countless artists. As a co-founder and leading member of the New English Art Club, he helped foster a more progressive environment for art in Britain.
Today, Steer's works are held in major public collections across the United Kingdom and internationally. Tate Britain in London holds a significant collection, including key works like *Girls Running, Walberswick Pier* and *Bird-nesting, Ludlow*. Other important holdings can be found in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, Norwich Castle Museum, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in the USA. The Credito Bergamasco Foundation in Italy also holds his work *A View at Ludlow*. His paintings continue to be admired for their beauty, technical skill, and sensitive response to the natural world.
Conclusion
Philip Wilson Steer's career charts a fascinating journey through the evolving landscape of modern art. From his early embrace of Impressionism's radical light and colour to his later synthesis with the great British landscape tradition, he consistently produced works of remarkable sensitivity and skill. As both a pioneering painter who helped naturalize Impressionism in Britain and a profoundly influential teacher who guided future generations, Steer left an indelible mark on British art. His evocative depictions of the British coast and countryside remain a testament to his unique vision and enduring talent.
