Home > Artist Database > Bio-bibliographic Database > ROWLEY, Frances Elswood (Richards)
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ROWLEY, Frances Elswood (Richards)
- Born
- Brockville, Ontario, 1852
- Died
- Glassonby, Cumberland, England, 1934
- Biography synopsis
- Frances Rowley (nee Richards) painted landscapes and still lifes but was best-known for portrait paintings. She studied in New York, London, and from 1878-1881 in Paris at the Académie Julian where she knew the Russian artist Marie Bashkirtseff. Richards returned to Canada in 1881 and was made the Acting Head of the Ottawa School of Art; additionally, she became an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy. In addition to exhibiting with the Royal Canadian Academy, the Ontario Society of Artists and the Art Association of Montreal between 1882 and 1889, she showed her work at a Paris Salon (1883), the National Academy of Design in New York (1884), and the New Gallery in London (1893). In 1882 she met the English writer Oscar Wilde in Ottawa during his tour of Canada, and in 1887 when Richards moved to London, she painted his portrait. On seeing the painting Wilde stated: “What a tragic thing it is. This portrait will never grow older and I shall. If only it was the other way." It is suggested that this portrait is linked to his well-known novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray." In 1888 Richards took up residence in London when she married William Edwin Rowley; she returned to Canada regularly. Some of her works are held in Canadian public and museum collections, including the Art Gallery of Victoria. A portrait of Frances Richards is held at the National Gallery of Canada.
- Media used
- Painting
- Education
- Académie Julian, Paris, 1878 - 1881 (under Robert Fleury, Carolus Duran, Jacques Henner, Charles Chaplin)
- Memberships
- Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, 1881
- File & Archive locations
- Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, ON
- National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
- Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, QC
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- St. James Gazette 24 Sep. 1890
- "Dies In England: Mrs. W. E. Rowley Daughter of Former Lieut.-Governor.” The Gazette 27 Nov. 1934
- Butlin, Susan. A New Matrix of the Arts: A History of the Professionalization of Canadian Women Artists, 1880-1914 Ottawa, Ontario: Carleton University, 2008
- Disotell, Russ. "Frances Richards and Oscar Wilde." Thousand Islands Life 13 Apr. 2015
http://tilife.org/BackIssues/Archive/tabid/393/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1717/Frances-Richards-and-Oscar-Wilde.html - Ellmann, Richard. Oscar Wilde New York: Knopf, 1988
- Harper, J. Russell. Early Painters and Engravers in Canada Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1970
- Latham, David. Scarlet Hunters: Pre-Raphaelitism in Canada Toronto: Archives of Canadian Art & Design, 1998
- McNeill, Steve and Charles C. Hill. Acquisition Proposal for Frances Richards’ Portrait, Accession #41268, Curatorial File, National Gallery of Canada Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, ?
http://www.gallery.ca/sites/default/files/upload/library/frances_richards_bio_e.pdf - Morgan, H. J., ed. Types of Canadian Women and of women who have been connected with Canada Toronto: W. Briggs, 1903
- O'Brien, Kevin. "Oscar Wilde and Canadian Artists." Antigonish Review 1.4 (Winter 1971): 11-28
- Porter, Brian. "Local Artist inspired Oscar Wilde Novel." Ottawa Citizen 18 Oct 2014
- Scharnhorst, Gary. “Oscar Wilde on the Origin of ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’: A Recovered Letter.” The Wildean, no. 37, 2010, pp. 12–15. 37 (2010): 12-15.
Full text pdfs of exhibition reviews- Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Halifax, April 1882) "Royal Canadian Academy. Preparations for Opening the Third Annual Exhibition." Globe (Toronto) April 10, 1882. p.2. Full-text pdf
- Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Halifax, April 1882) "Royal Canadian Academy of Arts: Private view at the Art Gallery." Gazette (Montreal) April 10, 1882. p. 5. Full-text pdf
- Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, May 1882) "Art in Ontario. Tenth Annual Exhibition of the Ontario Society. The "Private View" Day. A Capital Display in Both Branches." Globe (Toronto) May 15, 1882. p. 8. Full-text pdf
- Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, May 1882) "Canadian Art. The Exhibition of the Ontario Society of Artists. Studies in Oils and Watercolours." Toronto Daily Mail May 19, 1882. p.8. Full-text pdf
- Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Montreal, April 20, 1887) "The Royal Canadian Art Exhibition." Montreal Herald April 19, 1887. p.1. Full-text pdf
- Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Montreal, April 20, 1887) "Among the Pictures. The Annual Spring Exhibition of the R.C.A." Gazette (Montreal) April 20, 1887. p.8. Full-text pdf
- Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Montreal, April 20, 1887) "R.C.A. Formal Opening of the Art Exhibition." Montreal Herald April 20, 1887. p.4,8. Full-text pdf
- Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Montreal, April 20, 1887) "The Art Exhibition. Some Notices of the Pictures Displayed." Montreal Daily Herald April 21, 1887. p.8. Full-text pdf
- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, April 1887) "The Art Exhibition. Some Notices of the Pictures Displayed." Montreal Daily Herald April 21, 1887. P.8. Full-text pdf
- Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Montreal, April 20, 1887) "The Royal Canadian Academy Exhibition." The Week (Toronto) April 28, 1887. p.355. Full-text pdf
- Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Montreal, April 20, 1887) "Royal Canadian Academy of Art. Two Free Days Before the Exhibition Closes." Montreal Daily Herald May 06, 1887. p.6. Full-text pdf
- Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, June 14, 1887) "Ontario Society of Artists. Brief Criticisms of Some of the More Notable Pictures on Exhibition." Globe (Toronto) June 22, 1887. p. 2. Full-text pdf
- Ontario Society of Artists Annual Exhibition: (Toronto, June 14, 1887) "The Ontario Society's Exhibit. II." The Week June 30, 1887. p.496. Full-text pdf
- Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, April 1889) "Water Colors. The Annual Spring Exhibition." Montreal Star April 20, 1889. p.3. Full-text pdf
