Charles Wellington Furse

C. W. Furse, archdeacon of Westminster, and rector of St John's, Smith Square and descended collaterally from Sir Joshua Reynolds; and in his short span of life demonstrated such skill as a portrait and figure painter that he forms an important link in the chain of British portraiture which extends from the time when Van Dyck was called to the court of Charles I into the 20th century.

[1] His talent was precocious; at the age of seven he gave indications of it in a number of drawings illustrating the novels of Sir Walter Scott.

Hard worker as he was, his activity was frequently interrupted by spells of illness, for he had developed signs of consumption whilst still attending the Slade School.

[5] His fondness for sport and of an open-air life found expression in his art and introduced a new, fresh and vigorous note into portraiture.

The sitters appear unconscious of being painted, and are generally seen in the pursuit of their favourite outdoor sport or pastime, in the full enjoyment of life.