Portrait of Ford Madox Brown

Ford Madox Brown Painting Reproductions 2 of 2

1821-1893

English Pre-Raphaelite Painter

Ford Madox Brown (April 16, 1821 - October 6, 1893) was an English painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. While he was closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, he was never actually a member. Nevertheless, he remained close to Dante Gabriel Rossetti, with whom he also joined William Morris's design company, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., in 1861.

One of his most famous images is The Last of England, a portrait of a pair of stricken emigrants as they sail away on the ship that will take them from England forever. It was inspired by the departure of the Pre-Raphaelite sculptor Thomas Woolner, who had left for Australia. The painting is structured with Brown's characteristic linear energy, and emphasis on apparently grotesque and banal details, such as the cabbages hanging from the ship's side.

Brown's most important painting was Work (1852 - 1865), which he showed at a special exhibition. It attempted to depict the totality of the mid-Victorian social experience in a single image, depicting 'navvies' digging up a road, and disrupting the old social hierarchies as they did so. The image erupts into proliferating details from the dynamic centre of the action, as the workers tear a hole in the road and, symbolically, in the social fabric. Each character represents a particular social class and role in the modern urban environment. Brown wrote a catalogue to accompany the special exhibition of Work. This publication included an extensive explanation of Work that nevertheless leaves many questions unanswered.

Brown's major achievement after Work was the "Manchester Murals", a cycle of twelve paintings in the Great Hall of Manchester Town Hall depicting the history of the city. These present a partly ironic and satirical view of Mancunian history.

His son Oliver Madox Brown (1855-1874) showed promise both as an artist and poet, but died of blood-poisoning.

He was the grandfather of novelist Ford Madox Ford and great-grandfather of Labour Home Secretary Frank Soskice.

35 Ford Madox Brown Paintings

The Young Mother, 1848 by Ford Madox Brown | Painting Reproduction

The Young Mother 1848

Paper Art Print
$46.22
SKU: FMB-6405
Ford Madox Brown
Original Size: 25.1 x 17.5 cm
Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom

The Spirit of Justice: Head of a Counsellor, c.1844/45 by Ford Madox Brown | Painting Reproduction

The Spirit of Justice: Head of a Counsellor c.1844/45

Paper Art Print
$46.22
SKU: FMB-6406
Ford Madox Brown
Original Size: 45.5 x 31.5 cm
Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom

Study of a Monk, 1848 by Ford Madox Brown | Painting Reproduction

Study of a Monk 1848

Paper Art Print
$46.22
SKU: FMB-6407
Ford Madox Brown
Original Size: 27.5 x 27.5 cm
Private Collection

Head of a Page Boy, c.1837 by Ford Madox Brown | Painting Reproduction

Head of a Page Boy c.1837

Oil Painting
$588
Canvas Print
$48.54
SKU: FMB-6408
Ford Madox Brown
Original Size: 35.5 x 30.6 cm
Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom

Family Group (The Bromley Family), 1844 by Ford Madox Brown | Painting Reproduction

Family Group (The Bromley Family) 1844

Oil Painting
$3541
Canvas Print
$48.54
SKU: FMB-10289
Ford Madox Brown
Original Size: 142 x 103 cm
Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, United Kingdom

Cordelia's Portion, c.1867/75 by Ford Madox Brown | Painting Reproduction

Cordelia's Portion c.1867/75

Canvas Print
$48.54
SKU: FMB-10290
Ford Madox Brown
Original Size: 79.5 x 111.8 cm
City Art Gallery, Southampton, United Kingdom

The English Boy, 1860 by Ford Madox Brown | Painting Reproduction

The English Boy 1860

Oil Painting
$1312
Canvas Print
$48.54
SKU: FMB-10291
Ford Madox Brown
Original Size: 39.6 x 33.3 cm
Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, United Kingdom

The Dream of Sardanapalus, 1871 by Ford Madox Brown | Painting Reproduction

The Dream of Sardanapalus 1871

Paper Art Print
$46.22
SKU: FMB-10292
Ford Madox Brown
Original Size: unknown
Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, USA

Title Cromwell on his Farm at St Ives, c.1853/74 by Ford Madox Brown | Painting Reproduction

Title Cromwell on his Farm at St Ives c.1853/74

Paper Art Print
$46.22
SKU: FMB-10293
Ford Madox Brown
Original Size: unknown
Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, United Kingdom

Dalton Collecting Marsh Fire Gas, c.1879/93 by Ford Madox Brown | Painting Reproduction

Dalton Collecting Marsh Fire Gas c.1879/93

Oil Painting
$1972
Canvas Print
$48.54
SKU: FMB-10294
Ford Madox Brown
Original Size: unknown
Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, United Kingdom

Henry Fawcett, Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett, 1872 by Ford Madox Brown | Painting Reproduction

Henry Fawcett, Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett 1872

Oil Painting
$2463
Canvas Print
$94.61
SKU: FMB-10295
Ford Madox Brown
Original Size: 108.6 x 83.8 cm
National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom

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