A pivotal figure in the evolution of modern British art, Sir George Clausen was celebrated for his rich, earthy palette and authentic depictions of rural life, in particular the natural landscape and quietly dignified labour of peasants in the English countryside. As one scholar wrote: ‘His preoccupation was with light; the dazzle of sun on cornfields and haystacks and mowers at midday, the stilled radiance of blossom in orchards, the woods and empty fields at evening, and the subtle atmospheric effects in shadowy barn and stable.’
Born in London, Clausen trained at the National Art Training School (now the Royal Academy of Art) in South Kensington before going abroad for further studies at Art Antwerp Academy, and Académie Julian in Paris. Initially influenced by Dutch painting, he later embraced French naturalism and Impressionism, taking inspiration from the works of Jules Bastien-Lepage, Monet and Degas.
In the 1880s and early 1890s, Clausen frequently worked in pastel, often on rough brown paper, exhibiting several pieces in this medium. Between 1888 and 1890, he showcased pastel works at the Grosvenor Gallery and was a founding member of the New English Art Club, where he exhibited from 1890 to 1893. By 1891, he was showing at the Royal Academy, though his first solo exhibition only came in 1902. He was elected a Royal Academician a few years later in 1908.
Clausen was praised for his pastel technique more than his other artistic endeavours. One reviewer from his 1902 Goupil Gallery exhibition remarked, ‘the stroke of the pastel chalk seems to be the most direct and satisfactory means of expression for Mr. Clausen. In his oil paintings he often appears to hanker after it, hatching his paint without the same result in freshness…Here the notes are clear struck and decisive. He renders more than once a beautiful effect that is almost his own property.’
In 1926, Clausen was among eight British artists commissioned for a large mural in St. Stephen’s Hall at House of Commons and was knighted upon its unveiling the following year. Today, his pastel studies are held in the collections of the British Museum and the Royal Academy of Arts.
