Frederick Lee Bridell
FREDERICK LEE BRIDELL was born plain William Bridle to a poor family in the St Mary’s area of Southampton. He was baptised at St Mary’s church on 5th December 1830. He recieved only a rudimentary education. At an early age he made the acquaintance of Henry Rose (later a printer and engraver in Southampton) who encouraged the artistic talent that he recognised in the boy.
After leaving school, Bridle became a page boy and then a house painter. After a dispute about a decorating job, he decided to try his hand at portraiture. One of his first was a portrait of his friend Henry Rose which was completed in 1848 and by this time he was calling himself Bridell. Other early sitters for portraits were Mr and Mrs Day of Spear Hall, Bevois Mount.
One day a Mr Holder called at Rose’s business in Above Bar and was impressed when the engraver showed him a portrait by the young artist. Bridell thus became apprenticed to Holder which was advantageous at this point in his career but the restrictions involved in the contract were to cause problems in the future. Bridell’s association with Holder allowed him to turn his attention away from portraiture to his real passion which was landscapes. He copied great artists for his employer but also developed his own technique. It is likely that he visited the galleries in London and was also given access to works in private collections.
In 1853 Bridell’s contract with Holder was renewed on condition that he continued his studies on the continent. This was an excellent opportunity for him to pursue his interest in landscape. He was particularly inspired by scenes he saw in Bavaria and the Tyrol. He would also have copied works by acclaimed European artists.
After leaving school, Bridle became a page boy and then a house painter. After a dispute about a decorating job, he decided to try his hand at portraiture. One of his first was a portrait of his friend Henry Rose which was completed in 1848 and by this time he was calling himself Bridell. Other early sitters for portraits were Mr and Mrs Day of Spear Hall, Bevois Mount.
One day a Mr Holder called at Rose’s business in Above Bar and was impressed when the engraver showed him a portrait by the young artist. Bridell thus became apprenticed to Holder which was advantageous at this point in his career but the restrictions involved in the contract were to cause problems in the future. Bridell’s association with Holder allowed him to turn his attention away from portraiture to his real passion which was landscapes. He copied great artists for his employer but also developed his own technique. It is likely that he visited the galleries in London and was also given access to works in private collections.
In 1853 Bridell’s contract with Holder was renewed on condition that he continued his studies on the continent. This was an excellent opportunity for him to pursue his interest in landscape. He was particularly inspired by scenes he saw in Bavaria and the Tyrol. He would also have copied works by acclaimed European artists.
In 1857 James Henry Wolff, a shipping magnate of Bevois Mount House, began to collect Bridell’s work. His first acquisitions were the oil paintings produced from the sketches that had been made in Germany and Northern Italy. Having Wolff as a patron enabled Bridell to begin to seek a way out of his contract with Holder. At this time the artist was living in Southampton at Highfield Lodge and it is reasonable to assume that he was a frequent visitor to Bevois Mount House.
James Wolff had purchased part of the Bevois Mount estate and began a collection of items relating to art and music in the house. The works he had commissioned from Bridell, including his largest work to date, The Temple of Venus, formed the Bridell Gallery and this was made available for public viewings from time to time.
In 1858 Bridell again headed for Italy by the way of the Rhine and Lucerne. He spent some weeks near Lake Como and arrived in Rome in early November. It was a walk through Old Rome on a fine and starry night which inspired his large canvas Coliseum by Moonlight which is sometimes displayed in Southampton Art gallery. He described the experience in a letter to James Wolff: “Accident caused my first visit to it by a starry and beautiful night; but all who wish freely to enjoy its immensity and solemn beauty should scrupulously avoid seeing it first by daylight. I immediately came to my present decision regarding your picture.”
James Wolff had purchased part of the Bevois Mount estate and began a collection of items relating to art and music in the house. The works he had commissioned from Bridell, including his largest work to date, The Temple of Venus, formed the Bridell Gallery and this was made available for public viewings from time to time.
In 1858 Bridell again headed for Italy by the way of the Rhine and Lucerne. He spent some weeks near Lake Como and arrived in Rome in early November. It was a walk through Old Rome on a fine and starry night which inspired his large canvas Coliseum by Moonlight which is sometimes displayed in Southampton Art gallery. He described the experience in a letter to James Wolff: “Accident caused my first visit to it by a starry and beautiful night; but all who wish freely to enjoy its immensity and solemn beauty should scrupulously avoid seeing it first by daylight. I immediately came to my present decision regarding your picture.”
It was also in Rome that he met his future bride and fellow artist Eliza Fox. It must have been quite a whirlwind affair because the wedding took place at the end of February 1859. One of the witnesses was the poet, Robert Browning, and the wedding breakfast took place at the Browning’s apartment in Rome. Eliza subsequently drew a portrait of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It must have been quite a prestigious marriage for someone of Bridell’s background as Eliza’s father was an M.P. and it is perhaps indicative of the standing he had already achieved in the art world.
On their return to England, the couple lived for a while in London. Bridell completed a pair of pictures commissioned by Wolff and submitted them for exhibition at the British Institution. He also exhibited The Coliseum at the Royal Academy and received glowing reviews. “This picture at once gives Mr Bridell high rank among our landscape painters” – The Times.
Bridell spent the next few years alternating between trips to Italy to produce sketches and then returning to London to work on large canvasses. The last picture bought for the Bridell Gallery in Bevois Mount House was a painting of the Villa d’Este, Tivoli. It would seem that by this time Wolff was facing financial difficulties and was unable to add to his collection. Without his patron, the artist had to rely from this point on art dealers and sales of exhibited works.
By 1861 the long hours of painting were taking a toll on his health. He contracted tuberculosis and the couple travelled to The Lakes of Northern Italy in the hope that the cool mountain air would improve his condition. He continued working during periods of respite from the illness. When the couple returned to London, he completed a painting of a very English scene of a graveyard overlooking the sea – perhaps recognising the inevitability of his approaching death. He died of consumption in Kensington on 20th August 1863. He was only 32 years old.
Sir Theodore Martin wrote an eloquent obituary in the Art Magazine of January 1864: “The premature close of the life of a man of genius is always sad but it is so in a preeminent degree when it comes before he had the time or the opportunity to make his genius felt or to secure the recognition which alone compensates the artist for years of lonely struggle and nervous exhaustion ...”
Bridell was buried in Brompton Cemetery but his parents’ headstone in Southampton Old Cemetery includes a tribute to the local artist.
© Bevois Mount History
On their return to England, the couple lived for a while in London. Bridell completed a pair of pictures commissioned by Wolff and submitted them for exhibition at the British Institution. He also exhibited The Coliseum at the Royal Academy and received glowing reviews. “This picture at once gives Mr Bridell high rank among our landscape painters” – The Times.
Bridell spent the next few years alternating between trips to Italy to produce sketches and then returning to London to work on large canvasses. The last picture bought for the Bridell Gallery in Bevois Mount House was a painting of the Villa d’Este, Tivoli. It would seem that by this time Wolff was facing financial difficulties and was unable to add to his collection. Without his patron, the artist had to rely from this point on art dealers and sales of exhibited works.
By 1861 the long hours of painting were taking a toll on his health. He contracted tuberculosis and the couple travelled to The Lakes of Northern Italy in the hope that the cool mountain air would improve his condition. He continued working during periods of respite from the illness. When the couple returned to London, he completed a painting of a very English scene of a graveyard overlooking the sea – perhaps recognising the inevitability of his approaching death. He died of consumption in Kensington on 20th August 1863. He was only 32 years old.
Sir Theodore Martin wrote an eloquent obituary in the Art Magazine of January 1864: “The premature close of the life of a man of genius is always sad but it is so in a preeminent degree when it comes before he had the time or the opportunity to make his genius felt or to secure the recognition which alone compensates the artist for years of lonely struggle and nervous exhaustion ...”
Bridell was buried in Brompton Cemetery but his parents’ headstone in Southampton Old Cemetery includes a tribute to the local artist.
© Bevois Mount History