Artists Rifles

• Founded by Edward Sterling in 1860

• Originally titled – 38th Middlesex (Artists)
Rifle Volunteers
• In 1870s comprised two companies of
painters and two companies of architects
• By 1893 painters and sculptors
represented less than 5% of the
membership with architects 12%, lawyers
12%, doctors 10% and civil engineers 6%.
“Such splendid beards; worthy of
Titian and such fine faces! Imagine
some dirty little scrub of a foreigner
picking off his Stanfield, or potting a
Millais before breakfast. But there
would be plenty of Englishmen left
to avenge them and to paint good
pictures afterwards.”
Once a Week, 1860
 Some Early Members (1)
1860s
• Frederic, Lord Leighton P.R.A.
• George Frederick Watts R.A.
• John Everett Millais P.R.A.
• William Morris
• Dante Gabriel Rossetti
• Edward Burne-Jones
• William Holman Hunt
Frederic, Lord Leighton P.R.A.
Lieutenant Colonel
Frederic, Lord Leighton P.R.A.
The Music Lesson
George Frederick Watts R.A.
George Frederick Watts R.A.
Echo and Narcissus
Sir John Everett Millais P.R.A.
John Everett Millais P.R.A.
The Boyhood of Raleigh
William Morris
William Morris
Guinevere and Iseult
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Beata Beatrix
Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
The Tree of Forgiveness
William Holman Hunt
William Holman Hunt
The Lady of Shalott
 Some Early Members (2)
1860s
• Henry Wyndham Phillips
• John William Waterhouse R.A.
• Luke Fildes R.A.
• Val Prinsep R.A.
• Charles Edward Perugini
• Robert William Edis
• Frederick Pepys Cockerell
Henry Wyndham Phillips
Henry Wyndham Phillips
Lucie, Lady Duff-Gordon
John William Waterhouse R.A.
John William Waterhouse R.A.
The Lady of Shalott
Luke Fildes R.A.
Luke Fildes R.A.
The Doctor
Val Prinsep R.A.
 Val Prinsep R.A.
The Queen was in the Parlour
Charles Edward Perugini
Charles Edward Perugini
Girl Reading
Robert William Edis
Colonel
 Robert William Edis
The Grand Central Hotel, London
Frederick Pepys Cockerell
Frederick Pepys Cockerell
Clonalis House, Ireland
 Some Early Members (3)
1860s
• Algernon Swinburne
• Sir Edward Poynter P.R.A.
• Carl Haag
• Henry Tanworth-Wells R.A.
• William Yeames R.A.
• Henry Stacy Marks R.A.
Algernon Swinburne
Algernon Swinburne
Atalanta in Calydon
Sir Edward Poynter P.R.A.
Sir Edward Poynter P.R.A.
The Fortune Teller
Carl Haag
 Carl Haag
A Nomad and his Camel
Henry Tanworth-Wells R.A.
Henry Tanworth-Wells R.A.
Volunteers at the Firing-Point
William F. Yeames R.A.
 William F. Yeames R.A.
When did you Last See your Father?
Henry Stacy Marks R.A.
Henry Stacy Marks R.A.
Science is Measurement
Various Works
by other Artists
1860s-1900
Edwin Long R.A.
Nouzhatoul-âouadat
David Wilkie Wynfield
Self Portrait
Frederick Walker A.R.A.
Frederick Walker A.R.A.
Study of a Woman
Field Talfourd
 Field Talfourd
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
John Evan Hodgson R.A.
John Evan Hodgson R.A.
A Shipwrecked Sailor
George Vicat Cole R.A.
George Vicat Cole R.A.
Autumn Morning
Sir William Blake Richmond R.A.
Sir William Blake Richmond R.A.
Orpheus returning from the Shades
Walter William Ouless R.A.
Portrait of Henry Stacy Marks
Sir Ernest Albert Waterlow R.A.
The Banks of the River Loing
Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope R.A.
Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope R.A.
Sir William Henry Perkin
Sir Aston Webb P.R.A.
Sir Aston Webb P.R.A.
Admiralty Arch
HamoThornycroft
Hamo R.A.
Hamo Thornycroft R.A.
Oliver Cromwell
 John Burgess R.A.
The Freedom of the Press
Andrew Gow R.A.
A Mountain Pass
John Seymour Lucas R.A.
John Seymour Lucas R.A.
News from the Front
 Henry Woods R.A.
Il Campo SS Giovanni e Paola
William Barnes Wollen
William Barnes Wollen
The Rugby Match
 W.F. Calderon
How the Four Fairy…
Adrian Stokes R.A.
Lago Maggiore
William Lee-Hankey
The Time Was Young
Artists Rifles Uniforms 1859-1913
Alfred Egerton Cooper
 Some Later Members (1)
1914+
• Charles Jagger A.R.A.
• John Millar Watt (Pop)
• Paul Nash
• John Nash R.A.
• Frank Dobson R.A.
• James Bateman R.A.
• Sidney Strube
• Herbert Gunn R.A.
• Malcolm Osborne R.A.
• Meredith Frampton R.A.
Charles Jagger A.R.A.
Royal Artillery Memorial
John Millar Watt (Pop)
Paul Nash
 Paul Nash
Equivalents for the Megaliths
John Nash R.A.
John Nash R.A.
Over the Top
Frank Dobson R.A.
Frank Dobson R.A.
Study for Head of Pax
James Bateman R.A.
James Bateman R.A.
Lullington Church
Sidney Strube
Sidney Strube
Sir Herbert James Gunn R.A.
Conversation Piece at Royal Lodge
Malcolm Osborne R.A.
Stirling Church
Meredith Frampton R.A.
Still-Life
 Some Later Members (2)
1914+
• Alfred Leete
• Lance Thackeray
• Bert Thomas
• Alfred Egerton Cooper
• Bernard Fleetwood-Walker
• Edward Thomas
• Arthur Reginald Smith
• Robert Sherriffs
• William McMillan R.A.
• Wilfred Owen
Alfred Leete
Lance Thackeray
Bert Thomas
Ivor Innes
The Elfin Oak
Alfred Egerton Cooper
Crowd in Piccadilly
Bernard Fleetwood-Walker
Family at Polperro 1934-36
Edward Thomas
Poet
Arthur Reginald Smith
Kettlewell Bridge
Robert Sherriffs
William McMillan R.A.
Syrinx
Wilfred Owen
 Some Later Members (3)
• Clive Brook (actor)
• Wilfrid Lawson (actor)
• Noel Coward (actor)
• Lance Sieveking (BBC producer & writer)
• Desmond Llewellyn (actor)
• Sir Barnes Wallis (engineer)
Clive Brook
Actor
Wilfrid Lawson
Actor
Sir Noel Coward
Lance Sieveking
BBC
Desmond Llewelyn
“Q” In James Bond
Sir Barnes Wallis
Royal Academy – War Memorial
 Names to Follow up (1)
• Arthur Gilbert
• Robert Underdown
• Charles Earles
• William W. Fenn
• Wilfred R. Wood
• Arthur Gerald Ackermann
• Walter Montague Smyth (1863-1965)
 Names to Follow up (2)
• Ernest Cole (sculptor)
• John Wheatley (etcher and engraver)
• Edward Henry Handley Read
• Charles Moore (stained glass artist)
• William Swinden Barber (architect)
• Sir Stephen Courtauld (patron)
 Names to Follow up (3)
• Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson (actor)
• Ian Forbes-Robertson (actor)
• Eric Forbes-Robertson (artist)
• Norman Forbes(-Robertson) (actor)
• Brandon Thomas (actor and author Charley’s
Aunt)
• John Wildash RSA
• Charles Maresco Pearce (1874-1964)
• Charles Mott (singer)
 Names to Follow up (4)
• Edgell Rickwood (poet)
• Alfred Bentley
• Kennard Bliss (poet and musician)
• Alfred McLelland Burrage (author)
• Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm (sculptor)
 Post War Artists

• Andrew Russell (Rusty) Ashman

• Bill Billings
• David Jenner
• Peter Power
In 1947 the Artists Rifles were resurrected with the title
21 SAS Regiment (Artists)
 For further information see:

www.artistsriflesassociation.org