‘An artist of his era in his choice of child-subjects, he is also of his generation in his methods, reminding us in his sympathies now of this contemporary, now of that. Yet, he has kept to his own chosen way with the vigilance of a palmer, the shrine of childhood always before him as his goal. Where is the child, his Holy Land is there. On that heavenly city he has kept a single eye.’
Frederick Morgan was born in London in 1847, the son of John Morgan (1823-1886), a painter of historical and genre pictures who received his training in Paris under Thomas Couture. John Morgan was known as "Jury Morgan," after the success of one of his pictures entitled The Gentlemen of the Jury. He became a member of the Society of British Artists, as well as a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy. He firmly believed in the importance of learning art at a young age and he took his son Fred (as he was called) out of school when he was fourteen years old to begin his art instruction in his studio. Much of Fred's training was thus given, although he also appears to have taken lessons in an Edinburgh academy. When he was sixteen, Fred sent a painting entitled The Rehearsal to the Royal Academy, which depicted two old musicians playing for the village choir. Much to his surprise it was accepted and was "hung in one of the small rooms on the wall, near the ground," and purchased by a collects or at the Private View, for £20. He soon realised that despite this early success, he was unlikely to make a name for himself if he remained in Aylesbury and unfortunately his father's encouragement began to wain. Three years later, John Morgan gave his son five pounds and told him that he had taught him all he could and that perhaps he should look for another profession in London. He initially looked for work in offices and warehouses but soon returned home without any progress. Fred worked for three years as a portrait artist in Aylesbury and was engaged by a photographic firm to paint family portraits for those clients who were not satisfied with photographs. After showing samples of his work to other photographic firms in London he received numerous portrait commissions and was thus able to make a sufficient income and his father's fears were finally laid to rest. The years that Fred spent working for the photographers proved to be a good training for Fred, as it 'taught him how to observe closely and to give the greatest attention to detail'.1 In addition to portraits, he painted other subjects that included rustic idealized peasants and domestic genre mostly of happy childhood scenes.
In 1872 Morgan married Alice Mary Havers, herself a successful painter of childhood. He encouraged her painting and a year after their marriage, she exhibited her first picture at the Royal Academy, A Knotty Subject. There were three children from this marriage, two sons and a daughter who were useful models for their parents. The marriage was ultimately not a happy union and in 1888 Alice moved with her children to Paris to continue her art training. Fred moved to live with his mother and siblings and rented a studio in St John's Wood with another painter of children, Arthur Elsley who had recently been introduced to him. This was to be a mutually advantageous move for both artists and they influenced each other's choice of subjects and direction in their art. In 1889 Alice Havers filed for divorce in 1890 she died - by July the same year Fred had married his second wife and moved to Blenheim Gardens in Willesden Green. In 1900 the Morgans moved to a larger house and studio at Upper Norwood in South London and the shared studio in St John's Wood was given up. It was too far for Morgan to travel so far north to the studio but tensions had also arisen in the friendship between him and Elsley. Soon afterwards Elsley and Morgan became permanently estranged following an accusation by Morgan that Elsley had 'borrowed' an idea from one of his own paintings.
Right: Fig 2 Frederick Morgan, Good Friends, © Replica Shoes ’s
Morgan delighted in painted children playing in summer gardens and by the sea and his best paintings were widely known from the many prints that were dissipated. Perhaps the most important commission Morgan received was to paint Queen Alexandra with her grandchildren and dogs in 1902, for which Thomas Blinks painted the dogs (Morgan often collaborated with other artists, including Elsley and Allen Sealey). His paintings are in many public collects ions, including the Harris Museum and Art Gallery in Preston, the Towneley Hall Art Gallery and Museum in Burnley, the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, the Russell-Cotes Museum in Bournemouth and the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight. Cherry Pickers is a typical and charming example, depicting the mischievous energy of young children. A trio of children and their pet terrier are gathering cherries, presumably from a prohibited source, on their way to or from school - a satchel of books is thrown aside. These lighthearted subjects became Morgan's most popular paintings. Comparable examples include A Heavy Load (Sotheby's, New York, 4 May 2012, lot 101; fig. 1) and Good Friends (Sotheby's, New York, 4 November 2010, lot 30; fig. 2) - delightful subjects of youthful joy in the English countryside. Morgan often depicted his own children (three from his first marriage and two from the second), one of whom, Val became a successful painter himself - following in the line of painters.
1 J. Oldcastle, 'The Art of Mr. Fred Morgan', in The Windsor Magazine, June 1905, p. 15.