BIOGRAPHY - Alfred A. Glendening (Active 1861 - 1903)

This Victorian landscape artist was born in London and began his adult life as a railway clerk.  Not much information exists to explain when and where he received his artistic interest and training, but in 1864 he exhibited his first work at The Royal Society of British Artists, Morning on Grasmere Lake.  From that point on, he became a frequent exhibitor at the Society, as well as the Royal Academy (RA) – exhibiting his first work there, A Cornfield – Kent, in 1865.  Among his other important works were Summer Evening (RA -1867), The Thames at Hampton (RA – 1873), Sunbury (RA – 1877), Belaugh on the Bure, Norfolk (RA – 1889) and In the Meadows, Youngsbury (RA – 1900)

The English landscape was his specialty – depicting views of the Thames and scenes in Wales and Scotland.  These works often featured small figures by the riverside or swans on the water.  Light comes from outside the picture, filtering its way through a beautiful blue and white sky and casts soft shadows in the water.  His landscapes are filled with subtle shades of color and the water often cuts across the canvas and vanishes around a turn in the background.

Alfred Glendening continued to exhibit in London through 1903 – showing more than 130 works in all.