Dawson Paintings
R.A. Dawson (1874 – 1948) Artist, art teacher, painter
C.F. Dawson (1863 – 1049) Artist, art teacher, painter
M.E. Dawson (1867 – 1942) Artist , painter (nee Bell)
R.A.Dawson (1874 – 1948) was my grandfather and his brother, C.F.Dawson my great uncle. Their father was a house painter by trade in Bingley, Yorkshire, who dabbled in art painting describing himself as a copyist. Perhaps he got a taste for art painting when painting pubs and pub signs. Whatever the case, his two sons, R.A.Dawson (Robert Arthur) and C.F.Dawson (Charles Frederick) had extraordinary artistic talent.
After studying at the Royal College of Art in London R.A.Dawson became a teacher there. At the relatively young age of 26 he was appointed Principal of the Belfast School of Art in Ireland, where he remained until 1919 at which time he was appointed Principal of the premiere Manchester School of Art where he stayed until his retirement in 1939. During his private times when not involved in his administrative or teaching duties he painted almost continually and with a passion akin to an addiction. He exhibited widely at the Royal Academy in London, the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin, the Walker Art Galley in Liverpool and other places as well.
C.F.Dawson (1863 – 1949) also had connections with the Royal College of Art, being a Fellow there (FRCA). Being my great uncle less is known of his life than that of my grandfather, but C.F.Dawson was for many years Principal of the Accrington School of Art in Lancashire. He exhibited frequently, at the Royal Academy in London, the Manchester Art Gallery and the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. He married fellow artist M.E.Dawson (nee Mary Elizabeth Bell).
M.E.Dawson (1867 – 1942) was also a highly accomplished painter and artist, exhibiting frequently at the Royal Academy in London, the Manchester Art Gallery and the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.
During their lifetimes my three relatives painted numerous beautiful paintings. The records at the Royal Academy and elsewhere give us titles and when they exhibited in the various galleries, but they do not tell us what happened to those paintings. Many people these days endeavour to trace their family tree but I am endeavouring to trace the paintings to produce a family record for future generations. Most of their best paintings were exhibited and sold, and therefore their whereabouts is unknown. Most of the paintings in the family now (2015) are either ‘seconds’ or holiday sketches (memories similar to photographs of today) and a few prime paintings done during their last years. As time marches on, the few paintings within the family get spread thinner and thinner as they are passed on to the next generation which is what prompted my initial idea to catalogue the known paintings as a family record. The paintings of C.F.Dawson and M.E.Dawson are harder to trace as they did not have any children and their possessions were ultimately spread to a wider family.
To anyone who perchance may be be trying to find information about the painter of a picture they happen to have by R.A.Dawson, C.F.Dawson or M.E.Dawson, please contact me at davidbee’at’mts.net ( change the ‘at’ to @ in your email) and I shall be happy to share information with you.
David Dawson
davidbeeweb 