#augustus mulready

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  A London Jo -- The End of the Day, 1884, oil on canvas by Augustus Edwin Mulready, English genre artist, 1844-1904. Bonham’s international auction house.

  While Charles Dickens sketched the plight of the poor of London with his pen, Mulready used paint. Mulready did as much to bring attention to the problem of distressed children as did Dickens. 

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  Wandering Minstrels, 1876, oil on canvas by Augustus Edwin Mulready, British genre artist of urchins and flower sellers, 1844-1904. Private Collection.

  A young boy and girl are exhausted after playing for money from the well-to-do who stroll back and forth in the park behind them.

  Mulready, as an artist, and his countryman, Charles Dickens, as a novelist, did much to bring attention to the plight of the poor in England. 

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  Our Good Natured Cousin, oil on canvas by Augustus Edwin Mulready, English genre painter,  1844-1904.  Private Collection.

  Mulready painted landscapes and London scenes of urchins and flower-sellers. This little girl may make a sale by the look given her by the young lady. This artist brought the plight of the poor and social issues to the forefront of London society as much as did his countryman and author Charles Dickens.

  It is more than likely the trio’s dog with his nose in the air is fed better than the little girl in rags selling flowers.

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  Outsiders, oil on cardboard by Augustus Edwin Mulready, British genre artist, 1844-1904. Last at auction at Bonham’s.

  This young man and girl may be able to paste up the billboard for the show, but there is no chance they will be able to afford to see it as much as they would like.

  Mulready was known for his paintings of London urchins and flower sellers. He was a part of the Cranbrook Colony of Artists, Cranbrook, Kent, England. At first, his art was dismissed, but it later brought more attention to the poor of London just as did the novels of his countryman Charles Dickens.

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  Close of Day -- Selling Out, oil on canvas by Augustus Edwin Mulready, British, 1844-1904. Last at auction at Bonhams, London.

  Mulready was famous for his paintings of street vendors and urchins. He was once thought to be too melodramatic, but in later years did with painting what Charles Dickens accomplished through his novels in bringing a consciousness to the plight of the poor.

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  On Waterloo Bridge, London, watercolor on panel by Augustus Edwin Mulready, British genre artist of the Cranbrook Colony of Artists. 1844-1904.

  Mulready was known for his London street scenes of flower seller and urchins.  The little girl is likely crying because their attempt to earn money with the boy’s violin playing hasn’t earned anything.

  Mulready did for art what Charles Dickens did for literature in graphically presenting the needs of the poor.

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 Uncared For, 1871, oil on canvas by Augustus Edwin Mulready, 1844-1904.

  Mulready was a British genre painter specializing in London's poorer aspects during the Victorian Age. Once seen as blatant sentimentalism, Mulready's work has being re-evaluated as strong statements against abuses at the time and stands in painting alongside the literary criticisms made by Charles Dickens. 

 Here a little sarcasm goes a long way. 

 This painting recently sold at auction at Bonham's in London, England.