Sir William Russell Flint Prints and Paintings
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Sir William Russell Flint. 1880-1969.
Sir William Russell Flint was born in Edinburgh on 4th April 1880.
Son of Francis Wighton Flint, already a watercolour artist and designer,
William was fortunate to have a background for an artistic career.After attending Daniel Stewarts College,
he entered the Royal Institution School of Art in Edinburgh where he learned the ground rules of line and
colour which he was to develop into his own inimitable watercolour style.
However, the necessary discipline required of all great artists was learned during his six year apprenticeship
as a draughtsman at a large printing works in Edinburgh.
In 1903 Russell Flint was taken on to the staff of the Illustrated London News as an artist illustrator.
This was the era before photographs where drawings and engravings were the only source of illustration for
this medium.
With the Illustrated London News being distributed throughout the British Empire, the name of William
Russell Flint was introduced around the world laying the foundation for the international status he later
enjoyed as a watercolour artist.
Between this time and the first world war, Russell Flint also worked with book publishers successfully
illustrating classics including "Thomas a Kempis", "The Song of Solomon", Mallory's "Morte d'Arthur",
Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" and Homer's "Odyssey".
During the war Flint was in the Royal Navy Air Service and by 1918 has become Admiralty Assistant
Overseer; Airships which took him back to Scotland where he renewed acquaintances with the School
of Art.After leaving the Service,he travelled in France and Spain and began to draw and paint the landscapes
and small towns of the rural regions, although most of the work we see today as limited edition prints are of
his journeys through France.
In 1924 Russell Flint was elected Associate of the Royal Academy and became a full member nine years later.
In 1936 Russell Flint became President of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour.
During the second world war, Flint and his wife Sybil lived for a time on a turkey farm in Devon.
His previous naval connection enabled him to visit Devonport Dockyard where he painted as and when liked.
By the end of the war, the Flints were back at Peel Cottage, Campden Hill in London.
William Russell Flint was knighted in 1947 and painted until his death at the age of 89. his career was
long and distinguished;and during his "second" half of his life, Russell Flint developed his distinctive style,
with his paintings becoming more freer, and his watercolours, able to represent
the soft textures of silks and satins or the stonework of a town building.
Sir William Russell Flint has and continues to give immense pleasure to many people across the globe and through his signed
limited edition prints and original paintings, his work enjoys a strong following from a worldwide public.