| Frederick Richard Pickersgill | |
| Birth Date: | 25 September 1820 |
| Birth Place: | London, England |
| Death Place: | Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, England |
| Notable Works: | The Burial of Harold Orsino and Viola |
Frederick Richard Pickersgill (25 September 1820 - 20 December 1900) was an English painter and book illustrator. Born in London into a family of artists, he was admitted to the Royal Academy Schools in 1840.[1] He exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy between 1839 and 1875. Most of these works depicted scenes drawn from literature (including Edmund Spenser and John Milton), religion, and history.[1]
Pickersgill's The Burial of Harold was accepted as a decoration for the Houses of Parliament in 1847 for the sum of £500.[1] He also did some landscapes under the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites.
In 1856 Pickersgill was photographed at The Photography Institute by Robert Howlett, as part of a series of portraits of artists. The picture was among a group exhibited at the Art Treasures Exhibition in Manchester in 1857.[2] In addition, Pickersgill seems to have experimented with photography himself.[1]
Pickersgill was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1847 and a full Royal Academician in June 1857, but retired in 1888.[3] [1] He was keeper of the Royal Academy Schools from 1873 to 1887.[3] [1]