Helen Allingham

“Now Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods 

and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt.” 

William Allingham, Day and night songs

Helen Allingham self portrait_1885

On 26 September 1848 was born Helen Mary Elizabeth Paterson a talented watercolour painter and illustrator of the Victorian era. Her works are truly unique, they represented the English country life in a very realistic manners!
Her works tell us about the rural England with  sweet characters and delicate colors. It 's impossible do  not  love the countryside, cottages, gardens...

Il 26 set1848 nasceva Helen Mary Elizabeth Paterson una delle illustratrici più acclamate dell’epoca epoca vittoriana. I suoi acquerelli sono opere uniche, che seguono l’evolversi della sua vita: raccontano l'Inghilterra rurale dell’epoca con personaggi dolci, nostalgici e con colori delicati. Rimandano ad un tempo lontano ove la campagna rappresentava il fulcro della vita.

Harvest Field near Westerham, Kent

She was born at Swadlincote near Burton on Trent in Derbyshire England. She was the daughter of Alexander Henry Paterson, a medical doctor, and Mary Herford Paterson daughter of a Manchester wine merchant. Helen Paterson was the eldest of seven children. Within her first year of her life the family moved to Altrincham in Cheshire where Helen's interest and talent in art blossomed.

Helen Paterson (in seguito sposata Allingham) nacque a Swadlincote vicino Burton on Trent nel Derbyshire in Inghilterra. Era la figlia di Alexander Paterson, un medico, e Maria Herford Paterson figlia di un mercante di vini di Manchester. Helen Paterson era la maggiore di sette figli. Nel suo primo anno di vita la famiglia si trasferì a Altrincham nel Cheshire, dove crebbe, sin da bambina, l'interesse di Helen e il suo  talento artistico. 

Harvest_Moon

In 1862 her father and her 3-year-old sister Isabel died. The family then moved to Birmingham, where some of Alexander Paterson's family lived.

She initially studied art for three years at the Birmingham School of Design (founded 1843). From 1867 she attended the National Art Training School in London.

Bluebells

Nel 1862 a seguito della morte del padre e della sorella per un’epidemia, Helen fu costretta a trasferirsi a Birmingham ove risiedevano alcuni parenti del padre. Studiò arte per tre anni presso la Birmingham School of Design. Dal 1867 frequentò la National Art Training School a Londra.

An Ancient Cottage

Helen was profoundly influenced by the teachings of Frederick Walker, Sir Frederick Leighton, and Sir John Everett Millais, co-founder of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.

While studying at the National Art Training School, Paterson worked as an illustrator, eventually deciding to give up her studies in favour of a full-time career in art. She painted for children's and adult books, as well as for periodicals, including The Graphic newspaper.

Peacock Cottage, West Horsley

Helen fu profondamente influenzata dagli insegnamenti di Federico Walker, Sir Frederick Leighton, e Sir John Everett Millais, co-fondatore del movimento preraffaellita.Lavorò come illustratrice anche a costo di rinunciare i suoi studi e disegnò libri per bambini ed adulti, così come per i periodici, tra cui The Graphic newspaper. 

An Old Buckinghamshire House

On 22 August 1874 she married William Allingham, an Irish poet and editor of Fraser's Magazine, who was 24 years her senior. He was a well established figure in London's literary circles and was close friends with Thomas Carlyle, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning, John Ruskin, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

The couple had three children and Helen exhibited more than a hundred watercolours, some depicting her own children as models.

Cottage Near Oxford

Il 22 agosto 1874 sposò William Allingham, poeta irlandese e direttore della rivista di Fraser, che era di 24 anni più anziano. Figura ben consolidata nei circoli letterari di Londra Allingham era molto amico di Thomas Carlyle, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning, John Ruskin, e Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Ebbero tre figli che spesso furono i modelli dei suoi acquerelli

Cottage near Farringford,

In 1881, after the death of their greatest friend Thomas Carlyle, the family decided to leave London and move to a permanent home in a small hamlet called Sandhills near Witley in Surrey. It was here that Helen developed her fame and reputation for painting cottages.

She did many watercolours of the countryside, flower gardens, her children and, most of all, the numerous old picturesque country cottages that surrounded them.

By a Devonshire Cottage

Nel 1881, dopo la morte del loro più grande amico Thomas Carlyle, gli Allinghotn lasciarono Londra per trasferirsi in un piccolo borgo chiamato Sandhills vicino Witley in Surrey. Qui si specializzò nei dipinti di deliziosi cottages dai giardini fioriti. 

Off Marketing

In 1888, the Allinghams moved into Eldon House in Hampstead. Allingham’s husband died the following year from a long illness, leaving her and her children with little money. Allingham was resourceful, however, and travelled to Surrey, Kent, Middlesex and Devon to find unspoilt landscapes and regional and traditional buildings to paint. Her paintings, especially her famous cottage scenes, sold for large sums of money and kept her family afloat.

She was a lifelong friend of Kate Greenaway whom she met at evening art classes at the Slade School of Fine Art.

On September 28th, 1926 when Helen Allingham died. She was  78 years old.

At a Cottage Door

Nel 1881, dopo la morte del loro più grande amico Thomas Carlyle, gli Allinghotn lasciarono Londra per trasferirsi in un piccolo borgo chiamato Sandhills vicino Witley in Surrey. Qui Helen si specializzò nei dipinti di deliziosi cottages dai giardini fioriti. Successivamente si trasferirono nell’ Hampstead. Il marito morì l'anno seguente lasciando la famiglia in ristrettezze economiche. 
Ma Helen, piena di risorse, continuò a viaggiare e a dipingere riuscendo a mantenere con i guadagni delle vendite delle sue opere l’intera famiglia. Fu grande amica di un’altra grande illustratrice dell’epoca: Kate Greenaway conosciuta alla Slade School of Fine Art. 
Helen si spense improvvisamente all’età di 78 anni il 28 settembre 1926.

Old Sussex Cottage

To know more about Helen Allingham visit the Helen Hallingham Society web site

To read more about her beautiful illustrations read the following text digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to the Internet Archive:
"Happy England as painted by Helen Allingham, R.W.S
by Huish, Marcus Bourne, 1845-1921; Allingham, Helen Paterson, 1848-1926"