Saltaire Institute, which housed the Saltaire School of Art during Robert Clough’s time as Head of the School.
Robert Clough (1847 -1914) was born at Ivegate, Bradford, the second son of Benjamin Clough, a Master Tinner, who managed his own business and employed apprentices, and his wife Jane (née Hey).
By 1871, Robert was recorded in the census as a 24-year-old ‘artist, landscape & portrait’ living at 58 Jermyn Street, Bradford with his 48-year-old widowed mother Jane, and his sister, 21-year-old Mary Elizabeth. It is not currently known how Robert gained his skill as an artist, although by this time the Bradford School of Art and Bradford Mechanics’ Institute were the main training routes for aspiring artists who lived in the central Bradford area. Robert is known to have worked as a tutor at the Eccleshill Mechanics Institute, where he met Thomas Bushby, who was to become a successful landscape artist.
In 1875 Robert was appointed as Head of the Saltaire School of Art. The Art School had opened in 1870 and was located originally on the first floor of the Saltaire Institute. At first its classes popular with local people. But by 1874 it was facing internal criticism. Student numbers had significantly fallen over a one year period, along with the number of qualifications awarded by the Department of Science and Art in London. The blame appeared to fall on Head of the School, Daniel Smith, who shortly after left to take up a post elsewhere and was subsequently declared bankrupt in September, 1874.
The arrival of Robert Clough to the post brought a rapid improvement to both student numbers and the quality of work submitted by students and Robert’s six year tenure as Head gave the School continuity and stability. In 1873 he married Mary Pickles and had two daughters, Monica and Florence, were born during their time in Saltaire.
In 1881 the couple left Bradford to Lowestoft, Suffolk, where Robert was appointed as the first Head of the Lowestoft School of Art. He became a member of the Ipswich Fine Art Club and exhibited his predominantly landscape artwork in the East Anglian region. His exhibited paintings included land and seascape scenes of both Yorkshire and Suffolk.
In 1888 Robert and his family left Suffolk to live in St. Helier, Jersey, where he worked as a freelance artist and art master. By 1901 the family had returned to England and now lived in Margate, Kent, where he continued to work as a freelance artist and art master. He died in Margate in November 1914, aged 67. Both his daughters followed their father’s footsteps and became art teachers.