Shires, near Guildford. Image: from a private collection.
Edward Renard (1854 – 1915) was a landscape painter and became the Principal of the Shipley Art School in Saltaire, where he lived. He played a leading role in the formation of the The Yorkshire Union of Artists.
He was born in Bermondsey, London. His father, John, was a Licensed Victualler, but by 1871 his father had died and his mother, Margaret, had become the landlady of ‘The Three Pigeons’, a pub in the High Street, Brentford, Middlesex, dating back to the 15th century (see image below). Edward by this time had left school and lived with his mother at the pub whilst working as an auctioneer’s clerk; work that would have brought him into daily contact with works of art.
In the mid 1870s he applied and was accepted at the National Art School (later the Royal College of Art) at South Kensington, London, and by 1881 was working as an art master in London and living in Chelsea with his mother, now retired from her work as a pub landlady.
In 1882 Edward was appointed Headmaster of the Shipley School of Art, which was part of the Salts Schools group in Saltaire, founded by the businessman and philanthropist, Sir Titus Salt. He was the Headmaster of the art school until 1895 and during his time there encouraged a strong spirit of competition among the art students. He introduced an annual art competition at the art school for his students with modest prizes for the winners. This proved popular with students and he successfully campaigned to have the competition included as a part of the regional Royal Jubilee Exhibition to be held that year in Saltaire.
The 1887 Royal Jubilee Competition broadened out the range of artists who could compete and led to a large number of artworks submitted for consideration from across the Yorkshire region from art students, as well as from professional and amateur artists. Edward was involved in the selection of artwork for display and the competition raised the level of interest of awareness of the range of artistic talent across Yorkshire. The success of the exhibition subsequently led to the formation in 1887 of the Yorkshire Union of Artists (YUA).
The cities of Yorkshire had by this time become affluent centres of manufacturing, particularly in Bradford and Leeds, leading to more opportunities for artists to sell artwork to the rising middle and wealthy social classes.
The Union held annual exhibitions of artwork at major towns and cities across the region, attracting both artists resident in Yorkshire and others with regional connections. The first YUA exhibition was in 1888 in Bradford, and Edward played a key role in organising the event, including extensive pre-exhibition publicity among regional art societies and art schools.
Edward was the first Honorary Secretary of the YUA and he also exhibited his own artwork at all the Union shows until his death. He also served as a Vice-President of the YUA in 1895.
Edward married Louisa Haley in 1883 and they had one surviving child, Beryl, who became a musician, music teacher, and composer; a son, Edward Philip, died in childhood, aged two. The family lived initially at Albert Road, Saltaire, then later at Kirkgate, Shipley.
During his time at Saltaire, Edward wrote a book for art students: Twenty Hints to Model Drawing Students, published by the Shipley Times Office in 1885.
By 1901 Edward and his family had moved to Newark in the East Midlands, where he took over the direction of a printing works. He also worked as a freelance artist and part-time art teacher. The family’s final move was to Eastbourne, where by 1911 Edward had established an art studio and exhibited his work. He also offered private art tuition, gave art lectures in the town, and was invited to local schools as a visiting professional artist.
Believed to be a Thames Scene, possibly at the Greenwich Reach. Image: by courtesy of David Starley.
He painted mainly landscapes in oils and in watercolours, and during his lifetime, in addition to exhibiting work at YUA annual shows, he also exhibited with the Yorkshire Watercolour Society, The Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Artists, Royal Institute of Painters in Oils, Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, the London Salon, and at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. He was also an Associate Member of the Royal College of Art.
Edward died at Eastbourne in 1915.