Russell Flint Biography

Sir William, born in 1880, entered the world of art as a commercial apprentice at the age of fourteen. Over the next seventy five years he was to rise to the innacles of his chosen profession. He became president of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours, Trustee of the Royal Academy of Art, Senior Royal Academician and a Knight Bachelor, yet the later professional critics chose to regard him as a great enigma. When he was singularly honoured by a retrospective exhibition of his works at the Royal Academy in 1962 the Art Critic of the Apollo magazine wrote, somewhat condescendingly, that although he “belonged so clearly, so honourably to the line of English nineteenth century watercolourists, Russell Flint remains of almost no consequence at all… his art seldom rises above a level of incidental triviality, he has rarely produced a picture that meant anything more than the evocation of an imaginary landscape where olive skinned gypsies or English maidens disport themselves.

The unlikely setting gives their nudity an air of respectability.” Critics, of course have, by definition, to find something to criticise, but William Russell Flint rarely rose to such baiting.

William Flint – Born 4th April 1880

Francis Flint, worked as a professional designer/watercolourist; on 4th April 1880 he became the father of William Russell Flint.
It was a great help for Flint that his father worked in an artistic areas. In his younger days William Russell Flint went to the Daniel Stewart’s College, and then became a pupil of the Edinburgh Institution College, it was here that Russell Flint developed his work on line and colour which turned into his particularly well known style painting .

Sir William Russell Flint was an apprentice for six years at an Edinburgh print factory, his job was that of a draughtsman, which helped to produce the skill needed to achieve what was to become amongst the finest watercolourists worldwide.. In the early 1900s Sir William Russell Flint started drawing illustrations for the London News. This was the time before photography had arrived to feed the population’s thirst for knowledge via images, a time where drawings and engravings were the only means of portraying images in literature of any content, and where a certain subtlety and accuracy were essential in the portrayal of particular scenes.

World War 1

In the early 1900s and throughout world war I, Russell Flint created and illustrated books that have now become famous classics, such as Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales“.
During the war, Flint served as Admiralty Assistant Overseer in the Royal Navy; Sir William Russell Flint was able to visit Scotland and able to continue his studies at art college.

When the war was over in 1918, William Russell Flint travelled extensively throughout Europe, and in particular, La France, immensley ejoying painting and drawing the many fascinating scenes that he would encounter during his everyday adventures, many of Russell Flint’s published prints show his travels across France, and capture a delicate and subtle atmosphere of that particular period. The Royal Academy accepted Russell Flint as ‘associate’ member and after a short time in 1933 he became a full time committee member.

The Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour

Three years later he was offered the prestigeous position of President for “The Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour”, and throughout 1940-45, Sir William and Sybylle Flint made their home on a poultry farm in Devon. Having been in the Royal Air Force, Russell Flint could be permitted access to Devonport Dockyard,(this scene was published by Flint, and was critically acclaimed as a painting with wonderful perspective) and work, to his heart’s content.

Sir William Russell Flint

Sybille and William and were eventually able to return home to Peel Cottage in London,
and within 2 years he was awarded the title of Sir. Sir William worked as a watercolourist the entirity of his life until he died aged 89.
The professional work he produced as an artist over many years helped him to achieve the ability to create a unique style that became his forte. The paintings produced were looser and he was able to illustrate with superb professionalism, an array of depths that could give life to architecture and all manner of exotic material, not forgetting his models.

Russell Flint through the medium of his paintings has managed to give, and indeed still does immense enjoyment to thousands of people the world over.
The original watercolour paintings and limited edition signed prints, have now set the benchmark for artists and collectors worldwide, as a superlative excellence in the use of watercolour, and Sir William’s fine paintings are enjoyed by many and regarded amongst the most excellent works on paper to date.

Sir William was admired by his contemporaries, and had a warm personality which he was eager to share with people of similar minds.
Francis Wighton Flint had been an artist on a more commercial scale and, Russell Flint started work in a printing factory, working there for 6 years, and gained much knowledge about the industry including many processes that were involved in producing pictures. Russell Flint of Scottish descent originally came from Edinburgh, 1880, his natural flair for using a watercolour brush soon caught the attention of his work colleagues and private collectors.

Russell Flint became a Sir in 1947, and some 15 years later the paintings of Sir William Russell Flint were given the highest possible honour in a
large exhibition at the Royal Academy’s, Diploma Gallery.
It was at this time that the Royal Academy president, Mr Wheeler complimented the art of Russell Flint by describing it as wonderful piece of work and a puzzling skill.