KEELEY HALSWELLE RI ARSA (1832-1891) Biography

Exhibition History

Daoulas Abbey, Brittany, France, Fées, Elfes, Dragons et autres creatures des royaumes de féerie, 7 December 2002 - 9 March 2003

Description / Expertise

In 1858, Keeley Halswelle completed his extraordinary drawing, The Child's Dream. This highly detailed masterpiece, which delves into the far reaches of a young child's imagination, was created from a series of recently discovered sketches of characters and events from fairy stories and children's fables.

Keeley Halswelle was born at Richmond in Surrey. After studying as an engraver at the British Museum, he began a profession in book illustration working for the London Illustrated News. He was sent to execute a series of sketches in Scotland and whilst in Edinburgh, decided to stay there having receiving numerous commissions from local patrons. He became a frequent exhibitor at the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy in London.

In the 1880's he abandoned figure painting and returned to painting highland landscapes and views of the Thames. Halswelle owned a houseboat called the Kelpie and became a pioneer of houseboating on the Thames. In 1883, he published illustrated novel, Six Years in a House Boat, a series of pictures of scenery along the Thames.