亨利·道森
自學寫實英國風景畫家
Born in Kingston upon Hull, Dawson went with his parents to Nottingham when he was still an infant and always regarded the latter as his native town. His parents were poor, and he began life in a Nottingham lace factory. But even while engaged in lace-making he continued to find time for art, and used to paint small pictures, which he sold at first for about half-a-crown each. In 1835 he gave up the lace trade and set up as an artist, his earliest patron being a hairdresser in Nottingham, who possessed a taste for art. In 1844 he removed to Liverpool, where after a time he got into greater repute, and received higher prices for his works. In 1849 he came with his family to London, and settled at Croydon, where some of his best pictures were painted. Among these may be reckoned 'The Wooden Walls of Old England,' exhibited at the British Institution in 1853, 'The Rainbow,' 'The Rainbow at Sea,' 'London Bridge,' and ' London at Sunrise.' 除了在1838年從派恩那裡上了六節課之外，亨利·道森完全是一位自學成才的藝術家，他的藝術展現出極大的原創性和細緻的寫實主義。他親自研究自然，但在晚年似乎受到透納的影響，嘗試了此前不敢涉足的更為絢麗的效果。事實上，他的許多作品在處理手法上極具透納風格，儘管很難稱他為透納的模仿者，因為他擁有自己獨特的鮮明風格。 亨利·道森雖然畫作頗豐，並在晚年以高價出售其作品，但奇怪的是，除了藝術家和鑑賞家之外，他幾乎無人知曉，直到1878年為諾丁漢展覽而編纂的大型且非常有趣的作品集為他帶來了更廣泛的聲譽。這次展覽表明他是一位真正的英國風景畫家，雖無非凡的想像力或智力才華，但他熱愛自然，並盡其所能忠實地描繪自然。他於1878年12月在奇斯威克去世，此前他已在此居住了一段時間。