Kenneth Mathiason Skeaping facts for kids

Kenneth Mathiason Skeaping (born December 13, 1856 – died May 16, 1946) was an English artist. He worked as a lithographer, a portrait painter, and an illustrator. A lithographer creates art using a special printing method.

Kenneth Skeaping had three children who grew up to be very famous in their own fields. One became a leader in early music, another a well-known sculptor, and the third a ballet dancer and producer.

Kenneth Skeaping's Life Story

Kenneth Skeaping was born in Liverpool, England, on December 13, 1856. His father, Joseph Nairn Skeaping, was a wood carver. His mother was Mary Pollock Mathiason. They got married in Liverpool in 1853.

Kenneth was the second of nine children and the oldest boy. Several of his siblings also became artists. His brother, John Skeaping, was a painter and lithographer. His sister, Elizabeth Jane, known as Lily, was a painter of figures, landscapes, and miniatures.

Early Life and Education

It's not fully clear where Kenneth Skeaping went to school. His family was very close. At first, he helped his mother make wigs from real hair. Later, he trained to become a lithographic artist. This means he learned how to create images for printing.

In the early 1880s, Kenneth moved to London. In 1886, he met his future wife there. He also spent time in Paris, where he learned about the art styles of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. These were new and exciting ways of painting at the time.

Family Life

In 1895, Kenneth Skeaping married Sarah Ann Rattenbury. She was the daughter of a grocer. Kenneth and Sarah had four children together:

• Kenneth Mathiason Skeaping Jr. (1897–1977): He became a musician and a very important person in the world of early music.
• Sally Skeaping (1899–1916): Sadly, Sally passed away at the age of 16 from appendicitis.
• John Rattenbury Skeaping (1901–1980): He became a famous sculptor. A sculptor creates art by carving or shaping materials.
• Mary Emma Skeaping (1902–1984): She was a well-known ballet dancer and producer.

Kenneth's children had a unique way of growing up. They were mostly taught at home until they were teenagers. His son, John, remembered his father saying that children should develop their imagination through music, dancing, painting, and sculpture. He believed that what children learn willingly, they never forget.

The family moved several times. They lived in Woodford, Essex, then Bexleyheath, London, and later Camden, London. By 1945, Kenneth had moved to Tadworth in Surrey. He passed away there on May 16, 1946, at 89 years old. His wife, Sarah, lived for another fourteen years, passing away at 93.

Kenneth Skeaping's Artworks

Kenneth Skeaping was known for his paintings and illustrations. He created many different types of art during his career.

Painting Career

Kenneth Skeaping sold his first painting, Reciting the Charge of the Light Brigade, in 1886. He showed his art in several important galleries. He exhibited 34 works at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool and two at the Manchester Art Gallery.

In 1908, he was asked to paint a portrait of Lord Byron. This was based on an earlier painting of Byron. In 1911 and 1912, he showed "delightful figure studies" and "child studies" at the Rochdale Art Gallery. Today, five of his portraits are still kept at the Rochdale Art Gallery.

Illustration Work

Kenneth Skeaping also worked as an illustrator, drawing pictures for books and possibly magazines. He illustrated the Tit-bits monster rhyme book in 1899. He illustrated several books, with two of them having around 100 pictures each!

Here are some of the books he illustrated: