T
he Black & White Picture Place

Old Photographs of Liverpool: more pictures of the Customs House

atkinson grimshaw painting 1
John Atkinson Grimshaw: two views of Liverpool waterfront and the Customs House

atkinson grimshaw painting 2

These two well-known, and much-reproduced, images of the Liverpool waterfront in the 1880s are by John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836 - 1893). For those who know this location today, with its roaring traffic and the brash new buildings of the Liverpool One development, these scenes seem almost unbearably poignant and romantic.

Atkinson Grimshaw, as he is generally known, was a prolific and accomplished Victorian artist, notable for his urban landscapes. He was born 6th September 1836 in Leeds. In 1856 he married his cousin Frances Hubbard (1835-1917). He died 13 October 1893, and is buried in Woodhouse Cemetery, Leeds.

In 1861, at the age of 24, to the dismay of his parents, he departed from his first job as a clerk for the Great Northern Railway to pursue a career in art. He began exhibiting in 1862, under the patronage of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, with paintings mainly of birds, fruit and blossom. He became particularly successful in the 1870s and was able to afford to rent a second home in Scarborough, which also became a favourite subject.

Here are some links for those wishing to know more: Atkinson Grimshaw on Wikipedia | John Atkinson Grimshaw: The Complete Works

etching of the customs house
A fine Victorian etching of Salthouse Dock and the Customs House

customs house 1875
The Customs House in 1875

photograph of the cstoms house

old drawing of the customs house

customs house and ships

glass slide of customs house

customs house place
Customs House Place in the Liverpool One Development 2015


Back to the Customs House 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 On to 6: some views of the interior after the 1941 air raid..

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