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