Joshua Cristall POWS

1847

Joshua Cristall was born in Camborne, Cornwall. Although his father opposed his development as an artist, his mother encouraged it and particularly his lifelong interest in classical art. After being apprenticed to a porcelain dealer in London, he moved to the Potteries to become a porcelain decorator. Wanting to study Fine Art, he relocated to London, where he was eventually admitted to the Royal Academy Schools and came under the patronage of Dr Thomas Monro. Cristall was a founding member of the Society of Painters in Water-Colours, of which he became President for three terms between 1816 and 1831. In 1822, his health in decline, he went to live in the clean air of Goodrich on the River Wye, until the death of his wife in 1840 drove him again to London. Classical subjects are predominant in Cristall's earlier work, turning later to genre and rustic subjects, and trying his hand at portraiture. Consistently, his simple, clear washes and clear drawing style and compositions produced appealing and well-regarded watercolours throughout his career.