The Studio House in Victorian England: A Brief History

During the Victorian Era, the figure of the artist underwent a period of transformation, leaving bohemian notions of the working painter behind in favor of a more well-rounded and gentlemanly icon. During this time, studio homes helped to facilitate this change, as they were utilized to market the artists who lived there as well as to fashionably house their completed works. The artist’s home and studio became facets of his persona, an extension of his own nuanced practices, a private sphere turned public. These homes were tools that demonstrated an artist’s commitment to a gentlemanly life and to the philosophy of aestheticism in the selection of beautiful things.

As people began to move out of central London and into the suburbs, studio-houses became a means to understand an artist as a private person and a public figure. The houses served to display his commitment to objects of beauty, as well as all things lavish and lustrous. Artists at Home was a popular series in its time not only because J. P. Mayall’s images of the well-known artists were beautiful, but also because the photographs showed the artists in their “private” homes, the places where they worked every day. Much like celebrities today, these artists were revered by the public, and any glimpse into their lives would have enhanced their popularity.

George Henry Boughton was not featured in Artists at Home, but his home and studio played an important role in the development of Victorian homes and studios as a means for artists to promote themselves and attract attention. The more lavish, illustrious, oriental and otherworldly a home was, the more exciting and attractive an artist’s work became. The house functioned as a backdrop for the artist’s work; to adorn the home was to amplify the work, ultimately embellishing both.