Shannon, Charles Hazelwood, 1863-1937

Charles Hazelwood Shannon was an English painter and lithographer. He met his partner, Charle Ricketts, at London's City and Guilds Technical Art School, where he studied wood engraving. In addition to contributing to their shared projects, including printing, Shannon worked in lithography, woodcutting, and painting. His greatest influences were the Old Masters; although he was aware of contemporary art movements, he preferred to work with classical style and themes.

From the description of C.H. Shannon letter and drawing, 1897. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 57759805

Charles Hazelwood Shannon, British lithographer and painter, worked in close collaboration with Charles Ricketts. One of Shannon's best-known oil paintings is the portrait of the writer Mary Frances Borthwick Dowdall, wife of Harold Chaloner Dowdall, judge and mayor of Liverpool.

From the description of Correspondence of Charles Hazelwood Shannon, 1863-1937. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122443627

Epithet: lithographer and painter

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000265.0x0001da

Biography

Charles Haslewood Shannon was born on April 26, 1863 in Quarrington, Lincolnshire, England. He studied wood engraving at the Lambeth Art School from 1881-1885. It was in this period he met his lifelong partner, artist and printer, Charles de Sousy Ricketts.

The two lived in London, where together they founded an occasional art journal, The Dial (1889-1897) and designed and illustrated books, including Daphnis and Chloe (1893) and Hero and Leander (1894). In partnership with wealthy lawyer William Llewellyn Hacon, Ricketts and Shannon ran their own imprint, called the Vale Press, from 1896-1904. The Vale Press published over eighty volumes.

In this period Shannon also developed his skills as a painter and lithographer. Today, his paintings can be found in museum collections around the world, including the Musee d'Orsay and the Tate. His body of lithographic work contains more than 100 works and is considered a major British contribution to printmaking.

In 1929, Shannon fell while hanging a picture in the home he shared with Ricketts and suffered brain damage from which he never recovered. He died in London on March 18, 1937.

From the guide to the Charles Shannon Collection, 1890-1917, (University of California, Los Angeles. William Andrews Clark Memorial Library)