Flint, William Russell, Sir, 1880-1969

Epithet: artist

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000758.0x00032d

Watercolor artist Sir William Russell Flint, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on April 4, 1880, to Jane Flint, one of Scotland’s first woman civil servants, and to Francis Wighton Flint, a ticket writer and skilled illuminator. He first attended school at Miss Clinkscales’ Seminary at Portobello, advanced to Daniel Stewart’s College for Boys in Edinburgh, and later studied at the Royal Institute of Art at Edinburgh. Between 1894 and 1900 Flint served an apprenticeship as a lithographic artist and designer in a printing house in Edinburgh.

In 1900 he went to London, combining work, first as a medical illustrator (1900–1902), and later as a commercial designer and magazine illustrator (1902–1907), and attending Heatherley’s Art School. As a magazine illustrator Flint worked for The Illustrated London News from 1903 until 1907. During this period, William Russell Flint met and married Sibylle Sueter, daughter of Fleet Paymaster J. T. Sueter.

In 1907 Flint became a freelance artist and by 1914 had become an Associate of the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours. During World War I Flint was commissioned as a lieutenant and rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Air Force. Following his military service, Flint’s career as an artist advanced rapidly. His artwork was exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and other public venues, and was also acquired by prominent national and international museums. Flint’s many successful one-person exhibitions featured his landscapes of English, Scottish, and Provençal country scenes and his figure compositions. William Russell Flint was made Associate of the Royal Academy in 1924 and a full Academician in 1933.

William Russell Flint also gained recognition for his work in dry-point engraving and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers in 1933. Additionally, Flint was interested in typography, book design, and illustration. He illustrated several classics for Riccardi Press, including an edition of the Canterbury Tales .

Works by the artist, who received a knighthood in 1947, are available in the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and many public museums in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Sir William Russell Flint died on December 30, 1969 at the age of 89. He was survived by his son, Francis Murray Russell Flint, also a painter.

Lewis, Ralph. Sir William Russell Flint. Edinburgh and London: Charles Skilton, Ltd., 1980. “Obituary: Sir William Russell Flint,” The Times (London). December 30, 1969. p. 8.

From the guide to the Sir William Russell Flint letters to Kay Pickford, 1946–1973, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)