Frank O. Salisbury Papers

Date range: 1905-1960.

Papers of Francis Owen Salisbury (1874-1962), artist. He was born at Harpenden, Hertfordshire, one of eleven children of Henry Salisbury and Susan Hawes.

At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to his brother, (H.) James Salisbury, in his stained-glass works at St Albans.

Frank's interest in painting was fostered by attendance at a London drawing academy, and at the age of eighteen he won a five-year scholarship at the Royal Academy Schools, where he won several medals and later became a regular exhibitor.

He was an artist of very great stature; his interests included portraiture (he painted several official portraits of statesmen, including five presidents of the United States and five British prime ministers), heraldry and pageantry, religious subjects, and the depiction of historical and ceremonial events.

All of these interests are represented in the collection, which includes Frank O. Salisbury's personal and business correspondence with friends and distinguished sitters at home and abroad.

Additional papers relating to individual paintings and memorials are also included, together with autobiographical writings and material concerning his publications and exhibitions.

A substantial amount of visual material is included within the collection, in the form of preliminary sketches, photographs and other reproductions.

Finding aids

  • Unpublished handlist.
  • Collection-level description available online via ELGAR.

Location

The John Rylands Library

Using the reading rooms in the John Rylands Library