Military art prints of
the Napoleonic Wars, Boer War, Battle of Dettingen and the First World War
by J.P. Beadle, published by Cranston Fine Arts.
JAMES PRINSEP BEADLE B:
Calcutta 1863 D: London 1947.
Beadle was an academic painter who, unlike many of his contemporaries did not
make a living as an illustrator. The son of Major-General James Pattle Beadle,
the artist spent his early years in India becoming immersed in things military.
Upon his father's move back to England, James went to study at the Slade School
for three years under Alphonse Legros before moving to Paris to study at the
Ecole des Beaux Arts with Cabanal. His final schooling was in London with G.F.
Watts. From his home in Victoria Road, Kensington, he submitted his first
painting entitled The Painter at the age of 20 in 1884, at the distinguished
Royal Academy of Arts in London, and in the following year he showed a portrait
of his father in full uniform. Four years later he was awarded a bronze medal at
the Paris Universal Exhibition for a painting of Les Gardes du Corps de la Reine.
However, his first military painting exhibited at the Royal Academy did not
appear until six years later. Drawn from life it depicted the Centenary
Inspection of the Duke of York's Own Loyal Suffolk Hussars at Bury St. Edmund's
in 1893. In the following year he had his own exhibition at the Fine Art Society
in London. The show was entitled 'Military England of Today' and included
pictures entitled Waiting for the Watering Order and Dragoons returning to camp.
As one reviewer wrote, 'He does not go out of his way to flatter "Tommy
Atkins" but he shows him to the public under many forms and in many
becoming uniforms. He has studied him at home and abroad, at peace and at war,
on horseback and on foot, an our verdict must be that the English soldier, of
whatever branch of the service, is trim and business-like, and in many cases, a
picturesque object'.
His interest in the soldier at war led him to paint his first battle scene in
1897 representing Corporal Styles of the Royal Dragoons capturing the Standard
of the French 105th Infantry Regiment at Waterloo. He followed this up with
several military scenes such as The Comrade showing a military funeral in a
village, and Paris - a torchlight procession of Cuirassiers, but the war in
South Africa which broke out in 1899 provided him with material for numerous
canvases.
In 1901 he exhibited two paintings of the war: one showing the Grenadier Guards
saving wounded soldiers from the burning veldt at Biddulphsberg (shown at the
New Gallery), and a picture of the 62nd Field Battery arriving at the
battlefield of Modder River, exhibited at the Royal Academy. He followed this up
in 1902 with The Victors of Paardeberg showing British troops cheering beside a
wall of mealie bags as surrendering Boers approach them.
While he never forgot the war and returned to it for inspiration later on, he
became increasingly more interested in depicting past military victories. In
1904 he exhibited a scene of the Battle of Dettingen and during the first decade
of the twentieth century painted a number of canvases of the wars against
Napoleon. These included The passage of the Bidassoa exhibited in 1908, 'the
rear guard' of 1910 showing the retreat to Corunna, and 1806: an affair of
outposts. A painting of the Franco-Prussian War was hung in 1906. The Boer War
resurfaced with his scene representing artillery leaving for the front,
exhibited at the Academy in 1907, his painting of 1911 entitled 'The empty
saddle', and in 1915, his painting of the 2nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade
charging uphill at Bergendal.
His continuing interest in the Peninsula War led him to take a holiday in Spain
and Portugal in 1912 where he visited numerous battlefields to sketch the
terrain. In the same year he exhibited a picture of the fighting at San
Sebastian in August 1813, and in the following year, submitted his picture of
Vittoria, June 21st, 1813. As late as 1924 he was still painting scenes from this
war, but in the meantime the events in Europe were occupying the minds of
everyone. Beadle, like his contemporaries Wollen and Woodville, began to paint
scenes from the Great War, often from imagination and sometimes with the help
from veterans. Among his many paintings are Neuve Chapelle, 10 March 1915, Dawn:
Waiting to go over, Breaking the Hindenburg Line, and the Battle of Gheluveldt,
1914, painted in 1920.
In the twenties, he turned more to landscapes possibly as a result of the
horrors inflicted in the Great War. While his last painting at the Royal Academy
was shown in 1929, he was to live for another 15 years finally dying in
Kensington on 13 August 1946. Peter Harrington,
1991. |
| The Empty Saddle by J P Beadle. Often called the Last Patrol, the painting depicts a scene from the Boer war, showing a party of Lancers bringing a riderless horse back from patrol. Art prints reproduced by kind permission of the 9th / 12th Lancers. Open edition print. Image size 23 inches x 15 inches (58cm x 38cm). Price £43.00
 Part of our Buy Two, Get a Third Half Price Offer
Save £5 on selected prints - Was £48
Original black and white engraving c.1902. Fair condition, signed by J P Beadle. Image size 27 inches x 17 inches (69cm x 43cm). Price £ ITEM CODE DHM0117 |
| Breaking the Hindenburg Line by J P Beadle. The Hindenburg Line known also as the Siegfried Line was a vast system of German defences in northeastern France between Lens and past Verdun. Built over the winter of 1916 and 1917, the high command in Germany believed the Hindenburg line was was impregnable. But in 1917 during the Battle of Cambrai it was temporarily broken by the British and Newfoundland troops. Included in these forces were tank units, and the line was successfully breached a number of times during the hundred day offensive by the Allied forces in September 1918. Shown in this painting are the wounded being taken back behind lines by medical personnel as the reinforcements and supplies move forward. Open edition print. Image size 30 inches x 15 inches (76cm x 38cm). Price £51.00
Part of our Buy Two, Get a Third Half Price Offer
Save £5 on selected prints - Was £56
Open edition print.Special Promotion : This print is half price for a limited time only! Image size 11.5 inches x 6 inches (29cm x 15cm). Price £7.80
Part of our Buy Two, Get a Third Half Price Offer
**Open edition print. (One copy reduced to clear) Image size 30 inches x 15 inches (76cm x 38cm). Price £35.00 ITEM CODE DHM0243 |
| Battle of the Somme, the Attack of the Ulster Division by J P Beadle. A classic art print of the Ulster Division advancing into the German trenches during the Battle of the Somme. The officer shown leading the unit is Lt Francis Bodenham Thornley. During the Battle of the Somme he was wounded while serving with B company Royal Irish Rifles and while recuperating he was given the job to advise J P Beadle on the painting. In the painting the troops are shown with the SMLE Rifle which is fitted with the No. 1 Mk 1 pattern Sword bayonet. Also shown in the painting is a soldier carrying a Battalion marker, which is used to show the Battalions progress. The troops shown are of the 5th battalion Royal Irish Rifles (North Belfast Volunteers) a supporting unit to the 108th Infantry Brigade. Open edition print. Image size 23 inches x 17 inches (59cm x 43cm). Price £43.00
Part of our Buy Two, Get a Third Half Price Offer
Save £5 on selected prints - Was £48
**Open edition print. (One copy reduced to clear) Image size 23 inches x 17 inches (59cm x 43cm). Price £35.00 ITEM CODE DHM0210 |
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Napoleons Last Inspection Before Waterloo by J P Beadle Napoleon is shown at the Battle of Waterloo while his horse artillery
are moved forward and the regiment of Cuirassiers are cheering their
emperor.
The Rearguard by J.P. Beadle Craufurds Light Brigade, of which the 95th Rifles, the 43rd and 52nd,
were part of, faces about once more to face the enemy, during the retreat
from Spain of Sir John Moores Army. The Light Brigade fought a series of
brilliant delaying tactics under the most adverse of conditions during the
Peninsula War.
The Captive Eagle by J P Beadle Corporal Styles of the 1st Royal Dragoons displays a captured French Eagle to
the cheering Black Watch. Behind him can be seen Wellington.
King George II Knighting Trooper Brown After the Battle
of Dettingen by J P Beadle Private Thomas Brown of the 3rd kings own regiment of Dragoons, is
knighted by King George the II, (The last reigning British Monarch to
be at a Battle). Brown had recaptured the regimental guidon from the
French during the battle
The Empty Saddle by J P Beadle. Often called the Last Patrol, the painting depicts a scene from the
Boer war, showing a party of Lancers bringing a riderless horse back from
patrol. Art prints reproduced by kind permission of the 9th / 12th Lancers.
Bergendel by J P Beadle The Battle of Bergendel during the Boer War showing Rifle Brigade
(now part of the Royal Green Jackets) advancing on boer position.
Action of the 6th Mounted Brigade at El Muhgar by J.P. Beadle
Depicting the charge of the Bucks, Berks and Dorset Yeomanry on November
13th 1917 during the Palestine campaign.
Battle of Gheluvelt, 31st October 1914 by J.P. BeadleThe 2nd Battalion Worcester Regiment and South Wales Borderers arriving
in the grounds of the Chateau at Gheluvelt after their historic counter
attack on 31st October 1914.
Battle of the Somme, the Attack of the Ulster Division by J.P. Beadle
The Battle of the SommeAllied offensive in northern France on the River Somme at
Beaumont-Hamel-Chaulnes during July and November 1916. The First
Battle was launched by the British 4th Army with the French 3rd and
8th Army groups supporting them. On the 1st of July 1916. the attack went
ahead against a well protected and well dug in German 2nd army, (The
British had bombarded the area with a huge artillery bombardment which did
little damage to the German defences, and also gave them warning of the
impending attack. The heaviest losses the British army had incurred,
19,000 troops were Killed, Even with these huge losses the attack
continued and several small advances were made. on the 14th of July the
German defences lines were nearly breached. After a 2 month lull, the
attack started again but this time 47 tanks took part, but most of them
broke down. again a few gains were made, . by the middle of November the
total losses were a staggering 615,000 Allied casualties and 500,000 German
casualties. The second Battle of the Somme was the start of the German Spring
offensive of the 21st March 1918.
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