Sir William Russell Flint Signed Prints & Originals

Biography for Sir William Russell Flint

1880-1969

Sir William Russell Flint was born on April 4th, 1880 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His mother, Jane Flint, was one of Scotland’s first civil servants, his father, Francis Wighton Flint, a ticket writer & highly skilled illuminator.

William Russell Flint studied at the Royal Institution School of Art, Edinburgh, and, having served a six year apprenticeship as a lithographic artist and designer at a large printing house, he moved to London in 1900 to work as a medical illustrator. In 1903 he began working as an illustrator for the Illustrated London News where his name became well known throughout the British Empire due to the journal’s widespread distribution.

It was during this period that William Russell Flint met Sibylle Sueter, whom he married in 1905. In 1907 William became a freelance artist, and, in 1912 moved to Italy for a year, where he first discovered his love for the beauty & simplicity of the rural way of life.

In 1914, William was made an Associate of the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours. The onset of the First World War saw him join the Royal Navy Air Force where he became Admiralty Assistant Overseer on Airships, returning to his native Scotland. William & Sibylle’s only child, Francis, was born in 1915, who would himself, later in life, become an accomplished artist.

After the war, William Russell Flint stopped working as an illustrator and became a full time painter, travelling to France and Spain. It was during this period that his work became more widely recognised and in 1924 he was elected Associate of the Royal Academy, becoming a full member in 1933. In 1936 he was made President of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours.

After the Second World War, William Russell Flint moved back to London and in 1947 he was knighted. It was this period that would become Flint’s greatest and in 1962 his talent was recognised with a retrospective exhibition in the Royal Academy.

Sir William Russell Flint continued painting until his death on December 30th 1969 at the age of 89. His works are displayed in galleries and museums throughout the world and continue to give pleasure & enjoyment to those with a love of his extraordinary talent.