Alfred Pearse Explained

Alfred Pearse
Birth Name:	Alfred Pearse
Birth Date:	20 May 1855
Birth Place:	St Pancras, London, England
Death Place:	London, England
Nationality:	British
Field:	Painting and illustration
Education:	West London School of Art
Notable Works:	Spirit of War, 1914 The Angel of Mons, 1915 Saint George, 1915
Spouse:	Mary Blanche Lockwood
Children:	6

Alfred Pearse (20 May 1855 – 1933), also known as A Patriot, was an English artist, author, campaigner and inventor.

Early life and education

Alfred Pearse was born 20 May 1855 at St Pancras, London. He was a fourth generation artist and son of celebrated decorative artist Joseph Salter Pearse (1822–1896)^{[1] [2]} and Loveday Colbron (1825–1895). He studied at West London School of Art and gained numerous prizes for drawing.^[3]

Career

As special artist and correspondent to The Sphere, he was assigned to the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York's 1901 tour of New Zealand.

Pearse designed posters campaigning for women's suffrage. He drew a weekly cartoon for Votes for Women from 1909, and was also regularly published in The Illustrated London News, Boy's Own Paper and Punch. With Laurence Housman and his sister Clemence Housman, he set up the Suffrage Atelier.^[4]

Pearse produced various artworks, cartoons and propaganda related to British efforts in World War I. From 11 September 1918 to March 1919, he held an honorary captain's commission in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, NZEF, as official artist, painting the battle scenes in which the 1st NZRB figured.^{[5] [6]} He was attached to Brigadier General Charles Melvill's headquarters and left London for France on 27 September 1918.

He was a wood engraver, book illustrator and art critic, including for the Manchester Guardian, and for eight years had been a member of Joseph Barnby's Royal Choral Society.^[3]

Amongst his inventions, he'd patented improvements to vehicle and cycle wheels,^[7] improvements relating to the frames of velocipedes,^[8] a method for animating advertising hoardings in 1908–1912,^[9] improvements in flying machines,^[10] devised a model air-ship for the October 1905 readers of The Boy's Own Paper^[11] and a method of preserving shores.

His son Denis Colbron Pearse (1883–1971) also was an illustrator.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Alfred Pearse: Artist . Look and Learn . 12 July 2011 . 9 April 2022.
2. Web site: Design for Decorative Panels with Hunting Scenes Inset . Pearse . Joseph Salter . 1854 . The Met, New York.
3. Artists of "The Strand Magazine" . The Strand Magazine . 10 . July–December 1895 . 790 .
4. Book: Atkinson, Diane . Funny Girls: Cartooning for Equality . Penguin Books . 1997 . 44 . 9780140266993.
5. News: Schofield . Guy H. . On Service . The New Zealander: Home News for New Zealanders on Active Service . 49 . London . 11 October 1918 . 3 .
6. Web site: Alfred Pearse . Online Cenotaph . Auckland War Memorial Museum . 7 April 2022.
7. GB . 26,186 . Patent . Improvements relating to Wheels for Cycles and Vehicles . 1897-10-23 . 1897-10-23 . 1896-11-19 . 1896-11-19 . Alfred Pearse .
8. GB . 26,664 . Patent . Improvements Relating to the Frames of Velocipedes . 1897-10-23. 1897-10-23 . 1896-11-24 . 1896-11-24 . Alfred Pearse .
9. GB . 22,378 . Patent . Improvements Relating to Advertising Devices . 1909-12-21 . 1909-12-21 . 1908-10-21 . 1908-10-21 . Alfred Pearse . Frederick James Oldacres .
10. GB . 29,027 . Patent . Improvements in Flying Machines . 1914-09-17 . 1914-09-17 . 1913-12-16 . 1913-12-16 . Alfred Pearse .
11. The B.O.P. Airship and How to Make it Sail . The Boy's Own Paper . 28 . 1395 . 7 October 1905 . 9–11 .