Frederick A. Eaton Explained

Sir Frederick Alexis Eaton (20 January 1838^[1] – 10 September 1913^{[2] [3]}) was a British writer and editor. He was a chronicler and secretary of the Royal Academy, and also a medievalist.

Eaton was born in Teignmouth, Devon, the seventh son of Charlotte (née Short) and Richard Eaton. He was educated at King's College School,^[4] and graduated from St Alban Hall, Oxford in 1860.^[5] A frequent contributor to The Quarterly Review, Macmillan's Magazine, Scribner's Magazine, The Nineteenth Century, and other periodicals, Eaton edited Murray's Handbooks for Travellers to Southern Italy and Egypt between 1870 and 1880.

In 1873, he was appointed secretary of the Royal Academy with a salary of £500 per annum,^[6] and remained in the post until his death (in Kensington, London). Thomas Graham Jackson commented on Eaton's "gentlemanly tact and unfailing temper" when dealing with irascible artists, and noted that his "enormous experience in the business of the Academy for more than 40 years made his services invaluable".^[7] With John Evan Hodgson, he was author of The Royal Academy and Its Members 1768–1830 (1905).^{[8] [9]} Eaton also edited an 1882 two-volume translation from the German of Moritz Thausing's Life and Works of Albrecht Dürer,^{[10] [11]} which received a favourable review in the New York Times,^[12] and compiled a list of art in the possession of the Marylebone Cricket Club with Spencer Ponsonby-Fane.^[13]

In December 1871, Eaton married Caroline Charlotte Greville,^{[14] [15]} who died in 1893, and the couple had no children. He was knighted in 1911.^{[16] [17]}

Selected publications

• Eaton . Fred A. . 1 December 1883 . The Educational Work of the Royal Academy . . New series . 39 . 209 . 783–790 . London . Chapman and Hall . HathiTrust.
• Hodgson . J. E. . John Evan Hodgson . Eaton . Fred A. . amp . 1889 . The Royal Academy in the Last Century . . 51 . 129–134,161–167,238–244,293–300,320–325 . London . J. S. Virtue and Co. . HathiTrust.
• Hodgson . J. E. . Eaton . Fred A. . amp . 1890 . The Royal Academy in the Last Century . The Art Journal . 52 . 46–51,108–114,205–211,257–263,337–344 . HathiTrust.
• Hodgson . J. E. . Eaton . Fred A. . amp . 1891 . The Royal Academy in the Last Century . The Art Journal . 53 . 114–120,341–347 . HathiTrust.
• Hodgson . J. E. . Eaton . Fred A. . amp . 1895 . The Royal Academy in the Present Century . The Art Journal . 57 . 143–146,243–247 . HathiTrust.
• Hodgson . J. E. . Eaton . Fred A. . amp . 1897 . The Royal Academy in the Present Century . The Art Journal . 59 . 185–188 . HathiTrust.
• Leslie . J. D. . George Dunlop Leslie . Eaton . Fred A. . amp . 1903 . The Royal Academy in the Nineteenth Century . The Art Journal . 65 . 5–9,331–335,372–376 . Internet Archive.
• Eaton . Fred A. . 1904 . The Royal Academy . . 36 . New York . Charles Scribner's Sons . 413–427,556–572 . HathiTrust.

External links

• Portrait of Eaton (1913) by Sir Edward Poynter on the Royal Academy website.
• Images of Eaton on the National Portrait Gallery website.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Sir Frederick A. Eaton (1838–1913) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200809202928/https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/name/frederick-a-eaton . 9 August 2020 . . London . 19 September 2023.
2. News: . 19 September 1913 . Funeral of Sir F. Eaton . subscription . The Kensington News and West London Times . James Wakeham & Co. . 2333 . 6 . Newspapers.com.
3. News: . 12 September 1913 . Deaths . subscription . . London . 40316 . 1.
4. News: . 28 July 1849 . King's College . subscription . The Times . 20240 . London . 5.
5. Book: Foster, Joseph . Joseph Foster (genealogist) . 1891 . Alumni Oxonienses: The Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886 . II . Oxford . James Parker & Co . 404 . Internet Archive.
6. Book: Hutchinson, Sidney C. . 1986 . The History of the Royal Academy 1768-1986 . 2nd . registration . London . Robert Royce Ltd. . 0947728236 . 116 . Internet Archive.
7. News: . 26 September 1913 . Obituary – The Late Sir Frederick Eaton . subscription . The Times . London . 40327 . 7.
8. Book: Hodgson . J. E. . John Evan Hodgson . Eaton . Fred. A. . amp . 1905 . The Royal Academy and Its Members 1768–1830 . London . John Murray . Internet Archive.
9. . 1905 . Some Recent Art Books . . 67 . 284–285 . London . Virtue & Co. . Internet Archive .
10. Book: Thausing, Moritz . Moritz Thausing . Eaton . Fred A. . 1882 . Albert Dürer: His Life and Works . I . London . John Murray . Internet Archive.
11. Book: Thausing, Moritz . Eaton . Fred A. . 1882 . Albert Dürer: His Life and Works . II . London . John Murray . Internet Archive.
12. News: . 8 May 1882 . Literary Notes . . subscription . 31 . 9568 . 3 . Newspapers.com.
13. Book: Ponsonby-Fane . Spencer . Spencer Ponsonby-Fane . Eaton . Fred A. . amp . Second . 1912 . Catalogue of the Pictures, Drawings, Sculpture, Prints, etc.; and Also of a Collection of Old Bats Belonging to the Marylebone Cricket Club . London . William Clowes and Sons.
14. News: 21 December 1871 . Marriages . subscription . . 14 . 2189 . 5 . . Frederick Enoch . Newspapers.com.
15. Book: Mair . Robert H. . 1884 . Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage . Royal . London . Dean and Son . 689 . Internet Archive.
16. News: . 12 September 1913 . Obituary – Sir Frederick A. Eaton . subscription . The Times . 40315 . London . 9.
17. . 19 September 1913 . Obituary – Sir Frederick Eaton . . 105 . 3685 . London . 303 . Internet Archive.