Anthony Frederick Sandys

British, 1829 - 1904

IMAGE GALLERY

21 pictures

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BIOGRAPHY

The son of a painter, Sandys was educated at the Norwich School of Design. He began his career as a portrait painter and antiquarian illustrator, exhibiting at the Norwich Art Union even as a boy. He moved to London in 1851 and worked as a draughtsman for wood engravers. Sandys was one of a group of high-calibre artists, known as the "Illustrators of the 60s".

The sensual lines of his draughtsmanship and his imaginative composition were translated by wood engravers as a means of graphic reproduction. One of his sketches, a caricature of a painting by Millais, so impressed Rossetti that he sought Sandys' friendship and they lodged together at Rossetti's Chelsea home in 1866.

Sandys' carefree bohemian lifestyle saddled him with endless debt. He abandoned his first wife, had a brief flirtation with a gypsy girl and a long-term relationship with a young actress who bore him nine children.

Sandys' sister, Emma, was also an artist.