Edwin Hayes, RHA 1820 - 1904
Return to Gallery
Artists List Page
Edwin Hayes, RHA (1819 - 1904) "Storm off the Coast" Watercolour, 14.5" x 30"
Edwin Hayes was born in Bristol in 1819 but spent his youth in Dublin where his father ran a hotel. He was a student at the Dublin Society Schools and from an early age he had the desire to be a marine artist. A keen sailor in his youth, he spent time sailing around Dublin bay in his small yacht, and even made it as far south as Cork. He was later employed as a steward's boy on board a ship bound for America.
He first exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1842, and he contributed to all but five of the next sixty-three annual exhibitions, showing a total of two hundred and fifty five paintings there, during his lifetime. He lived in Dublin for the next ten years, moving to London in 1852, where he apprenticed himself to Telbin, who was a scenic artist. Under Telbin he worked on the scenery of the Adelphi Theatre and other London theatres. His first painting exhibited in London was a "View of the River Liffey and the Custom House", in 1854, which was shown at the British Institution. The following year he sent his first work to the Royal Academy, and for the next forty-nine years he was a regular exhibitor there. He also exhibited at the Society of British Artists and at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, of which he became an associate member in 1860 and a full member in 1863. While living in London, he continued to contribute to the annual exhibitions at the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin, and was elected as a full member of the Academy in 1871.
In addition to painting the shores and harbours of the Irish and English coastlines, Edwin Hayes travelled throughout Europe, to Holland, France, Spain and Italy in search of new subjects for his work. An exhibition of one hundred and fifty pictures, the result of twenty years of work, was held in Messrs. Dowdeswells in Bond Street, London in March 1888. Paintings by Edwin Hayes can be found in the National Gallery of Art, Dublin; in the Leeds, Cardiff and Leicester Art Galleries in England, and also in the Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide Museums of Art in Australia. His painting "Saved" which was awarded a medal in Chicago is now in the Montreal Museum of Art. His painting "Sunset at Sea", shown at the Royal Academy in 1894 is now in the National Gallery of British Art.
One of Edwin Hayes' best known paintings in Ireland is a large oil on canvas from 1853, now in the National Gallery of Ireland. Titled "An Emigrant Ship", this painting depicts passengers being ferried out to a three masted ship in Dublin Bay, with the setting sun behind them, as they embark on a new life.
He first exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1842, and he contributed to all but five of the next sixty-three annual exhibitions, showing a total of two hundred and fifty five paintings there, during his lifetime. He lived in Dublin for the next ten years, moving to London in 1852, where he apprenticed himself to Telbin, who was a scenic artist. Under Telbin he worked on the scenery of the Adelphi Theatre and other London theatres. His first painting exhibited in London was a "View of the River Liffey and the Custom House", in 1854, which was shown at the British Institution. The following year he sent his first work to the Royal Academy, and for the next forty-nine years he was a regular exhibitor there. He also exhibited at the Society of British Artists and at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, of which he became an associate member in 1860 and a full member in 1863. While living in London, he continued to contribute to the annual exhibitions at the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin, and was elected as a full member of the Academy in 1871.
In addition to painting the shores and harbours of the Irish and English coastlines, Edwin Hayes travelled throughout Europe, to Holland, France, Spain and Italy in search of new subjects for his work. An exhibition of one hundred and fifty pictures, the result of twenty years of work, was held in Messrs. Dowdeswells in Bond Street, London in March 1888. Paintings by Edwin Hayes can be found in the National Gallery of Art, Dublin; in the Leeds, Cardiff and Leicester Art Galleries in England, and also in the Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide Museums of Art in Australia. His painting "Saved" which was awarded a medal in Chicago is now in the Montreal Museum of Art. His painting "Sunset at Sea", shown at the Royal Academy in 1894 is now in the National Gallery of British Art.
One of Edwin Hayes' best known paintings in Ireland is a large oil on canvas from 1853, now in the National Gallery of Ireland. Titled "An Emigrant Ship", this painting depicts passengers being ferried out to a three masted ship in Dublin Bay, with the setting sun behind them, as they embark on a new life.