Alfred William Finch

Alfred William Finch
180px Finch c. 1900
Born	1854 (1854)
Died	1930 (aged 75–76)
Known for	Painting
Movement	Pointillism

Alfred William (Willy) Finch (1854 –1930) was a ceramist and painter in the pointillist and Neo-Impressionist style. Born in Brussels to British parents, he spent most of his creative life in Finland.

Life and work

Alfred William Finch was born on 28 November 1854 in Brussels, Belgium to British parents, Joseph Finch (a businessman) and Emma Finch (née Holach). He spent his youth in Ostende. When he was twenty-four he began studying for one year in Brussels at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts.

File:James Ensor (1882) Portret van Willy Finch.jpg

Portrait by James Ensor in 1882

On 28 October 1883 he became a founding member of Les XX, a group of twenty Belgian painters, designers and sculptors, who rebelled against the prevailing artistic standards and outmoded academism. He was impressed by the works of Georges Seurat and Paul Signac and changed his own painting style from a more realistic approach into a pointillistic style. In the following years, Finch became one of the leading representatives of his style in Belgium, along with Théo van Rysselberghe.

During the early 1890s Finch switched careers from painting to pottery, upon the realization that he couldn't make a living by painting.

In 1897, invited by count Louis Sparre, Finch moved to Porvoo, Finland, to head the Iris ceramics factory, and influenced the development of the local Jugendstil. After the factory was closed, Finch resumed his painting career.

File:Magnus Enckell - Portrait of A. W. Finch - A II 1055 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg

Finch by Magnus Enckell, 1915

File:Alfred-William-Finch.jpg

Finch in the 1920s

Finch died in Helsinki on 28 April 1930.

Works

center|border|180x140px|alt=|The Wellington Racecourse in Drizzle (Ostende), 1888 The Wellington Racecourse in Drizzle (Ostende), 1888  center|border|180x140px|alt=|The Road to Nieuport, 1888 The Road to Nieuport, 1888  center|border|180x140px|alt=|Orchard at La Louvière, 1890 Orchard at La Louvière, 1890  center|border|180x140px|alt=|The Cliffs of Dover, 1892 The Cliffs of Dover, 1892  center|border|180x140px|alt=|Box at the Theatre, 1896 Box at the Theatre, 1896  center|border|180x140px|alt=|Vase by Finch, early 1900s Vase by Finch, early 1900s  center|border|180x140px|alt=|Rosehearty Pier, 1910 Rosehearty Pier, 1910  center|border|180x140px|alt=|Scene from a Park, 1910 Scene from a Park, 1910  center|border|180x140px|alt=|Amberley River Valley, 1911 Amberley River Valley, 1911  center|border|180x140px|alt=|Night View of a Factory, 1910s Night View of a Factory, 1910s  center|border|180x140px|alt=|Woman in Profile, 1915 Woman in Profile, 1915  [[Alfred William Finch - Portrait of the Artist Magnus Enckell - A II 1056 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg|center|border|180x140px|alt=|Portrait of Magnus Enckell, 1915]] Portrait of Magnus Enckell, 1915  center|border|180x140px|alt=|Landscape from Padasjoki, 1918 Landscape from Padasjoki, 1918  center|border|180x140px|alt=|Bushes, 1919 Bushes, 1919

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Alfred William Finch: Haystacks – read more at NeoImpressionism.net
• Alfred Finch biography on the Glasgow University web site