Egg, Augustus Leopold |
| PAINTER, ACTOR (ENGLAND) |
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BORN 2 May 1816, London: Piccadilly - DIED 25 Mar 1863, Algiers CAUSE OF DEATH attack of asthma GRAVE LOCATION Algiers (near) |
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Educated at the Henry Sass Drawing School in preparation for a study at the Royal Academy. In 1838 his painting "A Spanish Girl" was exhibited at the Academy. Around this time he started his sketching club "The Clique", together with W.P. Frith and R. Dadd. Egg painted historical subjects as well as comical scenes from Shakespeare, Scott and Byron. In 1853 he travelled with his friends Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins in Italy. Being a good actor, he played with Dickens' amateur theatre company, most notably in "The Frozen Deep", a play by Wilkie Collins. He proposed to Georgina Hogarth, the younger sister of Dickens' wife Catherine, but she turned him down, probably because she was too attached to Dickens and his household. In 1860 he became a member of the Royal Academy. He was suffering from chronic respiratory disease and moved to Africa to improve his health in 1863. There he died soon after his arrival after riding in the cold wind resulted in a fatal attack of asthma. Work: "She is no longer Young" (1848); "The Life and Death of Buckingham" (1855); "The Night Before Naseby" (1859); "Past and Present" (1859, three paintings). Related persons • was a friend of Collins, Wilkie • was a friend of Dickens, Charles • has a connection with Frith, William Powell • loved Hogarth, Georgina • was influenced by Hogarth, William • was a friend of Hunt, William Holman Events |
| 12/3/1851 | First meeting between Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. The meeting took place at the house of John Forster after Augustus Egg had had recruited Collins for Dickens' amateur theatrical company. [Collins, Wilkie][Dickens, Charles] |
Sources • Encyclopaedia Britannica |