Maurice Greiffenhagen

Maurice Greiffenhagen RA (15 December 1862^[1] – 26 December 1931^[1]) was a British painter and Royal Academician. He illustrated books and designed posters as well as painting idyllic landscapes.

The Vision

Self-portrait

He was born in London. Exhibiting at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1884, he was made an Associate Member in 1916 and a Royal Academician in 1922. From 1906 until 1926, he taught at the Glasgow School of Art.^[1] Greiffenhagen exhibited at the first exhibition of the Society of Graphic Art in 1921.

His friendship with H Rider Haggard led to him illustrating the author's popular adventure books, starting with an edition of She: A History of Adventure in 1889 – though Greiffenhagen apparently "disliked doing black-and-white work".^[2] He illustrated the serialisation of Ayesha The Return of She (1904–05) and that of The Holy Flower (1913–14) in the Windsor Magazine.

He also illustrated a number of Edgar Wallace's Sanders of the River books for the Windsor Magazine: The Keepers of the King's Peace (1916–17), Lieutenant Bones (1917–18) and Sandi, The Kingmaker (1921).

Greiffenhagen's 1891 painting, An Idyll, inspired D H Lawrence's novel The White Peacock. The painting had "a profound effect" on the author, who wrote:

As for Greiffenhagen's 'Idyll', it moves me almost as if I were in love myself. Under its intoxication, I have flirted madly this Christmas.^[3]

In 1910, Greiffenhagen illustrated a book of poems by Charles F. Parsons entitled Some Thoughts at Eventide.

Poster 24 in Les Maîtres de l'Affiche

Greiffenhagen also created distinctive commercial posters, including a colourful 1894 advertisement for Pall Mall Budget magazine which "created a distinct sensation among the younger men" according to one contemporary periodical.^[4] In 1924, he created "The Gateway of the North", one of the most popular travel posters in a series commissioned by London, Midland and Scottish Railway.^[5]