The Railway Station, by William Powell Frith

William Powell Frith (1819-1909) was unusual among artists in that he originally wanted to have a steady job (as an auctioneer) but his parents persuaded him to exploit his talents with the paintbrush. It is usually the other way round!

His early career was as a portrait painter, but his fame rests on three large canvases that he painted between 1854 and 1862. These were “Life at the Seaside”, “Derby Day” and “The Railway Station”. These are scenes that portray a large number of people engaged in activities associated with those settings, and which the viewer can spend a long time looking at to see everything that is going on. They could perhaps be regarded as the Victorian equivalent of “Where’s Wally”!

The first two paintings were highly popular, especially “Derby Day” which earned Frith £1,500s. He was then commissioned by Louis Flatow, an art dealer, to paint “The Railway Station”, the fee being the huge sum of £5,250. Flatow recovered his costs several times over by exhibiting the painting and selling reproductions. More than 21,000 people paid to see it when it was exhibited in London. The painting is signed and dated 1862.

The painting measures 117 by 256 centimetres (46 by 101 inches) and it took Frith two years to complete, as he paid considerable attention to getting every detail correct. Nearly 100 people are featured in the painting, many of them being “real” people as opposed to artists’ models.

The setting is Brunel’s Paddington Station, where a train stands in readiness for its journey west to Bristol, from where many of the passengers would then set sail across the Atlantic or to various outposts of Empire. In the background porters can be seen loading trunks and other luggage on to carriage roofs, and “Sultan”, a 4-2-2 broad gauge locomotive of the Iron Duke class, can be seen gently steaming at the head of the train. Frith used a photograph of Sultan to ensure accuracy. He also enlisted the help of William Scott Morton, an architectural artist, to make sure that the double-bayed roof of Paddington Station was correctly represented.

However, it is the scenes of people waiting to board the train, or seeing their loved ones off on their journey, that give “The Railway Station” its abiding interest. As with Frith’s other great paintings, all human life is here. Frith is here himself, together with his family, as is Louis Flatow who is talking to the engine driver. People of all ages and classes are shown, talking to each other and embracing, while others get in the way of the porters who are trying to push trolleys of luggage towards the train.

To the right of the painting are two contrasting scenes. A young couple depart on their honeymoon, with the bride being seen off by her bridesmaids. Next to them two plain-clothes policemen make an arrest, presumably of a fugitive who had been hoping to escape London by train. The two officers were real detectives who had become celebrities after solving several high-profile cases. Frith honoured them by including them in his picture.

“The Railway Station” offers a fascinating snapshot of Victorian life, in which there is warmth and emotion as well as accuracy of detail. Frith has been accused of being over-sentimental in his paintings, but that should not detract from admiration of him as an artist who makes the viewer believe that his portrayals are of real people doing real things.

“The Railway Station” is part of the art collection of Royal Holloway College, Egham, Surrey. The College’s art gallery is open to the public on certain days of the year.

© John Welford