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(2) Thomas Seddon
(b London, 28 Aug 1821; d Cairo, 23 Nov 1856). Painter and furniture designer, great-grandson of (1) George Seddon. After working for Seddon & Sons he was sent to Paris in 1841 to study ornamental art and there became a proficient draughtsman. On his return to England in 1842 he diligently pursued the career of designer in the family firm, in 1848 winning a silver medal from the Society of Arts for his design for an ornamental sideboard. His ambition, however, was to be a painter and he attended evening drawing-classes at various London schools. In 1849, on a visit to North Wales, he first attempted landscape painting and continued this at Barbizon in France the following summer. In 1850 he co-founded a school of drawing for working men, especially artisans. Based in Camden Town, London, it was unexpectedly popular, though hampered by lack of funds. Following a serious bout of rheumatic fever in 1850–51 Seddon decided to devote himself solely to painting and in 1852 he exhibited his first work at the Royal Academy. In that year, too, he visited Dinan in France and at the end of 1853 travelled to Alexandria to join his friend William Holman Hunt on a tour of Egypt and the Holy Land. This led to such detailed landscapes as Jerusalem and the Valley of Jehoshaphat from the Hill of Evil Counsel (1854; London, Tate), which were executed in a style similar to that of the Pre-Raphaelites, many of whom he knew. He returned to England via France at the beginning of 1855 and exhibited the resulting landscape works privately at his studio. His entry to the Royal Academy for that year was rejected, a rebuff that prompted him to consider setting up a rival exhibiting society. Though he never saw this idea realized, his discussion of the project with his Pre-Raphaelite friends influenced the decision by various artists associated with the movement to form the Hogarth Club in 1858. This lasted for three years, acting as an artistic social centre and organizing exhibitions. As his Middle East pictures had been so popular, Seddon sailed to Egypt again in 1856 but died there from dysentery. In 1857 the Society of Arts mounted an exhibition of his paintings, at which John Ruskin delivered an appreciative speech.
Part of the Seddon family
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