Maurice Greiffenhagen

Who was Maurice Greiffenhagen?

Maurice Greiffenhagen was a British painter and Royal Academician. He illustrated books and designed posters as well as painting idyllic landscapes.

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.

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".

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.

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

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. 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.