WARREN, HENRY, president of the institute of painters in water-colors, was b. in London, Sept. 24, 1798. Warren's father inherited considerable wealth, which, how ever, he contrived to dissipate, and his children were left to shift for themselves. The subject of this memoir at first got a situation in a counting-house; but afterwards, having an intense love for art, was placed in the studio of Nollekens, the celebrated sculptor of the day. At Nollekens's, he was associated with Bonomi and Gibson. Through Benja min West, Warren obtained an introduction to the sculpture-room of the British museum, where he practiced both drawing and modeling, and where he used to meet Haydon's pupils, Bewick, the Laudseers. In 1818 he became a student of the royal academy, where he attended regularly for many years in the company of Etty, the Landseers, F. R. Lee, Webster, and others less distinguished. Warren's first paintings were in oil. He exhibited several of these from time to time at the academy. One was a subject from Collins's Ode to the Passions. Etty thought very highly of this picture, and Warren repeated it in water-color, and sent it for exhibition to the "New Society of Painters in Water-colors," of which he became a member at its foundation in 1835, Of this society, now known as the " Institute of Painters in Water-colors," Warren has been president for the last thirty years, during which time, both by his teaching and example, he has done much toward raising the English school of water-color drawing to the proud eminence that it now occupies in comparison with the same branch of art in foreign countries—namely, the highest place of all. Warren's first great picture in water-colors was "The Happy Valley," from Rasseias—a ,piece embodying both land. scape and figures, and displaying great power both in its composition and coloring. A great many of his subsequent pictures are on eastern subjects, leading sonic persons to suppose that he has lived a long time, or at least traveled much, in Egypt, the Holy Land, Arabia, etc. But this is not the case. Among these eastern subjects many are
scriptural, as "Rebecca at the Well," "Hagar and Ishmael cast out into the Wilder ness," "Christ and the Woman of Samaria," "Joseph's Coat brought to Jacob," "Christ with his Disciples in the Cornfield," "The Death of the First-born," "The Flight into Egypt." Of eastern subjects not scriptural may be named "The Dying Camel in the Desert," well known by the engraving so deservedly popular; " A Halt in the Nubian Desert," " Moslem Charity," "The Crusaders' First Sight of Jerusalem," and " The First Sunset witnessed by our First Parents." This picture. with its beautiful landscape and admirably drawn figures, is said by a good authority to be " worthy of being classed with the best works of John Martin and Danby." Of subjects not eastern there may be mentioned " Alfred in the Swineherd's Cottage," " The Warrant exhibited to the Lady Abbess of a Benedictine Nunnery for the Suppression of her Convent," "Incipient Courtship," "Happy Nutting Days," etc., besides numerous English land scapes done from nature with much feeling and truthfulness. Warren is an honorary member of the " Societe Belgique des Aquarellistes," and of the " Pennsylvanian Acad emy of Arts ;" he is also prof. of the fine arts at Queen's college, London. He was one of the committee of selection in the fine arts department for the great international exhibition at Paris in 1855; again for that of London in 1862; and for that of Paris again in 1867. Warren has written a little book on Artistic Anatomy, which has gone through many editions; also a book on Water-color Painting; two funny books, _Notes upon Notes, and Hints upon Hints; and an antiquarian work, On the Ricer Ravensbourne. In 1829, Warren was married to Isabella, niece of John Martin the painter, and has a son, Edmund George, also a water-color artist, whose drawings of landscape—especially when he deals with woodland scenery—have, by their originality and truthfulness, placed their author in the foremost rank of landscape painters.