Samuel Lucas

Samuel Lucas (1805–1870) was a British brewer and amateur painter based in Hitchin.

His works range from extremely detailed representations to impressionistic views and he is likely to have been influenced by J. M. W. Turner.

Biography

Early years Samuel Lucas was born to William and Ann Lucas in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. He was the descendant of yeomen and brewers who were based in the area since the 1500s.

Samuel Lucas was educated at the Tilehouse Free School in Hitchin

Painting Samuel Lucas predominantly used oils, watercolours and ink to depict beloved landscapes, wildlife and fauna, as well as local Hitchin characters.

Samuel Lucas and his friend Jacob Thompson used to paint in the valley of Mardale, currently beneath Haweswater Reservoir in the Lake District.

Samuel Lucas's most famous painting, Hitchin Marketplace (1860), was very popular at the time and he was asked to paint miniature versions of the work.

Personal life Lucas was a member of Hitchin Quaker Meeting.

Samuel and his wife had six children together. Sadly, Mathilda died in childbirth in 1849. Thirteen years later, Samuel remarried Elizabeth Manser of Hertford, a poet. were skilled artists. They studied painting and pottery in Rome. Lucas's son, Samuel, as well as his own daughter, Florence Davy Thompson, the founding librarian of the University of Manitoba, also became accomplished painters.

Legacy A number of Samuel Lucas's works are held by the British Museum, the North Hertfordshire Museum and the Bingham Gallery. The Old Hitchin Market can be found at the Hitchin Corn Exchange. Samuel Lucas's botanical drawings are displayed in The Florist (Chapman and Hall)

The junior school in Hitchin, Samuel Lucas JMI School, is named after him. It was inaugurated in 1975 by the Reverend Richard Lucas, a descendant of Samuel Lucas.