An Interior, 1887

Ernest Crofts RA (1847 - 1911)

RA Collection: Art

This darkly lit interior scene is rather uncharacteristic for an artist best known for his military and historical subjects. Of the two figures seated at the table, the one with his back to the viewer is thought to be the artist James Albert Buchanan Jay (1839-1888). Having studied at the Royal Academy Schools between 1863-70, Jay developed connections with the Düsseldorf art scene. This may be where he met Crofts, who had settled in the German city following his studies at the Düsseldorf School of Painting. According to family tradition, the empty chair was previously occupied by the artist himself, who jumped up from the table to capture the scene. His napkin is left discarded on the floor.

Crofts initially studied under the British painter Alfred Borron Clay before attending the Düsseldorf School of Painting where he was taught by the German military artist Emil Hünten, an ex-pupil of Horace Vernet. Crofts subsequently pursued an artistic career painting historical and military subjects including the English Civil War, the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. On occasion he painted contemporary military events including a depiction of the distribution of the war medals following the Boer War as a commission for King Edward VII.

Having regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1874 Crofts was elected an Associate of the RA in 1878, eventually becoming a full Academician in 1896. His Diploma submission, the English Civil War subject To the Rescue, is characteristic of the type of historical military subject for which Crofts became best known. In 1898, Crofts succeeded Philip Calderon as Keeper and Trustee of the RA.