Edward Prittie (1851 - 1882)

Born Nov 1851 in Ireland

Ancestors

Died 15 Mar 1882 at age 30 in Lower Mount Street, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Biography

Edward Prittie was born in Ireland.

Edward was born in 1851. He was the son of Francis Prittie and Susanna Carter.

His mother died in 1856, and his father in 1867.

Edward entered the Rifle Brigade in 1872 where he gained the rank of Lieutenant but, after little more than a year, his innate love of art prompted him to quit the army.

He passed away in 1882 at the age of 30.

Dublin Daily Express 20 March 1882, Page 1:

DEATHS.

Prittie—March 15, at Lower Mount-street, from gout in the heart. Edward Prittie, Esq., last surviving son the late Hon. Francis Prittie, Glenview, Clonmel, aged 30 years ; dearly beloved and deeply mourned by his sorrowing family and friends.^[1]

Obituary

Clonmel Chronicle 29 March 1882, Page 3:

THE LATE MR. EDWARD PRITTIE.

The following obituary notice from the pen of a gentleman, himself a competent judge of painting, who saw much of Mr. Prittie during his student career on the Continent, will be read with a mournful interest. There can be no reasonable doubt that he would, had he been spared, have attained eminence in the practice of the art to which he was so much attached, and in which he had already shown far more than previous:-

"On the 15th March was cut off, in the beginning of his career, a most promising Irish artist, Edward Prittie, last surviving son of the Hon. Francis S. Prittie. He entered the Rifle Brigade in 1872, but, after little more than a year, his innate love of art prompted him to quit the army. His determination was to take up painting as a profession, and with this view he entered himself as student at the academy at Brussels.

"The progress he made was very rapid. Before entering he had some knowledge of painting, and considerable dexterity of a certain kind; but his drawing was faulty, and his method of working found little favour with the professors. When once put on the right track, his advance in the technique of art was wonderfully swift. Beginning at the bottom of the class, by the end of the year he was very near the top. Six months later he carried off the first prize and medal for painting, and this against competitors who had been studying for several years at the academy.

"Edward Prittie was so promising a pupil that Mons. Stallaert, Director of Studies - whose genial works must have struck many visitors to the Annual Exhibition at Dublin during the last three years - as a great favour took him into his own atelier. He was unwilling, he said, that such talent should be cultivated out of Belgium, so he would make an exception. Under such tuition his artistic powers continually unfolded themselves, whilst a strong friendship and attachment grew up between master and pupil.

"Unfortunately, his health was never strong, though he had the outward appearance of robustness, and he was advised to pass a year in Italy. Here, too, he worked diligently and made good progress, though under less favourable circumstances than at Brussels.

"The first pictures he exhibited in Dublin were a great success. One, entitled 'For God', represented a Carmelite Monk, against a clolistered background, consulting Holy Writ whether it befitted his holy calling to take up the sword and join the Crusaders. It was at once recognised as it deserved, and passed into the collection of Mr. Edward Guinness. The drawing, colour, and expression were all that could be wished. As a result of only about four years' serious study of so difficult an art as painting, it was certainly remarkable. Another picture which attracted such favourable notice, 'The Doctor's Visit', in which all the personages were pug dogs, showed the native humour of the artist. It was selected to be engraved. A mark of the high appreciation of his talent is shown in the fact of his having been elected an Associate of the R.H.A. the same year.

"Had his health permitted it, had circumstances allowed his living in an artistic centre - that sine qua non of artistic life and vigour - and had his life been spared, with his strong inborn capacity and talent, great results would certainly have been achieved. As it was, for months at a time he was too ill to work, and when he could, he was hampered by inability to get the requisite models in the country, and by not getting that friendly criticism which no artist can dispense with.

"But painting was not the only side of art of which he had a natural bent. He was very musical, and gifted with an unusually rich voice, which he did not neglect to cultivate. As a mimic he was very clever, and the way he could take off a Neapolitan street-singer was inimitable and comic in the extreme. Indeed he was accomplished in many ways. Whilst at Brussels he shot second at the Grand Prix for pigeon shooting at Spa, which was not bad, considering he had not handled a gun for two or three years previously.

"Still, in spite of his many sided talents, he was very modest and diffident of his powers - almost to a fault. He was only too glad, not only to have his mistakes pointed out, but to act upon the advice tendered. All this, combined with a warm-hearted bonhommie and a great sense of fun, endeared his character to those that knew him. That so much promise should have been nipped in the bud, must remain the lasting regret of many a friend that looked forward to seeing both flower and fruit.^[2]

Edward was buried at Marlfield Church Graveyard, Marlfield, County Tipperary, Ireland ^[3].

Inscription:

Sacred To The Memory Of Edward Prittie

Sources

1. ↑ Dublin Daily Express 20 March 1882, Page 1, https://search.findmypast.co.uk/ (requires subscription).
2. ↑ Clonmel Chronicle 29 March 1882, Page 3, https://search.findmypast.co.uk/ (requires subscription).
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/224849588/edward-prittie : accessed 29 January 2022), memorial page for Edward Prittie (1851–15 Mar 1882), Find A Grave: Memorial #224849588, citing Marlfield Church Graveyard, Marlfield, County Tipperary, Ireland ; Maintained by Barb West (contributor 48487830)

• The Peerage - Edward Prittie