SOPER, George

1870 - 1942

George Soper was born in the London Borough of Hackney on 2 May 1870, son of George Robert Soper (1838-6 July 1888), a horticultural sundries man, and his wife Elizabeth Longman née Cogan (1835-22 December 1916), who married at Clerkenwell, London in 1860. Soper was apprenticed to printer & stationer, George Sydney Waterlow (1852-1925) and worked alongside illustrator Charles Robinson (1870-1937). George studied art at Ramsgate, spending the early part of his career as an illustrator and in 1905 studied etching under Sir Frank Short and from then, most of his talents were directed towards original printmaking continuing his tuition for engraving under Short at the Royal College of Art 1916-1920. His etchings are among the finest of their time and was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy 1890-1941 and a full member of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers. He married at Hackney, London in 1897, Ada Lehany (4 May 1873-9 April 1956) and one of their two daughters was Eileen Soper. In 1908, George built a house in Harmer Green, Welwyn, Hertfordshire where he lived for the rest of his life, and which was known as 'Wildings' when his daughters inherited the property. In 1908, George Soper illustrated Charles Kingsleys 'Water Babies', the first of several classic gift books for Headley Brothers and the following year made colour illustrations for Mary Lamb's 'Tales from Shakespeare' and went on to illustrate many more. He exhibited at the Ipswich Fine Art Club in 1923, two works, an aquatint 'Low Tide' and an etching 'The Stranger' and in 1933 from Harmer Green, Welwyn, Hertfordshire an etching 'A Farm Road, Harmer Green'. After the ‘etching boom’ ended in the early 1930s, George was involved in a range of artistic work and often worked closely with his daughters Eileen and Eva and, like Eva, modelled Royal Worcester figures. In 1939, an artist, living at Digswell, Welwyn with his wife Ada and their two daughters Eileen and Eva. George Soper died at Harmer Green, Welwyn on 13 August 1942. Both the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, include examples of his etchings in their collections. He signed his works 'George Roper'.

Royal Academy Exhibits
from 34a Memorial Hall Buildings, Farringdon Street, London EC
1907 1342 The Challenge - etching
from Harmer Green, Welwyn, Hertfordshire
1911 1087 A Windy Day, Whitby - watercolour
1912 1018 By the Lake, Aix le Bains - watercolour
         1026 Anemone Alina, Mont Cenis - watercolour
1914 959 Across the Lake, Mont Cenis - watercolour
1917 1189 The Shippon - etching
         1241 The Blacksmith's Shop - etching
1918 1179 A Devon Shoeing Smith - etching
         1198 The Limit - etching
         1215 Mangels - etching
1919 1180 The Manure Cart - etching
         1296 Coal Wharf, Topsham, Devon - etching
1920 1127 Market Day - etching
         1135 Feeding Cattle 1915 - etching
1921 846 Summer: The last load - dry point
         859 Autumn: Ploughing - dry point
1922 1057 Evening: Zoyland - dry point
         1104 A Sussex Barn - aquatint
1923 1057 Carting Seaweed - dry point
         1091 Wapsies - dry point
1924 1064 The Log Team - dry point
1926 1002 Sea Wrack - dry point
         1008 Going to Work - dry point
1927 1152 The New Pony - etching
1928 1186 On the Downs - dry point
1929 1047 After the Storm - dry point
1930 1052 A Gallop in the Surf - etching
         1064 The Breakdown - etching
         1143 Going to Work - etching
1932 1138 The Open Road - dry point
1933 1326 Indian Woman - wood engraving
         1346 Farm Road, Harmer Green - wood engraving
1935 1245 Beaver - wood engraving
         1258 Following the Plough - wood engraving
1936 1220 Early Morning, St. Ives - wood engraving
         1238 The Golden Harvest - wood engraving
1937 1109 Shelling Peas, Covent Garden - wood engraving
         1250 Billingsgate Fish Market - wood engraving
1938 1152 Mid-day Drink - wood engraving
         1155 Winter Sun - wood engraving
         1175 Winter Feed - wood engraving
1939 927 The Barn Door - wood engraving
1941 786 Willmington - wood engraving

---

Works by This Artist