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Professor Albert William Holden was an artist and academic who worked primarily with oils, producing portraits as well as paintings on humorous themes. Beyond his career at King’s College London, Holden is known for his art’s commercial use and legacy through his relationship with A&F Pears.

Early Life

Professor Albert William Holden was born in London on 16th July 1848 and christened on 23^rd January 1851 at St Stephen’s, Colman Street. Holden married Sarah Ann Turnham in Islington on September 15th 1874.

King's College London

Holden became a professor at King’s College London in 1887 and held a variety of positions at the institution in the following years:

• Professor of Fine Art (1887-1892)
• Evening Class Lecturer, Fine Art (1888-1895)
• Lecturer of Drawing, King's College Ladies Department (1889-1899)
• Harpen Professor of Fine Art (1892-)
• Evening Class Lecturer, School of Art (1895-1896)

In this period his work was also exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, starting in 1883.

A&F Pears

Between 1895 and 1916, many of Holden’s humorous oil paintings were purchased by A&F Pears, going on to be presented by the brand as large colour poster size prints with the Pears Annuals (a periodical released by the brand each Christmas) or else used as illustrations in the Pears Annuals. The relationship between the artist and the brand was enduring, lasting over 20 years, and appears to have been mutually fruitful – demonstrated by William Hesketh Lever’s appointment of Holden as a Trustee of his Will upon his death in 1825.

Holden’s artworks previously owned by A&F Pears include:

• `The Long Bill’, featuring a worried man examining a bill whilst being watched by a stork and measuring 30 inches by 25 inches, was bought in October 1894 for £50 from a Mclean. It was presented as a large poster size print with the 1895 Pears Annual and sold on by 1924.
• `The Five Senses’, a set of five paintings depicting the five senses in a humorous way, each measuring 12 inches by 9 inches, were bought from the artist in October 1896 for £80. The images appeared in full colour measuring 11 by 13 inches in the 1897 Pears Annual and were sold on by 1924.
• `Naughty Polly’, an image of a man about to tell his parrot off, measuring 24 inches by 30 inches, was bought from the artist for £80 in September 1897. It was presented as a large poster size print with the 1898 Pears Annual and was sold on by 1924.
• `Saluting the Admiral’, portraying a man saluting a statue of Admiral Nelson, and measuring 30 inches by 20 inches, was bought by the company directly from the artist in April 1904 for £85. It was presented as a large poster size print with the 1905 Pears Annual, and was sold  on by 1916.  
• `Courting Trouble’ was presented with the 1917 Pears Annual; it depicted a man trying to understand a book of law. A painting of this name was not owned by A & F Pears, but they did buy a Holden painting called `Everyman his own lawyer` in May 1903 for £70. Due to the similarities of the subject these may be the same piece of art. The latter was sold by 1916.
• `L S D’, measuring 59 inches by 22 inches, was bought from Holden in June 1900 for £90. It was sold on by 1916.
• `Old Dreadnought’ measured 29 inches by 19 inches and was purchased from the artist in June 1916 for £45. It appears to have been sold by 1916.

Other Notable Works

• 'A Phrenologist Comparing His Own Head with a Phrenological Bust’, measuring 50.2cm by 40.7cm, produced circa 1900 and subsequently purchased by Henry S. Wellcome.
• 'A Bank Holiday’, depicting a man holding an umbrella, sitting on a riverbank and fishing as it rains. Exhibited in the Royal Academy of Arts in 1883; the British Museum presently holds an etching produced from the painting.

Death

Holden died in Brentford, Middlesex, in 1932.

References

Unilever archives online catalogue Category:Archives Category:Unilever