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Henry Richard Goodwin (1842-1925), known as Harry Goodwin
Producing landscapes and other subjects in watercolour and oil, Harry Goodwin worked in a style that is similar to that of his younger brother, Albert, though with a distinctive lightness and sense of space. Harry Goodwin was born in Maidstone, Kent, the sixth surviving child of the builder, Samuel Goodwin, and his wife, Rosetta (née Smith). The family were devout Baptists and worshipped at Bethel Chapel, Union Street, where the organist was Samuel’s brother, Thomas, an organ builder. By the age of 18, Goodwin was also working as an organ builder, probably with his uncle.
It is not known whether Harry Goodwin had professional artistic training, though he grew up among talented siblings and, given the similarities in their styles, is likely to have received lessons from his younger brother, Albert. He began to exhibit at principal galleries in London in 1867, while still living in Maidstone in the family home. These included the Royal Academy of Arts, the Society of British Artists and the New Society of Painters in Water Colours.
In 1872, Harry Goodwin married fellow painter, Kate Malleson, in Croydon.
During the later 1870s, they lived at Eaton Place, Brighton, and in August 1879 contributed to an exhibition at Maidstone Museum of members of the Goodwin family. In the early 1880s, they settled in Croydon, living at various addresses there into the 1890s. In 1887, W A Knight’s Through the Wordsworth Country was published with Harry’s illustrations. In the same year, Harry joined his brother, Albert, on a sketching tour of Lucerne and the Italian Lakes.
By the turn of the century, Harry and Kate Goodwin had moved to Torquay, and would remain there as boarders at 4 Lisburne Crescent until Kate’s death in 1912. Though sequestered in Devon, Harry continued to take sketching tours, and exhibited the results in an ambitious series of solo shows. These included: ‘Switzerland in Sunshine and Snow’ (Dowdeswell’s, 1899), ‘Italian Cities and Swiss Mountains’ (Dowdeswell’s, 1900), ‘English Towns and Swiss Mountains’ (Dickinson’s, 1904) and ‘Watercolours’ (New Dudley Gallery, 1907). Following Kate’s death, Harry moved to Hastings, and so lived close to his brother, Albert, who was residing with at Bexhill-on-Sea. His later shows included ‘Swiss Mountains and English Cathedral’ (Dowdeswell’s, 1915) and others at Walker’s Galleries (1921, 1924). He died in Hastings in 1925.
His work is represented in numerous public collections, including Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Art Gallery; and Manchester Art Gallery.
