Alfred Steadman was born in Derbyshire on 6th December 1912 and won a scholarship to art college in Derby but his parents reportedly decided that it wasn’t a good idea, so he became a chemist on leaving school. Art was a lifelong hobby and he was able to devote more time to it after his retirement from work.
Alfred Steadman went to technical college and Sheffield University and worked for collieries in the Chesterfield area. He worked as a chemist throughout the Second World War and for the Ministry of Fuel and Power (which later became the Dept of Energy) from 1946 where he was a regional fuel engineer. He then moved to West Midlands Gas where he remained until he retired in 1976.
He and his wife moved to Solihull c.1957 and the newspaper articles indicate that he was a member of Solihull Society of Arts and the Royal Society of Arts. He was also President of Solihull Society of Spiritualists in the 1960s.
He found more time for painting after he retired and taught adult education classes locally for over 20 years. He held an annual exhibition of his paintings at Solihull Library from c.1977 until c.1991 when he became ill.
He never painted from photographs or pictures – always painting from the scene itself. He is pictured above, painting a scene in Drury Lane, Solihull in June 1963. The resulting painting, of Church House, is held at The Core Library and is also available to view online on the ArtUK website, together with his 1978 painting of The Priory, Solihull.
His main subjects were landscapes and he went on painting holidays to the Cotswolds and North Wales for inspiration. His wife told the Solihull News in 1994 that he was an impressionist and had painted hundreds of pictures, including scenery, flowers and water scenes.
He died, aged 81, on 1st May 1994, leaving a widow, one daughter and two grandchildren. His widow, Esther Annie Steadman, died in Solihull in 2010, aged 95.
If you have any further information about Alfred Steadman, please let us know.
Tracey
Library Specialist: Heritage & Local Studies
© Solihull Council, 2024.
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