Charles Haslewood Shannon
Charles Haslewood Shannon (26 April 1863 – 18 March 1937) was an English artist best known for his portraits. His work appears in major collections, including the National Portrait Gallery in London. Some sources spell his middle name Hazelwood, but the National Portrait Gallery uses Haslewood.
He was born in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of Rev. Frederick William Shannon, the rector of Quarrington, and Catherine Emma Manthorp. He went to St John’s School in Leatherhead, where he played cricket, and later studied at the City and Guilds of London Art School (also known as Lambeth School of Art). He was greatly influenced by his lifelong partner, Charles Ricketts, and by the old Venetian painters.
Early in his career, Shannon used heavy, dark tones, but he later moved to clearer, brighter colours. He found success with portraits and with Giorgione-style figure compositions, and he also produced etchings and lithographs.
Notable works and where they are kept include The Bunch of Grapes and The Lady with the Green Fan (a portrait of Mrs Hacon) in the Dublin Municipal Gallery, and portraits of Mary Frances Dowdall. The Study in Grey is at the Munich Gallery, Portrait of Mr Staats Forbes is in Bremen, Souvenir of Van Dyck is in Melbourne, and The Toilet of Venus is in Tate Britain. Later paintings include The Amethyst Necklace (1907), The Morning Toilet (1911), The Embroidered Shawl (1914), and The Incoming Tide (1918). In 1918 he painted portraits of Princess Patricia of Connaught, Lillah McCarthy, and the actress Hilda Moore. His lithographs include Playmates (1908), Ebb Tide (1917), The Tidal River (1919), and A Sharp Corner (1919).
Shannon was named Associate of the Royal Academy in 1911 and became vice-president of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers in 1918. He was elected a full member of the Royal Academy in 1920. The National Portrait Gallery houses many of his portrait works. The British Museum has complete sets of his lithographs and etchings, and Berlin and Dresden hold his prints. He won a first-class gold medal at Munich in 1895 and a first-class silver medal in Paris in 1900.
Shannon and Ricketts lived together in Chelsea for more than 50 years. They worked closely on many projects, including designing and illustrating books and starting the Vale Press, which published over 75 books before it closed in 1904.
In 1928, Shannon became disabled after a fall while hanging a picture. The injury damaged his nervous system, caused amnesia, and ended his artistic career. He died on 18 March 1937 in Kew, London, and is buried at St Botolph’s Church in Quarrington.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:07 (CET).