'Some Have Entertained Angels Unawares', watercolor painting by Edward Clifford

Image:'Margaret, the Countess of Bradford', painting by Edward Clifford, Bridgeman Art Library

Edward Clifford (1844-1907) was an English artist and author born in Bristol. He is best known for his portraits in watercolor, and was associated with the Aesthetic Movement in late 19th-century England. He was also a member of the Church Army, which evangelized for the Church of England. Clifford visited India and Kashmir to learn about methods of controlling leprosy. He returned to England and then traveled to Honolulu and visited the leper colony in Kalaupapa, Hawaii in 1888, where he met Father Damien. After returning to England, Clifford made watercolor paintings from portrait sketches made in Hawaii and eventually published an account of the journey.

The Honolulu Academy of Arts and the National Portrait Gallery (London) are among the public collections holding work by Edward Clifford.

[edit] References

• Bénézit Dictionary of Artists, English Edition, Paris, Grund, 2006.
• Clifford, Edward, Father Damien; A Journey from Cashmere to his Home in Hawaii, London, Macmillan, 1889.
• Rooks, Michael, Portrait of Joseph Damien de Veuster (Father Damien), ca. 1889, By Edward Clifford, Calendar News, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Vol. 80, No. 1, 2008, pp10-11.