George William Joy (July 7, 1844 in Dublin, Ireland – October 28, 1925 in Purbrook) was an Irish painter.
Contents |
Career
The brother of sculptor Albert Bruce Joy, George was initially torn between the idea of pursuing a career as an artist or violin player. Joy settled upon art, and was educated in London's South Kensington School of Art and later at the Royal Academy under John Everett Millais, Frederic Leighton, Hubert von Herkomer and George Frederic Watts. In 1868 he traveled to Paris where he was a student of Charles-François Jalabert and Léon Bonnat. [1]
Works
Joy's paintings covered a variety of themes, but generally included human forms. He was perhaps best known for his depiction of the final moments of British General Charles George Gordon in a painting entitled General Gordon's Last Stand (1885). In the painting, Gordon is pictured standing before followers of the invading Mahdi army in Khartoum, Sudan, moments before being struck down by a spear. Among Joy's other works are Truth, Flora MacDonald's Farewell to Prince Charles, and The Bayswayer Omnibus.
