Biographical Information

Cecil Charles Windsor Aldin
British 1870-1935

Born in Slough on 28th April 1870, this painter was the son of Charles Aldin, a Kensington builder and amateur artist. The Aldins moved to Kensington when Cecil was still a baby. He displayed artistic talent from an early age., Cecil Aldin was educated at Eastbourne College and Solihull Grammar School. He studied art at the RCA and under Frank F. Calderon.

Aldin illustrated hundreds of books throughout his lifetime, one of his first major commissions being Kipling's Jungle Stories.  At 22, he took on a studio in Chelsea and began to obtain regular work and his illustrations were published in many magazines during the 1890s. In 1895 he married Marguerite Dorothy Morris, moved to Chiswick and became one of a circle of artists who between them formed the London Sketch Club. He became RBA in 1989.

Aldin's first two field hunting horses were both obtained by bartering them for paintings, and he then began hunting on his own mounts with the West Surrey Staghounds. He subsequently became hunting correspondent to a magazine called "Land and Water" which enabled him to hunt with many packs.
In 1899 Aldin's first set of hunting prints "The Fallowfield Hunt" was published, followed by many others. His prints were so successful that many were pirated in American. Later as Master of the South Berkshire Hunt, Aldin was a keen huntsman and many of his prints depict horses. Unusually, he also carried the horn with harriers, beagles and bassets, and drew animals of all kinds as well as his well-known hunting and coaching scenes, with humor and precision.

As well as hunting, he rode point-to-point, organized horse shows, and even designed two London stage shows for his impresario brother. Aldin developed arthritis in his hands which considerably slowed his drawing and painting, and finally was forced to give up hunting and move to a warmer climate. In 1930 he and his wife settled in Majorca, but towards the end of 1934 they decided to return to England. On the boat home he had a massive heart attack and on arriving in London was taken straight to the London Clinic where he died on January 6th.

Aldin painted mainly in water-colour. He was also famous for being a master of caricature in the drawing of both humans and animals. The quality of his art can be seen in most of his work, particularly in his many famous drawings of his family of dogs. His portrayal of dogs was probably the sensitive of anyone's in the 20th century. He had a delightful sense of humor and a very direct way of drawing. It is interesting that contrary to many, Aldin felt that a slight knowledge of anatomy was useful but too deep a study turned one's work into medical diagrams. To him the eye was the most important part of a portrait. His horse portraits were beautiful and sensitive. His large equestrian portraits in pastel, often big as  5'x6' were superb.  In his last years, he produced some fine etchings in limited editions. A memorial exhibition has held in 1935 at the FAS.

Aldin's work is now highly collectable. He is regarded as being one of the most original and very best sporting artists of the twentieth century.