Charles Altamont Doyle
Charles Altamont Doyle (born March 25, 1832 in London , † October 10, 1893 in Dumfries , Scotland ) was a British painter . He was the father of the writer Arthur Conan Doyle , to whose book A Study in Scarlet he contributed the illustrations for the first edition.
Life
The son of Irish-born portrait painter and caricaturist John Doyle , Charles Doyle had artistic ambitions, but had not inherited his father's talent to the same extent as his older brother Richard Doyle and therefore entered the civil service . In 1849 he moved to Edinburgh to take up a position in a government agency . In addition to his work as a civil servant, he continued to produce paintings and illustrations .
In 1855 Doyle married his landlady's daughter, Mary Foley. Together they had seven children, Arthur Conan Doyle was the second.
Charles Doyle continued trying to distinguish himself as an artist, but because of the demands of his profession, he could devote little time to painting. His desired career as an artist made no progress, whereas his brother Richard was artistically very successful in London. Charles Doyle became increasingly depressed and addicted to alcohol .
In 1876 he was discharged from the civil service and in the same year admitted to Fordoun House, a special clinic for alcoholics. During his stay there, he developed epilepsy , for which there were no treatments at the time.
In 1885 Charles Doyle attempted to escape from the clinic and became violent while attempting to escape. He was then sent to the lunatic asylum Montrose Royal Lunatic Asylum , where he stayed until 1892; he could continue to pursue painting there. During this asylum seeker, Charles Doyle made six drawings in 1888 for A Study in Scarlet Red , the first Sherlock Holmes story by his son Arthur Conan Doyle. The illustrations appeared in the first book edition in history.
In 1892 Charles Doyle was first transferred to the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, then to the Crichton Royal Institution in Dumfries, where he died in 1893 after a severe epileptic attack.
Web links
- The Life and Art of Charles Doyle - very detailed biographical website
- Biography on The Chronicles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Short biography on The Victorian Web
- His life and his art
literature
Weinstein, Zeus (ed.): The comprehensive Sherlock Holmes handbook . Haffmans Verlag, Zurich 1988. ISBN 3-251-20054-2
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Doyle, Charles Altamont |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British illustrator and painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 25, 1832 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 10, 1893 |
| Place of death | Dumfries , Scotland |