Scottish artist and illustrator, Sir William Russell Flint was born in Edinburgh on 4th April, 1880. Although being mostly known for his watercolor paintings of women; Flint also worked in oils, tempera and print-making. From 1894-1900 Flint was apprenticed to a lithographic draughtsman whilst studying at the Edinburgh Royal Academy of Art. During 1900-1902 he worked as a medical illustrator in London while studying part-time at Heatherley’s Art School. He then furthered his art education by studying independently at the British Museum. (First image is from Flint’s watercolour painting – “The Silver Frock).” Flint was an artist for the Illustrated London News (1903-1907), and produced illustrations for editions of several books, including;
- W. S. Gilbert’s Savoy Operas (1909) and
- Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (1912)
Flint was elected President of Britain’s Royal Society of Painters & Watercolours (now the Royal Watercolour Society) from 1936-1956, and received a Knightship for his service in 1947. During visits to Spain, Flint became influenced by the local Spanish dancers and he depicted them frequently throughout his career. He enjoyed considerable commercial success but little respect from art critics, who were disturbed by a perceived crassness in his eroticized treatment of the female figure.
- He died in London on 30th December, 1969.
If, according to Wikipedia: “In like Flynn“ has become slang for “having quickly or easily achieved a goal or gained access as desired“; or as sometimes used to describe success in sexual seduction, (such as the success of Errol Flynn and his paramours), I parody this in Flint’s case due to his artwork “The Kite Flyers” (from the Bridgeman Art Library) which was used on the front cover of the Wordsworth Classic Erotica series title: “Randiana & the Adventures of Grace & Anna.”
- Therefore, I declare ‘In Like Flint‘ shows parallel analogies with the phrase: ‘In Like Flynn’, however, only flesh will tell.
For further examples of similar artwork – see my Erotic Art page or for general artwork visit my Artist A-Z page.
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