Charles Sims Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Charles Sims was born on 28 January 1873 in Islington. In 1887-8 he was sent to Paris to learn commerce but there he began studying art full-time at the Royal College of Art in 1890. Read the full biography

Charles Sims was born on 28 January 1873 in Islington. In 1887-8 he was sent to Paris to learn commerce but there he began studying art full-time at the Royal College of Art in 1890. He subsequently studied at the Académie Julian in Paris under Benjamin Constant and Jules Lefebre, and at the Royal Academy Schools from 1892 to 1895, where he was awarded the Landseer scholarship. Influenced first by Orchardson and Bastien-Lepage, he then showed an interest in Quattrocento Italian painting. He began to exhibit at the Royal Academy from 1894. In 1908 he was elected Associate of the Royal Academy, in 1911 a member of the Royal Watercolor Society and in 1915 a full member of the Royal Academy. Sims is famous for his portraits and landscapes. He initially became famous as one of the leading Edwardian painters, but after his son's death during the First World War, his work became increasingly eccentric, surreal and controversial. Shortly before his death by suicide he painted pictures of a mystical nature, which were initially rejected by the Academy. Charles Sims died on 13 April 1928 in St. Boswells, Scotland.