The life and work of F.T. Steerwood

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F.T. Steerwood: a Biography




Frederick Thomas (Fred) Steerwood was an English artist well known for his watercolours of motor cars. The name Steerwood is a very rare name that can be traced back to 1756. The Steerwood’s were genuine Londoners, all living in the borough of Tower Hamlets directly eastwards from the Tower, outside the City wall. They were mostly artisans, for example dyers and cabinetmakers.

Fred’s father Thomas Steerwood was the first to leave Tower Hamlets. He moved a few miles westwards to Clerkenwell EC1 (Borough of Islington) near the place where the family of his future wife Sarah Jane Willott lived.

Thomas and Sarah had nine children; they were all born at 26, Warner Street. The house is gone now; probably it was destroyed in the blitz during World War II. Frederick Thomas Steerwood was born in March 1888 as the third child after two girls.







Fred Steerwood (left) in 1893, five years old

Not much is known about his youth, but it is believed that during the Great War of 1914-1918 he served in the Navy. One of his relatives still has a copy of a letter from Buckingham Palace, dated July 28, 1915 to the boys’ father, expressing....”His Majesty’s appreciation of the patriotic spirit which has prompted your six sons to give their services’ at the present time… for their country and the British Empire”. All of them survived the war.


In September 1918 Fred Steerwood married Dorothy Shaw. They lived in Edmonton, North London. In 1927 Fred and Dorothy moved to Muswell Hill in London, but later they moved again to Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, north of London. Here Fred Steerwood spent most of his working artistic life. His house and atelier was situated at Oaklands on the edge of Welwyn Garden City.





This picture was taken somewhere in the period 1915-1920 (?). On it is written in pencil: “Royal Flying Corps” and “Fred Steerwood (on the right) with unknown colleague”.

Apart from the fact that Fred Steerwood served in the Navy during the Great War, the uniforms are not RFC uniforms, perhaps not even uniforms at all. Probably this picture was taken during a demonstration where ex-WW I fighter pilots took people up in the air for a fee.

(with thanks to David Barnes, specialist in British Military Uniform Identification).








The house and atelier in 1934


The house stood at the top of a steep slope with fir tree woods, but it has probably been torn down. The house was called ‘Moy Domik’, but it is not known why. It could be Russian, in which language it means “My house”. But why Russian? What’s the connection?



Fred with his motor car, a Talbot manufactured by Clement Talbot Ltd, Barlby Road, London. W10. The model is a 14/45 with a Weymann Saloon Deluxe body by Darracq Motor Engineering Co. Ltd. The PL registration mark indicates that the car was registered in 1930 in Guildford.

Fred Steerwood probably started his career with “The Motor Owner”, a high class monthly magazine in the UK that started in 1919 and finished in 1931. He worked with them as a staff artist up to around 1923. After working for “The Motor Owner” Fred Steerwood became a freelance artist and worked in part for “The Autocar” producing many front covers and many other works of art.











Fred Steerwood (on the left, with pipe) at age 31, working on the advert for "Clincher Motor Tyres" that was published in the December 1919 issue of "The Motor Owner".

photo published in “The Motor Owner”, November 1919


Fred Steerwood was a traditional English painter in the watercolour school of a Constable. It is obvious that he admired him. He grew up in the art nouveau age apparently not wanting to have anything to do with it. He probably went to art-school evening-classes. Due to the family circumstances it is unlikely that there was parental support for a higher education. He loved the English countryside (as his paintings verify this). He was also interested in old buildings.











Fred Steerwood at age 40, always with a pipe

                               

















With brother Bert and sister-in-law Nora, ca. 1934; (click here to see the dog!)














Fred Steerwood at age 59, looking very relaxed



Apart from his painting skills, he also had a technical talent. He had, for instance, made his own radio, a crystal set (click). As a person he seemed reserved, maybe because of a stutter that could have been caused by shellshock in World War I. But on the other hand he was also friendly and had humour. He always smoked a pipe and enjoyed company over a glass of beer in old local pubs in the vicinity of where he lived in Hertfordshire.

After his wife Dorothy died in the 1950s, Fred Steerwood later married Irene (Queenie) Browning, who was the widow of Fred’s younger brother Walter.

The last years of his life Fred Steerwood lived in Southsea, Portsmouth. Why there is not certain, a possible connection could be that his younger brother Bertram lived in Worthing on the South Coast, not far away. Fred Steerwood died in Portsmouth on June 23, 1965 and was buried three days later in Milton Cemetery.



The inscription on his tombstone reads: “In loving memory of Frederick Thomas Steerwood, Died June 23rd 1965, Aged 77 years, Rest in Peace” (photo taken in September 2006).



















Family Tree (click image for larger version):




























For more information about F.T. Steerwood click on the links below:

the magazines

Covers and Adverts for magazines - watercolours of motorcars

the artwork in “The Big Book of Engines”

other art work by F.T. Steerwood

Compiled by Rutger Booy (with help from John Steerwood Sr. and the collection of motoring-art by Tony Clark).
If you happen to know more about F.T. Steerwood, or have other examples of his work, please let me know by Dit e-mailadres is beschermd tegen spambots. U heeft Javascript nodig om het te kunnen zien. .

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