ROUSSEL, Theodore

Theodore Roussel (1847-1926) was born and educated in France and settled in England in 1878, when he quickly established a reputation. In 1885 he was introduced to James McNeill Whistler, his neighbour in Chelsea, London, and in consequence a lifelong friendship was formed. As Roussel was a member of Whistler’s London circle his work in watercolour and oil was influenced by the latter in style and choice of subject-matter. In 1888 Whistler introduced him to the techniques of etching and drypoint. For the remainder of his life he relentlessly pursued the medium, even, like Whistler, designing his own special frames. An exhibitor with the Royal Society of British Artists under Whistler’s presidency, he also frequently exhibited with the New English Art Club and with the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, and he was a founder-member of the Allied Artists’ Association in 1908 Tate Gallery archives