| Biography | Francis ("Frank") Owen Salisbury (born Harpenden in Hertfordshire, 18 December 1874 died Hampstead, London, 31 August 1962) was an English artist who specialised in portraits, large canvases of historical and ceremonial events, stained glass and book illustration. In his heyday he made a fortune on both sides of the Atlantic and was known as Britains Painter Laureate. His art was steadfastly conservative and he was a vitriolic critic of Modern Art particularly of his contemporaries Picasso, Chagall and Mondrian. His father, Henry Salisbury, described himself as a plumber, decorator and ironmonger (his mother was Susan Hawes), yet his son Frank would become one of the greatest society artists of his generation |