(b Birkenhead, 28 Dec. 1860; d London, 21 Mar. 1942). English painter, son of a portrait painter Philip Steer (1810–71). With Sickert (his friend and exact contemporary), Steer was the leader among the progressive British artists of his generation who looked to France for inspiration. He trained in Paris 1882–4 (revisiting France four times between 1887 and 1891), and was a founder member of the New English Art Club in 1886. In 1892 the Anglo-Irish novelist George Moore wrote, ‘it is admitted that Mr Steer takes a foremost place in what is known as the modern movement’ and around this time Steer was indeed at his peak, producing the beach scenes and seascapes that are regarded not only as his best works but also as the finest Impressionist pictures painted by an Englishman.

Text source: The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford University Press)


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