Charles Lidderdale was a 19th century British painter who specialized in portraits and figures of young women, usually set against bucolic backgrounds, often presented in colorful costumes of gypsies or Spanish dress.
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia to English parents, Lidderdale moved back to England with his family as an adolescent. He studied and then successfully exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Some of his portrayals of young women seem oddly stylized, with preternaturally large eyes (not exactly a proto-Margaret Keane, just a little too big). Most, however were more naturalistic, and many have a delicate sensitivity to their subjects and a pleasing simplicity of composition.
