Francis Arthur Fraser was a prolific figure in the Victorian publishing world, celebrated mainly for his work as an illustrator during the golden age of wood-engraved printing. Although a regular exhibitor of oil paintings and watercolours, it was through this form of illustration that he became a widely recognised name in the late nineteenth century. He was the eldest brother of Robert Winchester Fraser, Garden William Fraser, George Gordon Fraser, Arthur Anderson Fraser, Gilbert Braid Fraser, Robert James Winchester Fraser and Francis George Gordon Fraser – who went on to establishing successful artistic careers as painters. Together they formed the Fraser Family, widely remembered for their striking landscape watercolours of the wide, flat Fenlands.
Born on the island of Vido, Corfu, on 13 July 1846, Francis Arthur Fraser returned to England in his youth and was educated at Bedford Grammar School between 1861-63, before moving to London in 1864. There, he entered the successful world of illustrated journalism, benefitting from a dramatic increase in literacy, the expansion of magazine publishing, and technical advances in print reproduction.
His first published drawings appeared in Once a Week in 1867, and were soon followed by a constant stream of commissions for The Sunday Magazine, St Paul’s Magazine, and most notably Good Words, for which he contributed nearly 200 illustrations between 1869 and 1871.
From 1870 onwards, he was a regular and familiar presence in the satirical magazine Fun, producing weekly cartoons and humorous sketches that reflected Victorian society with a dry, observational wit. His style remained consistent across all formats—elegant, fluid and well-adapted to narrative—and his work became a staple of the mid-century illustrated press. Fraser reached his peak as an illustrator in 1885 when he was working for 8 different publications.
Fraser’s drawings were predominantly engraved by the Dalziel Brothers, one of the most substantial London wood engraving companies in Victorian visual culture who collaborated with many of the leading artists of the day. He also worked with Joseph Swain, whose strong craftsmanship brought greater depth to the final prints.
Though best known as an illustrator, Fraser maintained a steady and active career as a painter. He exhibited fifteen works at the Royal Scottish Academy (1866–1879), eleven at the Society of British Artists (1867–1883), and further paintings at the Royal Academy, Dudley Gallery and Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. His oils reflect the tastes of Victorian narrative painting, while his landscapes in watercolour are more conventional in tone and composition.
Fraser signed his work using several variants, including his full name, the initials ‘F A F’, and very rarely a distinctive monogram in the form of two mirrored Fs joined to form an A.
In 1876, he married Charlotte Susan Downie of Boweshill, Blantyre, and settled in Barnes, Surrey. Later years were spent in Shere in Surry and Walmer Kent. He died of cirrhosis of the liver on 7 November 1924.
Bibliography:
Charles Lane, The Fraser Family, 2010, London: Chris Beetles Ltd.
