Artist
Holmes was a draughtsman, painter in watercolours and oils, and etcher, mostly of landscapes. Self taught, he developed a highly personal style from studying European as well as Japanese sources like Hiroshige and Hokusai. Later, he came under the artistic influence of Ricketts, and he learned etching from William Strang. He is also known for his industrial landscapes in which industrial buildings and activities play a major part. Examples for this can be found at Samlesbury Hall for which he painted a series of views around Blackburn und Preston (exhibited at Colnaghi's, London, in 1928).
His stature as an artist was acknowledged when, in 1904 or 1905, he was admitted as a member into the New English Art Club with whom he had already exhibited from 1900. He was also six times participant at the Venice Biennale between 1912 and 1930, and became a member of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours in 1929 (associate from 1924; vice-president in 1935). He held one-man shows at the Carfax Gallery, Piccadilly, in 1909, 1911 and 1913. A memorial exhibition was held in London by the Fine Art Society in 1937.
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