Pastoral Scene near Cairo, Evening

Frederick Goodall was the son of the celebrated steel line engraver Edward Goodall. He was educated at Wellington Road Academy, London. Charles Dickens had been a former student there.

The Goodall household had many visits from artists and writers of the period. These included John Ruskin, Turner, David Roberts, Augustus Pugin, Clarkson Stanfield and Charles Dickens. They encouraged Frederick and his brother to take up art.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel met with Frederick Goodall by chance and gave him his first commission. He was asked to produce watercolours of tunnel works for Brunel. Four of these were exhibited when he was 16 at the Royal Academy.

Between 1838 and 1859, he exhibited 27 times at the Royal Academy and was successful in finding numerous patrons and purchasers.

In 1858, Goodall went to Egypt for the first time with friends. A turning point in his career, Egypt became the main subject of his paintings. During this time there was a growing interest in the Eastern world by both artists and writers from the West. Other artists such as Holman Hunt, J.F Lewis and Edward Lear spent time in Cairo producing ‘Orientalist’ works.

In 1858 Goodall returned to Egypt with Carl Hagg, drawing master to Queen Victoria. They painted marketplaces and rode out into the desert sketching. At the end of the seven months Goodall sent 130 works back to England.

Goodall’s works were very popular, earning huge sums of money; he painted many large Orientalist works over the next ten years and was granted full membership of the Royal Academy in 1863. He returned to Egypt in 1870 and accompanied the Bedouin on their travels, recording their customs and life in the desert.