Updated November 2026 · ranked by our popularity score (searches, visits and orders for each work) · 215 works by Frederick Goodall in our catalogue
In short
Hunt the Slipper (1860) is the Frederick Goodall painting that draws the most eyes; the original belongs to the Sheffield City Art Galleries, Sheffield. After it, the eye goes to The Holy Well (1843) and The Village Holiday (1847). Among the 215 works of Frederick Goodall in our catalog, these 100 are the most famous, each a unique original presented with its year, its museum and the reason it endures.
The painting Hunt the Slipper by Frederick Goodall captures a moment of communal movement. Created in 1860, this work presents a landscape format that stretches the viewer's gaze across a rural scene. It is an oil on panel, a medium that holds the light of a mid-nineteenth-century afternoon within its grain.
The Holy Well is an oil painting by the English painter Frederick Goodall. Created about 1843, this work depicts a group of figures gathered around a stone well situated within a wooded, rustic setting. The scene includes a stone cross and the remains of an archway in the background, establishing a setting defined by religious and historical elements.
The Village Holiday by Frederick Goodall captures a lively moment of communal celebration. This 1847 oil painting presents a genre scene where the rhythms of rural life take center stage. Within the frame, traditional festivities unfold in an English village, looking back to a time of simple, shared joy. The atmosphere feels thick with the energy of a community gathered together, momentarily stepping away from the toil of daily existence…
In Market People of Brittany in a Boat, Frederick Goodall centers the composition around a wooden boat that occupies most of the frame's central area. This vessel is filled with various people and goods. To the left of the boat, a shoreline featuring reeds and vegetation is visible. On the right side, a distant bank or coastline is suggested, providing a sense of scale to the water. The horizon line…
A Halt at a Brittany Well is an oil on canvas by Frederick Goodall. Painted about 1844, the work captures a quiet moment of rest in the rural landscape of Brittany, France. The scene focuses on a man, a woman, and a child pausing by an old stone well, accompanied by a horse and cart. It is a study of stillness amidst the daily rhythms of provincial life.
Mother and Children is an oil on panel work by the English artist Frederick Goodall. Executed in 1851, the painting belongs to a period in the artist's career preceding his extensive travels to Egypt. Goodall, who lived from 1822 to 1904, established himself within the London art establishment through numerous exhibitions at the Royal Academy.
An Episode in the Happier Days of Charles I is an oil on canvas history painting by the British artist Frederick Goodall. Executed in 1853, the work represents a significant contribution to the mid-Victorian interest in historical narrative and royal portraiture. The piece reflects the technical precision Goodall developed through his early training and his subsequent reputation for large-scale figure subjects.
The Heath Cart by Frederick Goodall, created about 1850, centers its composition on a wooden cart and its occupants. A donkey pulls the vehicle across a rugged, uneven landscape, establishing a focal point amidst the surrounding terrain. The figures within the cart are positioned to suggest family unity and the shared nature of their labor. This arrangement emphasizes the human element within a vast, pastoral setting.
A mother sits upon a patterned rug, her body curved around the small, pale weight of her infant. The scene is set within a room that breathes the air of the Middle East or North Africa, a space defined by soft shadows and the stillness of a private moment. Light spills from an unseen source to the left, catching the smooth curve of a baby's cheek and the gentle slope…
In High Society Couple, Frederick Goodall presents a quiet, composed scene from the height of Victorian social life. Painted about 1861, the work captures a man and woman positioned within an arched doorway, their presence framed by the architecture of a refined urban setting. They are accompanied by servants, a detail that subtly acknowledges the social hierarchies and domestic structures of the era. A small dog sits at the bottom…
Rachel1867 · National Gallery of Victoria
12
the marriage procession1870
13
A Helping Hand, Cairo1870
14
Interior of a Coffee Shop, Cairo1870
15
The Marriage Procession1870 · Touchstones Rochdale Arts And Heritage Centre
16
Getting in the Sugar Cane, River Nile1875 · Grundy Art Gallery
17
Mother and Child1875 · Petit Palais
18
The Flight into Egypt1884 · Te Whare O Rehua Sarjeant Gallery
19
Memphis1882
20
Egyptian Woman and Child1879 · Russell
21
Leading the Flock1889
22
Davids Promise to Bathsheba
23
Egyptian nomad
24
Early Morning in the Wilderness of Shur
25
La Porte du Desert
26
Puritan and Cavalier1886 · Walker Art Gallery
27
Old and Young Come Forth To Play1847
28
Leaving a Church, Brittany1840 · Wolverhampton Art Gallery
29
Gypsy Encampment1848 · Towner Gallery
30
Entering a Church, Britanny1840 · Wolverhampton Art Gallery
31
Ruins of Egypt1849
32
the swing1853
33
tired gleaners1855
34
William Edward Dighton (1822–1853) in Middle Eastern Dress1852 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
35
William Edward Dighton (1822 1853) in Middle Eastern Dress1852
36
A Letter from Papa1855
37
summer song1863
38
arab boy resting1858
39
Portrait of a Middle Eastern Girl1859
40
Felice Ballarin Reciting Tasso to the People of Chioggia1858 · Sheffield City Art Galleries
41
Highland Jessie (also known as The Campbells are Coming)1858
42
The Drinking Trough A Scene in Brittany1857
43
The Rising of the Nile1865
44
rebekah
45
Widow of Nain1874
46
the water bearers1878
47
The Distaff Worker1878 · Nottingham Castle Museum And Art Gallery
48
A New Light in the Harem - Oil on Canvas -1885
49
A View of Eton from Windsor Castle1889 · Royal Collection
50
the young arab outpost - oil on canvas -1889
51
Puritan and Cavalier1886
52
portrait1891
53
Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum1890 · National Portrait Gallery
54
Spinners and weavers1894
55
Rica his daughter1894
56
The Ploughman and the Shepherdess Time of the Evening Prayer1897
57
Female Riding Camel1893
58
Landscape Near Folkestone, Kent1900
59
Rachel
60
fruit woman
61
Thomas Cranmer At The Traitor's Gate
62
The homely meal
63
the flight into egypt
64
A woman of Cairo
65
untitled
66
a fairy scene
67
flower girls
68
jessies dream
69
miranda frederick goodall
70
an arabian dealerPetit Palais
71
a letter from papa
72
the irish piper
73
sheik distributing alms
74
the grand bazaar
75
A Dream of Paradise
76
an eygptian flower girl
77
Figures and Goats by an Oasis
78
The Song of the Nubian Slave
79
Musicians
80
Bazaar scene
81
Leaving the Village
82
Market Day
83
Femme à la cruche
84
The Light of the Rising Sun upon the Pyramids of Ghizeh
85
Irish Cabin Interior
86
Maternal Affection
87
The Irish Piper
88
The children of Charles I illustration from Hutchinsons Story of the British Nation1923
89
An Arab home1893 · Art Gallery of New South Wales
90
Trespassers
91
travellers in the desert
92
Arab travellers at sunset a town beyond
93
Scen at a well
94
Arabs in the Desert
95
driving ducks
96
At the well
97
an eastern shepherdess
98
Overflow of the Nile
99
By the Nile
100
the pipe smoker
The four subjects that come back most often in these originals, each with its finest example.
The 8 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by Frederick Goodall | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 Sheffield City Art Galleries |
Sheffield | 3 | Hunt the Slipper, The First Born, Felice Ballarin Reciting Tasso to the People of Chioggia |
 Petit Palais |
Paris | 2 | Mother and Child, an arabian dealer |
 Wolverhampton Art Gallery |
Wolverhampton | 2 | Leaving a Church, Brittany, Entering a Church, Britanny |
 National Gallery of Ireland |
Dublin City | 1 | The Holy Well |
 Fitzwilliam Museum |
1 | The Heath Cart | |
 National Gallery of Victoria |
Melbourne | 1 | Rachel |
 Touchstones Rochdale Arts And Heritage Centre |
Rochdale | 1 | The Marriage Procession |
 Grundy Art Gallery |
Blackpool | 1 | Getting in the Sugar Cane, River Nile |
Pick a decade to see the original that defines it.
The Holy Well is an oil painting by the English painter Frederick Goodall. Created about 1843, this work depicts a group of figures gathered around a stone well situated within a wooded, rustic setting. The scene includes a stone cross and the remains of an archway in the background, establishing a setting defined by religious and historical elements.
Mother and Children is an oil on panel work by the English artist Frederick Goodall. Executed in 1851, the painting belongs to a period in the artist's career preceding his extensive travels to Egypt. Goodall, who lived from 1822 to 1904, established himself within the London art establishment through numerous exhibitions at the Royal Academy.
The painting Hunt the Slipper by Frederick Goodall captures a moment of communal movement. Created in 1860, this work presents a landscape format that stretches the viewer's gaze across a rural scene. It is an oil on panel, a medium that holds the light of a mid-nineteenth-century afternoon within its grain.
In the marriage procession, Frederick Goodall presents a scene of Middle Eastern travelers and a camel caravan. The composition is vertically oriented, directing the viewer's gaze upward from the foreground figures toward distant buildings and palm trees. A group of men occupies the center, riding atop a richly decorated camel. Among them, one man prominently carries drums while another plays a pipe, establishing a sense of movement and ritual. Several…
In this work, titled The Flight into Egypt, Frederick Goodall presents a quiet moment of biblical history. Painted about 1884, the scene captures a period of profound transition. The subject matter focuses on the necessity of movement, touching upon themes of migration, refuge, and endurance as the figures navigate a landscape of uncertainty.
Hunt the Slipper (1860), Sheffield City Art Galleries, Sheffield. The Holy Well (1843) and The Village Holiday (1847) come next.
38 years old: Hunt the Slipper dates from 1860, and Frederick Goodall was born in 1822.
Hunt the Slipper, The Holy Well, The Village Holiday, Market People of Brittany in a Boat, A Halt at a Brittany Well, Mother and Children, The Happier Days of Charles I, The Heath Cart, The First Born and High Society Couple. The ranking above gives each one's year and museum.
Our catalog holds 215 works by Frederick Goodall, dated from 1840 to 1900.
Mostly in Sheffield City Art Galleries (Sheffield), Petit Palais (Paris) and Wolverhampton Art Gallery (Wolverhampton). The museum table above lists them all.
In 1850s: 13 of the 100 works on this page were made then, Mother and Children among them.
On this page, the earliest is Leaving a Church, Brittany (1840) and the latest Landscape Near Folkestone, Kent (1900).
Landscape (8), Woman (8) and Victorian art (8), across the 100 works on this page.
Oil On Canvas, for 16 of the 100 works on this page.
Hunt the Slipper, The First Born and Felice Ballarin Reciting Tasso to the People of Chioggia: the Sheffield City Art Galleries, Sheffield holds 3 of the works on this page.
London, 1822. Frederick Goodall enters a world of precise lines and technical craft as the second son of Edward Goodall, a steel line engraver. This familial connection to the mechanics of engraving provides a foundational understanding of detail. He receives his formal education at the Wellington Road Academy, a period of study that prepares him for the rigors of professional representation.
The transition from student to professional arrives with startling speed. At just sixteen years old, Goodall secures a significant commission from Isambard Brunel. The task involves documenting the construction of the Rotherhithe Tunnel through six watercolor paintings. These works do more than record engineering; they place his emerging talent on a public stage. Four of these watercolors find their way to the Royal Academy, marking his first major encounter with the institution that would define his career.
The trajectory of Goodall's career begins with a striking early success. At just sixteen years old, he produces six watercolor paintings documenting the construction of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Thames Tunnel, works that find their way into the Royal Academy in 1838. This early momentum carries into his oil paintings, where his first work in the medium earns a silver medal from the Society of Arts. He quickly establishes a presence within the London art establishment, exhibiting at the Royal Academy 27 times between 1838 and 1859.
Institutional recognition follows his growing reputation. In 1852, he is elected an Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA). This ascent continues until 1863, when he achieves the status of a full Royal Academician (RA). His influence within the Academy remains steady for decades; over a span of 46 years, he exhibits a total of 170 paintings at the institution. His output often focuses on large-scale figure subjects, ranging from historical narratives to contemporary scenes of Egyptian life.
The Egyptian theme dominates Goodall's body of work. During his first visit in 1858, he shares a house and studio in Cairo with the artist Carl Haag. They sketch together in the streets and in the outskirts of the city. This period marks a shift toward the ethnographic detail that would define his career. He does not merely observe from a distance; he camps with Bedouin tribesmen to capture the authentic textures of their lives.
In 1870, he returns to Egypt. This second trip finds him living at Saqqara, near the Pyramids. His commitment to accuracy drives him to bring sheep and goats back to England to ensure he renders the animals correctly in his paintings. He seeks the specific light and movement of the desert, moving beyond the familiar landscapes of his youth to document a culture he views with intense scrutiny.
In 1846, Goodall enters a marriage that links him to the technical traditions of engraving. He marries Anne Thomson, the daughter of the engraver James Thomson. Together, they build a household that becomes a significant hub for artistic talent. Their five children grow up in an environment defined by visual study; among them are Frederick Trevelyan and Howard Goodall, both of whom pursue careers as artists.
The stability of this family life shifts in 1869 when Anne passes away. The period of mourning is followed by a second marriage in 1872. His new wife, Alice May Tarry, is an artist herself. This union continues the pattern of domestic life being closely intertwined with the practice of painting and professional artistic circles.
The height of Goodall's social standing is marked by the construction of Grims Dyke in Harrow Weald. Built between 1870 and 1872, the house became a center for his social circle, hosting guests such as the Prince of Wales. This period represents the peak of his domestic and professional stability, a stark contrast to the financial shifts that would follow.
The later years bring a sharp decline. By 1902, the artist faced the harsh reality of bankruptcy. The prosperity that once defined his career vanished, leaving a legacy marked by both significant achievement and sudden fiscal hardship. He died on July 29, 1904. His remains lie in the family vault on the western side of Highgate Cemetery.
