Augustus Leopold Egg (1847-1917) was a member of the group known as The Clique. His most famous work is the modern triptych Past and Present, which depicts the dissolution of a middle-class Victorian family. Despite his avant-garde style, he is best known for his portraits of prominent Victorian figures.
Despite his successful career, his work was not appreciated by the public. The artist was a self-made man and a true genius. He spent much of his life traveling and exhibiting his works. He even founded a sketching club, The Clique, in 1835. He was an exceptional artist and won the Royal Academy's Prize in 1838 for A Spanish Girl. His later years were spent living in continental Europe, where he travelled a great deal. He is best known for the painting The Travelling Companions, which depicts two near-identical young women. It has been interpreted as a double portrait of the same person.
The works of Augustus Leopold Egg were influenced by the ideas of Charles Dickens. His early life was spent in the Royal Academy Schools and he became a member of The Clique. He was also an admirer of the Pre-Raphaelites and an early patron of Holman Hunt. After leaving the Royal Academy, the artist opted to live in the warm climates of the Mediterranean and Southern Europe. He was buried in a new cemetery in Algiers.
