author
Walter Goodman
1838–1912
An English painter, illustrator, and writer, he brought an artist’s eye to both fiction and travel writing. He is especially remembered for his lively book about Cuba, written after several years in the Caribbean.
1 Audiobook
The Pearl of the Antilles, or An Artist in Cuba
by Walter Goodman
About the author
Walter Goodman was an English painter, illustrator, and author born in London on May 11, 1838, and he died there on August 20, 1912. He came from an artistic family: his mother, Julia Salaman Goodman, was a portrait painter, and he trained as an artist from a young age.
Alongside his painting career, he wrote books that drew on his own experiences. His best-known title is The Pearl of the Antilles; or, An Artist in Cuba (1873), based on time he spent in Cuba in the 1860s. That mix of visual observation and first-hand travel made his writing especially vivid.
Goodman also exhibited and worked steadily as an illustrator and portrait painter. Today he is remembered as a versatile Victorian creative figure whose work moved easily between the studio, the printed page, and the wider world.