Charles Haslewood Shannon was an English artist. He became best known for his portraits, which can be found in several major European collections, including the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Shannon was born in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of the Rev. Frederick William Shannon, Rector of Quarrington, and Catherine Emma Manthorp, the daughter of a surgeon, Daniel Levett Manthorp.
Shannon was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead where he played cricket in the first XI. He later attended the City and Guilds of London Art School (then known as South London School of Technical Art, formerly Lambeth School of Art) and was subsequently much influenced by a lifetime partner, Charles Ricketts and by the example of the great Venetians. In his early work he was addicted to a heavy, low tone, which he abandoned subsequently for clearer and more transparent colour. He achieved much success with his portraits and his Giorgionesque figure compositions, which are marked by a classic sense of style, and with his etchings and lithographic designs.
Shannon became disabled in 1928 after a fall while hanging a picture, and the neurological damage that resulted caused amnesia and ended his career.
