Arthur Gilbert (19 December 1819 – 21 April 1895) was an English landscape painter during the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
, and a member of the
Williams family of painters
The Williams family of painters, also known as the Barnes School, is a family of prominent 19th-century Victorian landscape artists known for their paintings of the British countryside, coasts and mountains. They are represented by the artist Edw ...
.
Biography
Arthur Gilbert was born Arthur Gilbert Frederick Williams on 19 December 1819 at Newington Butts Road in South East London. He was the fourth son of the painter
Edward Williams (1781–1855) and Ann Hildebrandt (c.1780–1851), and a member of the
Williams family of painters
The Williams family of painters, also known as the Barnes School, is a family of prominent 19th-century Victorian landscape artists known for their paintings of the British countryside, coasts and mountains. They are represented by the artist Edw ...
, who were related to such famous artists as
James Ward, R.A. and
George Morland
George Morland (26 June 176329 October 1804) was an English painter. His early work was influenced by Francis Wheatley, but after the 1790s he came into his own style. His best compositions focus on rustic scenes: farms and hunting; smugglers a ...
. His father was a well-known landscape artist, who taught him how to paint; otherwise he received no formal instruction.
He married Elizabeth Jane Williams, daughter of John Williams, on 23 January 1843 in
St Martin in the Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...
. From all accounts Arthur had a gentle disposition and was a most devoted husband and father. In 1848 he lost his first wife, Elizabeth, due to
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
. He was left with their daughter, Kate, who had been born five years prior. He then married his second wife, Sarah Godfrey, the daughter of John Godfrey, a clerk, on 28 June 1854, at the Parish Church in
Barnes
Barnes may refer to:
People
* Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name)
Places
United Kingdom
*Barnes, London, England
**Barnes railway station
** Barnes Bridge railway station
** Barnes Railway Bri ...
. Their son Horace was born the following year. Both of his children displayed artistic talent and later painted and exhibited.
[; and]
Arthur Gilbert had addresses in
Weybridge
Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...
and
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
...
, but spent most of his years at Lonsdale Terrace in Barnes, close to his father and brothers. He moved to Redhill in 1873 and then to ''De Tillens'' in
Limpsfield
Limpsfield is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs close to Oxted railway station and the A25. ,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
. This was his home for many years, to well after the marriage of his son, who produced some fine watercolours of the place. He died 21 April 1895 in
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
, Surrey.
Marriages and children
Arthur Gilbert had two wives. He married his first wife Elizabeth Jane Williams (1820–1849) on 23 January 1843 at St. Martin in the Fields, London. After Elizabeth's 1849 death from tuberculosis, he married his second wife Sarah Ann Godfrey (1830–1898) on 28 June 1854 St. Andrew Holburn, London. He had one child born to each of his wives.
#
Kate Elizabeth Ellen Gilbert Williams (1843–1916), born 17 December 1843 in London; and died 15 April 1916 in Sutton, Surrey.
#
Horace Walter Gilbert
Horace Walter Gilbert (1855-1928) was an English landscape painter during the Victorian era, and a member of the Williams family of painters.
He was born Horace Walter Gilbert-Williams on 6 April 1855 in the Kensington district of London, being ...
(1855–1928), born 6 April 1855 in the Kensington district of London; and died in 1928 in the Prescot district of Lancashire.
Both of his children were artists for at least part of their careers.
The Williams Family
Arthur Gilbert was born into an artist family that is sometimes referred to as the
Barnes School
Barnes School, Deolali, is a boarding school in west India. It was established in 1925, on the basis of a 1718 original foundation.
It is a private co-educational prep school. It is an Anglican school, founded in 1925, under the auspices o ...
. His father and five surviving brothers (listed below) were all noted Victorian landscape painters. He was one of three of the sons of Edward Williams who changed their last names to protect the identity of their art.
*
Edward Williams (father)
*
Edward Charles Williams
Edward Charles Williams (10 July 1807 – 25 July 1881) was an English landscape painter during the Victorian Era, and a member of the Williams family of painters.
Early life, family and education
Edward Charles Williams was born in Lond ...
*
Henry John Boddington
Henry John Boddington (1811 – 11 April 1865) was an English landscape painter during the Victorian era, and a member of the Williams family of painters.
Biography
Henry John Boddington was born Henry John Williams on 14 October 1811 in L ...
*
George Augustus Williams
George Augustus Williams (4 May 1814 – 26 May 1901) was an English landscape painter during the Victorian era, and a member of the Williams family of painters.
Biography
George Augustus Williams was born on 4 May 1814 in London. He was the t ...
*
Sidney Richard Percy
Sidney Richard Percy (22 March 1822 – 13 April 1886) was an English landscape painter during the Victorian era, and a member of the Williams family of painters.
Biography Life and career
Sidney Richard Percy was born Sidney Richard Percy Wi ...
*
Alfred Walter Williams
Alfred Walter Williams (18 July 1824 – 16 December 1905) was an English landscape painter during the Victorian era, and a member of the Williams family of painters.
Biography
Alfred Walter Williams was born on 18 July 1824 in Southwark, Lo ...
Art
Arthur Gilbert became known for painting moonlight and night scenes, as well as stark mountains landscapes, many of which were exhibited in London.
He painted also two large pictures of
Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
for the "atelier
Jacques-Paul Migne
Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a ...
" that are part of the
triptych
A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...
of the choir in the gothic church of
Audresselles
Audresselles (; nl, Oderzele; pcd, Auderselle) is a commune south of Cape Gris Nez in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.
The commune covers about of cultivated lands, two beaches, and seashore cliffs. In the 12th century it was k ...
, sea-side village in France (
Pas-de-Calais
Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...
).
Notes
References
*
External links
*Paintings by Arthur Gilbert in British Museums o
Art UK*Paintings by Arthur Gilbert o
Wikigallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Arthur
1819 births
1895 deaths
19th-century English painters
English male painters
Landscape artists
19th-century English male artists