Charles Mayes Wigg, born at

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 13 January 1889 and died at

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

on 2 March 1969, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

artist.

Biography

The eldest son of Mayes Wigg, a bank manager, and Agnes Wigg (formerly Sudbury), he grew up at Watton and Cromer in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...

. In 1911, he arrived at the

Norwich School of Art Norwich University of the Arts (NUA) is a public university in Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom that specialises in art, design and media. It was founded as Norwich School of Design in 1845 and has a long history of arts education. It gained ful ...

and later studied with Frank Spenlove-Spenlove at his Yellow Door School of Art in Beckenham,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Wigg served with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and saw active service at Gaza. In 1916, he was invalided out of the army with severe leg injuries, and was left with a disability for the rest of his life. Returning to his career as an artist and illustrator, he subsequently found life afloat easier than life on land and for many years lived and painted in a house- boat on the Norfolk Broads. He also had studios at The Thatched House, Brundall, his parents' home, and at Rose Cottage,

Barton Turf Barton Turf is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is 20 km north-east of the city of Norwich, on the northwestern edge of Barton Broad, the second largest of the Norfolk Broads. In primary local government the ...

. In 1952, Wigg married his mother's nurse, but this was disastrous for his artistic career. His new wife prevented him from painting, breaking his brushes and burning his paintings. Later, he tried to take up his work again but failed to achieve what he wanted. He died at St Mary's Hospital,

, on 2 March 1969, leaving an estate of £47,510. At the time of his death, he was living at East Hoathly, Sussex.Wigg Wills - C
at ancestry.com, retrieved 18 November 2008

Works

Wigg was a

landscape artist Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composi ...

working mostly in watercolours and as an etcher, with only occasional paintings in oils. The Norfolk coast and scenery of the Broads gave him the subjects for his work, and his etchings were mostly of boats. He exhibited regularly at the Norwich Art Circle between 1909 and 1936, at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

in 1915 and also with the British Water-colour Society.

References

External links

Charles Mayes Wigg on Artnet

Charles Mayes Wigg at Artprice.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wigg, Charles Mayes 1889 births 1969 deaths Alumni of Norwich University of the Arts Artists from Nottingham British Army personnel of World War I English artists People educated at Gresham's School People from Cromer People from East Hoathly People from Watton, Norfolk