George Wallis (1811–1891) was an artist, museum curator and art educator. He was the first Keeper of Fine Art Collection at South Kensington Museum (later the
Victoria & Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
) in London.
Early years
George Wallis, son of John Wallis (1783–1818) and his wife Mary, née Price (1784–1864), was born at
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...
on 8 June 1811. His father died early, and George Wallis was adopted by his grand-uncle, John Worralow, who was a famous maker of steel-jewellery at the time of George III. George Wallis was educated at the Grammar School from 1825 to 1827 and received initial training in japanned ware painting. He practised as an artist and art educator in Wolverhampton from 1827 to 1832, but then left for
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
where he lived the next five years. He taught sisters
Martha Darley Mutrie
Martha Darley Mutrie (26 August 1824 – 30 December 1885) was a British painter. Her paintings consisted mostly of fruit and flowers. She grew up in Manchester, England, and studied at the Manchester School of Design. Mutrie's works were s ...
and
Annie Feray Mutrie
Annie Feray Mutrie (6 March 1826 – 28 September 1893) was a British still-life painter. She exhibited regularly and she and her sister Martha were considered the best flower painters in oils.
Life
Mutrie was born in Ardwick in 1826. She was th ...
at the
Manchester School of Design and he later gave them both private classes.
He attended the Royal Manchester Institution; practised painting; became connected with the local Manchester industry, and it was then and there that he met the great engineer
Joseph Whitworth
Sir Joseph Whitworth, 1st Baronet (21 December 1803 – 22 January 1887) was an English engineer, entrepreneur, inventor and philanthropist. In 1841, he devised the British Standard Whitworth system, which created an accepted standard for scr ...
(1803–1887) who became his lifelong friend.
In 1837, he returned to Wolverhampton and worked for local japanners Ryton and Walton painting the centres of the tea trays. He designed the shape of a tray which was named "Victoria" after the young queen and became very popular.
In 1841, Wallis moved to London to join the School of Design at
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...
where he
won one of the six scholarships offered by the Board of Trade.
Art education
From 1843, he served as Headmaster in several Schools of Design organised by the Government.
The Spitalfields School of Design
In 1843 he was Headmaster of the Spitalfields School of Design. He left it after less than one year.
The Manchester School of Design
Wallis was Headmaster of
Manchester School of Design in 1844–1846.
In two years from the time of Mr. Wallis taking the charge, the funds of the school were flourishing; the interest taken in it by the public was great, and nearly half the Institution was occupied by the pupils, while the applications for admission were more numerous than could be accommodated. Under this management the public, who care little for abstract art, were taught the close connexion between the instruction of the School of Design and their private pursuits.
Among his students were Welsh artist
Clarence Whaite who became a lifelong friend, and
William Muckley
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...
.
In 1845, Wallis organised at the Manchester Royal Institution the Industrial Art Exhibition which included items made of textile, ceramics, carved wood, leather and papier-mache. In the same year he delivered the first systematic course of lectures on the principles of decorative art, illustrated with drawings on the blackboard. These lectures led Lord Clarendon, then President of the Board of Trade, to ask Wallis to draw up a chart of artistic and scientific instruction as applied to industrial art. This chart was recognised as the basis of for industrial art education in Britain in the late 19th century.
He resigned from the Manchester School of Design in 1846, as he could not agree with proposed changes in the educational programme.
Birmingham School of Design
From 1852–1857, George Wallis was the Headmaster of the
Birmingham School of Design, where one of his students was
Bernard Walter Evans
Bernard Walter Evans (26 December 1843 – 26 February 1922) was a British landscape painter and watercolourist in the Romantic style, working mainly in Birmingham, Wales, London, Cannes and the North Riding of Yorkshire. Because he used a "h ...
.
In 1853 he was also the head of the only school of rifle design in Britain and as an acknowledged expert in the matter of small arms, he was appointed to a Royal Commission ostensibly to attend the Exhibition of Industry in the City of New York but particularly ‘to compare side by side the military weapons of the two countries’ along with his friend Joseph Whitworth. In 1855, he organised in Birmingham an Exhibition of Works of Industrial Art as an experiment in the circulation of artworks from central depositories around regional museums.
The Great Exhibitions
George Wallis was appointed a deputy commissioner for the
Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...
of 1851, and he successfully acted for several manufacturing districts and the whole of Ireland. During the period of the Exhibition he was Superintendent of the British textile division, and a deputy commissioner of juries.
Later he also was actively involved in preparation and overseeing of different international exhibitions: in 1853 he was one of the six commissioners sent by the government to the 1853 New York International Exhibition, with additional duties to analyse the development of art and manufactures in America. Wallis reported that his 5,000 miles long tour embraced ''"the States of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Eastern Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio."''
[New York Industrial Exhibition. Special report of Mr George Wallis. Presented to the House of Commons by Command of Her Majesty, in Pursuance of Their Address of 6 February 1854. In:Rosenberg, Nathan. The American System of Manufactures. Edinburgh, 1969. P.206.] From his report and that of
Sir Joseph Whitworth
Sir Joseph Whitworth, 1st Baronet (21 December 1803 – 22 January 1887) was an English engineer, entrepreneur, inventor and philanthropist. In 1841, he devised the British Standard Whitworth system, which created an accepted standard for scre ...
on machinery was compiled 'The Industry of the United States' (1854).
In 1855, he was appointed Special Superintendent of British and Colonial manufactures which were displayed at the International 1855 Exhibition in Paris. He was then actively engaged in the British section of the Paris Universal Exhibitions of 1862 and 1867. In the collection of
Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Wolverhampton Art Gallery is located in the City of Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands, United Kingdom. The building was funded and constructed by local contractor Philip Horsman (1825–1890), and built on land provided by the municipal auth ...
, there is a number of medals awarded to him by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
,
Prince Albert, and
Louis-Napoleon
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
of France.
In 1869, he initiated the similar 'South Staffordshire Industrial and Fine Arts Exhibition' which was held at Wolverhampton.
At The South Kensington Museum
In 1858 George Wallis joined the
South Kensington Museum
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
as Senior Keeper of the Art collection, a post which he kept for three decades and left just prior to his death. He actively fostered the system of circulating works of art, wrote in all the leading art periodicals, and was one of the earliest contributors to the 'Art Journal,' besides delivering a vast number of lectures on design and kindred subjects.
On 7 March 1878 he was elected a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries of London
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...
(FSA).
Artworks
Although George Wallis abandoned early an idea of a professional artistic career, he continued practising drawing, painting and etching as a hobby. In the collections of
Victoria & Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
,
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local ...
,
Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Wolverhampton Art Gallery is located in the City of Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands, United Kingdom. The building was funded and constructed by local contractor Philip Horsman (1825–1890), and built on land provided by the municipal auth ...
,
Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery, there are a number of Wallis' artworks.
Family
George Wallis married Matilda Condell (1818–1888) in 1842. Two of their children died in infancy. After obtaining the post of Keeper at the South Kensington Museum, the Wallises settled down permanently at 4, The Residences, South Kensington, where four surviving children – George Harry (1847–1936), Jane Kate (1849–1934), Whitworth (1855–1927) and Rosa (1857-c.1939) – were brought up. George Harry and Whitworth were given a good education and trained by their father at the South Kensington Museum. George Harry became the first Director of the Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery (open in 1878).
Whitworth Wallis
Whitworth Wallis (23 June 1855 – 16 January 1927) was the first director of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (opened in 1885). He was knighted in 1912.
Early years
Whitworth Wallis was born in Handsworth, Birmingham, and was educated priv ...
was the First Director of the
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local h ...
(open in 1883). He was knighted in 1912.
Rosa Wallis was trained at Manchester Royal College of Art and in Berlin. She became a well-established painter of flowers and landscapes, an etcher and enameller. She travelled widely around Britain and Europe, visiting Italy, France and Austria. Between 1880 and 1930, she had at least six personal shows, exhibiting about 300 artworks.
George Wallis died at 21 St. George's Road, Wimbledon, Surrey, on 24 October 1891, and was buried in
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
on 28 October. A number of his memorabilia and artworks were given by his children to museums associated with him: the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, the Wolverhampton Art Gallery and the Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery. An exhibition in memory of George Wallis was organised at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery in 1919.
Gallery
File:George Wallis.Tray Victoria shape.jpg, Japanned tray of 'Victoria' shape. 1850s
File:George Wallis Fall of Napoleon.jpg, G Wallis. Fall of Napoleon. 1836
File:George Wallis. Niagara Falls.jpg, George Wallis, ''The Niagara Falls'' (1855).
File:George Wallis. Ilfracombe.jpg, George Wallis. Ilfracombe. Etching
File:Family grave of George Wallis in Highgate Cemetery.jpg, Family grave of George Wallis in Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
Selected publications
*‘On the Cultivation of a Popular Taste in the Fine Arts,’ 1839.
*Introductory Address, delivered 15 January 1844, to the Students of the Manchester School of Design, Manchester, 1844.
*The Study of the History, Principles and Practice of Ornamental Art: an address delivered 20 January 1845, to the Students of the Manchester School of Design, Manchester, 1845.
*A Letter to the Council of the Manchester School of Design on the System of Teaching pursued in that School, London, 1845.
*A Farewell Letter to the Council, Subscribers, Friends and Students of the Manchester School of Design: containing a full exposition of the Circumstances Leading to his Resignation, London & Manchester, 1846.
*Art, Science and Manufacture as a Unity, an essay in four chapters: what we have been doing, what we are doing, what we ought to do, what we can do, The Art Journal, 1 October and 1 November 1851.
*(with Sir Joseph Whitworth) The Industry of the United States in Machinery, Manufactures and Useful and Applied Arts, compiled from the Official Reports of Messrs Whitworth and Wallis, London, 1854.
*Report on the Re-Organisation of the Government School of Art, Birmingham, in the Years 1852, 1853 and 1854, London, 1854.
*Schools of Art in Relation to Trade and Manufactures, Birmingham, 1855.
*Recent Progress in Design as Applied to Manufacture, Journal of the Society of Arts, Vol. 4, 14 March 1856.
*Schools of Art: their Constitution and Management, comprising a Statement of the Present Position and Working of the Birmingham Central and Branch Schools, London, 1857 (a print of a paper delivered to the National Association for the Promotion of Science at Birmingham).
*Catalogue of the Exhibition of Works of Art-Manufacture designed or executed by Students of the Schools of Art, London, 1858.
*On Embroidery by Machinery, Journal of the Society of Arts, 8 April 1859.
*Address and Introductory Instructions to William Wallis's Drawing Book, Elementary Series, London, 1859.
*Fifty Diagrams to Illustrate the Delineation of Form, adapted to the Author's Lessons on the same Subject: with a preface containing Hints to Teachers on the Early Education of the Hand and Eye, London,
d
*Diagrams and Instructions to the Used in the Collective Teaching of Elementary Linear Drawing, London,
d
*The Art-Manufactures of Birmingham and Midland Counties in the International Exhibition of 1862, Birmingham, 1862 (re-printed from the Midland Counties Herald).
*The New Art of Auto-Typography, Journal of the Society of Arts, 17 April 1863. Reprint 1868.
*The Royal House of Tudor: a Series of Biographical Sketches, illustrated with a Series of Portraits executed from Authentic Contemporary Works, reduced from Photographs taken from the original, London, 1866.
*Technical Education: a Letter, Birmingham, 1868.
*Special Report on the Local Manufactures of South Staffordshire and East Worcestershire as represented in the South Staffordshire Exhibition held at Wolverhampton, 1869, London/Wolverhampton?,
869
*The Art Journal Catalogue of the International Exhibition of 1871, Art Journal, 1871.
*The Art Journal Catalogue of the International Exhibition of 1872, Art Journal, 1872.
*Language by Touch: a Narrative Illustrating the Instruction of the Blind and Deaf Mute, London,
873
__NOTOC__
Year 873 ( DCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Europe
* Carloman, son of King Charles the Bald, is hauled before a secular court an ...
*Swedenborg and Modern Culture, London, 1875.
*Decorative Art in Britain: Past, Present and Future, G. Falkner, Manchester, 1877.
*Jewellery, article in:
George P. Bevan, ed., ''
British Manufacturing Industries series
George Phillips Bevan (1829 – 1889) FSS FGS was a Welsh statistician, geographer and author, and the brother of William Latham Bevan.
His father was William Hibbs Bevan (1788-1846), who was high sheriff for Breconshire in 1841, and his brother ...
'' 1878.
*Original Designs for Art Manufacture, The Art Journal, 1880.
*British Art, Pictorial, Decorative and Industrial: a Fifty Years' Retrospect, 1832 to 1852, Chapman and Hall, London and Thomas Forman, Nottingham, 1882. (A paper read before the Arts Society, Nottingham Castle, on Tuesday, 31 October 1882).
*
ditorComparative Anatomy as Applied to the Purposes of the Artist, London, 1883.
*Introduction to A Catalogue of Manufactures, Decorations and Designs, the Work of Students of the Schools of Art in Great Britain and Ireland, in connection with the Science and Arts Museums of South Kensington, W. Clowes, London, 1884.
Literature
*
G. James Daichendt (2011). The 19th Century Artist-Teacher: A Case Study of George Wallis and the Creation of a New Identity, International Journal of Art and Design Education, 30(1), pp. 71–80.
*
G. James Daichendt (2009). George Wallis: The original artist-teacher. Teaching Artist Journal, 7(4), pp 219–226.
*
G. James Daichendt (2009). Artist-Teacher George Wallis: Redefining the Concept Through History. Unpublished Ed.D. Dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University.
*Frank Sharman. George Wallis: A Pioneer of Industrial Ar
*Olga Baird. The Knights of Museums: The Wallis family and their memorabilia in the collection of Wolverhampton Art Gallery. /Birmingham Historian. Issue 32, 2008.
*George Wallis, FSA (1811–91). Keeper of the Art Collection
*
G. James Daichendt. Artist-Teacher: A Philosophy for Creating and Teaching. Bristol, UK: Intellect Books. 2010
References
External links
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallis, George
1811 births
1891 deaths
Burials at Highgate Cemetery
19th-century English painters
English male painters
British art teachers
English curators
People from Wolverhampton
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
People associated with the Victoria and Albert Museum
People from South Kensington
19th-century English male artists