James William Whittaker (1828,

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 ...

- 6 September 1876,

Betws-y-Coed Betws-y-coed (; '' en, prayer house in the wood'') is a village and community in the Conwy valley in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located in the historic county of Caernarfonshire, right on the boundary with Denbighshire, in the Gwydir Forest. ...

) was a British

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

painter, best known for his landscapes of

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

Life

He was born in a family of a

warehouseman A warehouseman can be someone who works in a warehouse, usually delivering goods for sale or storage, or, in older usage, someone who owns a warehouse and sells goods directly from it or from a shop fronting onto the warehouse (similar to a modern ...

and began his artistic career as an apprentice to Manchester engraver Joseph Heyes, soon turning to painting. In 1858 he moved to

Llanrwst Llanrwst ('church or parish of Saint Grwst'; ) is a market town and community on the A470 road and the River Conwy, in Conwy County Borough, Wales, and the historic county of Denbighshire. It developed round the wool trade and became known als ...

, where he would paint local landscapes in watercolours. With the possible exception of a trip to Switzerland and Italy in about 1864 and a Northern journey in the late 1860s, he remained in North Wales for the rest of his life. Upon meeting Francis William Topham in Wales, Whittaker was encouraged to join the

Society of Painters in Watercolours The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wat ...

, becoming an associate in 1862, and a member in 1864. He died in 1876 by drowning in

River Llugwy River Llugwy (Welsh: ''Afon Llugwy'') is a tributary of the River Conwy, and has its source at Ffynnon Llugwy, a lake in the Carneddau range of mountains in Snowdonia in north-west Wales. Location and catchment area The average annual rai ...

, where he fell trying to collect his painting gear. Whittaker was married to Sarah nee Heyes (daughter of Joseph Heyes), widowing her and leaving 4 children who outlived him.

Gallery

A scottish highland scene.jpg Birds in flight Whittaker.jpg Harvesters and children crossing the bridge.jpg James-william-whitaker-cart-crossing-river.jpg James-william-whittaker-by-the-bridge.jpg On the Lleedwr.jpg River and trees in landscape.jpg River landscape.jpg Sunrise over a rural landscape.jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittaker, James William 1828 births 1876 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters English engravers English watercolourists 19th-century English male artists Artists from Manchester