Joseph William Allen (1803 – 29 August 1852) was an English

landscape painter 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 ...

and art teacher, who was also active in the founding of the

Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

Life and work

Allen was born in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

, London, the son of a schoolmaster, and attended St Paul's School. Later, he worked for a time as an usher at a school in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. Discovering a talent for art, he returned to London, determined to become a painter. He initially found employment as an assistant to an art dealer, under whom he acquired a considerable knowledge of the old masters, and the monetary value of their works. He then became a (theatre) scene painter, in association with Charles Tomkins and

Clarkson Stanfield Clarkson Frederick Stanfield (3 December 179318 May 1867) was a prominent English painter (often inaccurately credited as William Clarkson Stanfield) who was best known for his large-scale paintings of dramatic marine subjects and landscapes. ...

, and painted most of the scenery during Lucia Vestris's first tenure of the

Olympic Theatre The Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th-century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout m ...

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

. His natural talent, however, was for painting pastoral landscapes, and his work soon attracted admirers and purchasers. ''The Vale of Clwyd'', exhibited in 1847, created a considerable sensation, and was purchased by an Art Union prizeholder for three hundred

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

- Allen repeated it twice in smaller dimensions, for other purchasers. His ''Leith Hill'' (1848), was almost equally successful. His subjects consisted chiefly of views in North

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, Cheshire,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, and the midland counties. His first paintings were

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 ...

but later he switched to

oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

. Eleven of his pictures were exhibited at the

Royal Academy of Arts 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 purpo ...

. Allen was active in the establishment of the

and became its secretary, his loyalty to the newly formed organisation shown by the fact that he refused to exhibit anywhere else in London apart from its Gallery in Suffolk Street. There is little doubt that his presence heightened the reputation of the society for landscape painting. He was also professor of drawing at the

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , speciali ...

, from its opening in 1834. Allen died in 1852. His pupils included

Edward John Cobbett Edward John Cobbett (1815–1899) was an English watercolour and oil painter. Background Cobbett was born in Marylebone, London, in 1815. He was a member of the Savage Club in his younger days, "when Bohemianism and exclusiveness were the p ...

. Three of his paintings were bought for the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

by Prince Albert, and on his death, his wife and children being left in poverty,

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 ...

and Prince Albert contributed £25 towards their support. One of his paintings, of Bath from Lyncombe Hill, hangs in the

Building of Bath Collection The Museum of Bath Architecture (formerly known as the Building of Bath Museum and the Building of Bath Collection) in Bath, Somerset, England, occupies the Countess of Huntingdon's Chapel, where it provides exhibits that explain the building ...

. Two of his

watercolours 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 ...

are in the

Faringdon Collection Faringdon is a historic market town in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, south-west of Oxford, north-west of Wantage and east-north-east of Swindon. It extends to the River Thames in the north; the highest ground is on the Ridg ...

(London), part of the

Buscot Park Buscot Park is a country house at Buscot near the town of Faringdon in Oxfordshire within the historic boundaries of Berkshire. It is a Grade II* listed building. It was built in an austere neoclassical style between 1780 and 1783 for Edward ...

collection. Others of his works are held by the

Victoria and 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 ...

, the

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

, and the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

References

External links

J W Allan on ArtnetA landscape
(oil on canvas -

tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

, London)
View of Dunkeld, on the River Tay, Perthshire
(Oil on Canvas, 1840 -

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

)
Italian landscape
(Oil on canvas, 1839 - V&A) {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Joseph William 1803 births 1852 deaths British art teachers 19th-century English painters English male painters English landscape painters English watercolourists People educated at St Paul's School, London People from Lambeth Members of the Royal Society of British Artists 19th-century English male artists