Otway McCannell FRSA RBA (1883 – 1969), also known as William Otway McCannell and W. Otway Cannell, was a British painter, illustrator, writer and Principal of Farnham School of Art.

Biography

McCannell was born in the seaside resort of New Brighton in Wallasey, Cheshire, England on 26 December 1883. After attending Nelson College in New Zealand in 1895, in 1905 he won an art scholarship at the Royal College of Art in London. In the late 1920s McCannell moved to Farnham, England and was Principal of Farnham School of Art (later merged with Guildford School of Art and becoming the West Surrey College of Art and Design). His students included Geoffrey Burnand. McCannell retired in 1948. McCannell frequently exhibited 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 ...

and other European centres. He exhibited ''The Devil's Chessboard'' at the Royal Academy in 1924. He was a Fellow of Free Painters and Sculptors, a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

and a member of the

Royal 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 ...

. A number of photographi
portraits
by Bassano of the artist are in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

Illustrations

Among the books McCannell illustrated were: * ''Legends and Romances of Brittany,'' 1917 (by Lewis Spence) * ''Legends and Romance of Spain,'' 1931 (by Lewis Spence) * ''The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam,'' 1950 (translated by Edward Fitzgerald)

Author

McCannell was the author of ''Fighting Types ''(1919) which contained portraits of men and women who had served in various branches of the armed forces in World War I.

Family

McCannell was the head of three generations of artists. His wife Winifred Cooper painted miniatures and they had one daughter, artist Ursula McCannell (1923-2015). McCannell taught art to his daughter at Farnham and she was extremely talented at an early age. At 16, she was the youngest member of the Women’s International Art Society and the youngest exhibitor at the

. Ursula was married to artist Peter Rees Roberts who also taught with McCannell at Farnham and they had three sons (Tristan, Marcus and Lucien), all painters. In 1989 the entire family exhibited in "Three Generations" at the England & Co gallery in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCannell, Otway 20th-century British painters 1883 births 1969 deaths People educated at Nelson College Alumni of the Royal College of Art People from Wallasey