William Corden the Elder (21 January 1795 – 18 June 1867) was an English

portrait painter Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

and

miniaturist A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...

known for his commissions from the Royal Family in the mid nineteenth century.

Biography

William Corden was born in Ashbourne, Derbyshire on 21 January 1795, the son of Robert Corden and his wife Sarah. He was apprenticed at the

Royal Crown Derby The Royal Crown Derby Porcelain Company is the oldest or second oldest remaining English porcelain manufacturer, based in Derby, England (disputed by Royal Worcester, who claim 1751 as their year of establishment). The company, particularly known ...

pottery under Robert Bloor and is reputed to have been among the painters decorating the famous

Rockingham Pottery The Rockingham Pottery was a 19th-century manufacturer of porcelain of international repute, supplying fine wares and ornamental pieces to royalty and the aristocracy in Britain and overseas, as well as manufacturing porcelain and earthenwar ...

dessert service made for

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

which was first used at Queen Victoria's coronation celebrations. He married Esther Simpson in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

on 25 September 1816; he rented an artist's studio at 51 Oxford Street,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and exhibited at the Royal Academy. By 1831, William had moved his family to

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

living first at 17, Brunswick Terrace, New Windsor and then Vine Cottage in Old Windsor. William and Esther had nine children, eight born in Derby and the last in Windsor, including William (1819–1900) known as William Corden the Younger who followed in his father's footsteps as a portrait painter. William Corden the Elder painted an oil portrait in 1829 of

Sir Edmund Nagle Admiral Sir Edmund Nagle, KCB (1757 – 14 March 1830) was an Irish officer in Royal Navy during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who is best known for his capture of the French frigate at the action of 21 October 1794 and his clos ...

(1757–1830) for

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

and a watercolour of

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 her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

on the East Terrace at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

in 1838, one of the earliest paintings of Queen Victoria; both of these paintings are in the Royal Collection. In 1844 William accepted a commission from Prince Albert to travel to

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

to paint full size reproductions of family portraits there and took his son William with him to assist. There are over 50 paintings by William Corden listed in the Royal Collection but it is not always evident which were painted by the father and which by the son. Esther died in Windsor in 1855 and William moved back to the midlands. He married Betsy Wood Mannin at Radford,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

in 1859 and they lived at Arkwright Street, Nottingham. William died in Nottingham on 18 June 1867 age 72.

References

External links

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Index entry)

Royal Crown Derby

"British Potters and Potters Today" (extract)

Royal Collection e-Gallery {{DEFAULTSORT:Corden, William, the Elder 1795 births 1867 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters English portrait painters People from Ashbourne, Derbyshire 19th-century English male artists