William Harold Cubley (9 October 1816 – 1896) was an English painter of landscapes and portraits in the tradition of

Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

. He studied with

Sir William Beechey Sir William Beechey (12 December 175328 January 1839) was an English portraitist during the golden age of British painting. Early life Beechey was born at Burford, Oxfordshire, on 12 December 1753, the son of William Beechey, a solicitor, an ...

, and was an important early influence on

Sir William Nicholson Sir William Newzam Prior Nicholson (5 February 1872 – 16 May 1949) was a British painter of still-life, landscape and portraits. He also worked as a printmaker in techniques including woodcut, wood-engraving and lithography, as an illustrato ...

and

William Caparne William Caparne (1855–1940), born William John Caparn, was a British horticulturist and a painter of floral and other subjects. He created the first hybrids in the intermediate bearded iris group, and is thought to have created more than 10 ...

Life

Cubley was born on 9 October 1816 in Heanor, Derbyshire. His father was a needlemaker. The family moved to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

in 1819, where Cubley saw the Reform Riots of 1831 and the burning of Nottingham Castle, and in 1834 moved again, to

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

. Cubley married Jane Spencer in 1838. He took lessons in London with Richard Rothwell, member of the

Royal Hibernian Academy The Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823. Like many other Irish institutions, such as the RIA, the academy retained the word "Royal" after most of Ireland became in ...

and former studio assistant to

Sir Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at t ...

. Cubley also studied with

, who had been a pupil of

Reynolds Reynolds may refer to: Places Australia *Hundred of Reynolds, a cadastral unit in South Australia *Hundred of Reynolds (Northern Territory), a cadastral unit in the Northern Territory of Australia United States * Reynolds, Mendocino County, Calif ...

. Cubley taught art in

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

and Lincoln, and at

Magnus Grammar School Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

in Newark, where he was known as "Old Cubley" and where William Nicholson and William Caparne were his pupils. His influence on Nicholson was considerable: he gave him weekly drawing lessons, took him on painting trips in the country, and may have persuaded Nicholson's father to allow the boy to take up full-time study of art. Nicholson later painted a portrait of Cubley, which he described as "a very bad portrait of a very good man"; it is now in the Long Gallery of Nottingham Castle. Jane Cubley died in 1873, and in 1886 Cubley married Amy Jane Brown. In his 80th year he fell ill while on a painting trip in Wales, and died shortly afterwards at Bryndu,

Llanberis (; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking, mo ...

, on 10 August 1896. He was buried at Newark.

Works

William Ewart Gladstone by William Harold Cubley

Cubley travelled widely both in Britain and on the Continent painting landscapes, in oils and in watercolour. He also painted many portraits; in 1840 or 1841 he painted

William Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

, who had become MP for Newark in 1832. He exhibited both 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 ...

, where he showed ''Kate Kearney'' in 1863, ''Evening in the Lledr Valley, North Wales'' in 1868, '' Llyn Idwal'' in 1872 and ''A midsummer night – Abermaw Harbour, near Barmouth, North Wales'' in 1873, and also at the

Suffolk Street 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 fi ...

gallery of the Society of British Artists. His landscape ''Llyn Idwal'' was shown again at the Third Annual International Exhibition in London in 1873, where it won a gold medal and was bought by the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

of Liverpool.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cubley, William 19th-century English painters English male painters 1816 births 1896 deaths 19th-century English male artists