William Somerville Shanks ARSA, RSA, RSW (28 September 1864 – 28 July 1951) was a Scottish artist who was a tutor in painting and drawing at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

for 29 years. His painting ''Tiddley Winks'' sold for £181,250 at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

in 2008, a record for the artist. William Somerville Shanks was born in

Gourock Gourock ( ; gd, Guireag ) is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a r ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

in 1864 to Helen and John Shanks (1923-1913), a horse proprietor who worked as a clothier and tailor in his native town of Paisley where generations of his family had been weavers. According to the 1871 census they were living at 1, George Place in Gourock with their four children: Mary, William, Agnes and Archibald. The 1881 census reveals that by then the family were living in Glasgow where William Somerville Shanks was working as a pattern designer for a curtain manufacturer. However, William Shanks had ambitions to be an artist, and after attended evening classes at the

under

Francis Henry Newbery Francis Henry Newbery or Fra Newbery (15 May 1855 – 18 December 1946) was a painter and art educationist, best known as director of the Glasgow School of Art between 1885 and 1917. Under his leadership the School developed an international ...

he made painting his career, in 1889 travelling to Paris to improve his skills, studying for three years at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

under

Jean-Paul Laurens Jean-Paul Laurens (; 28 March 1838 – 23 March 1921) was a French painter and sculptor, and one of the last major exponents of the French Academic style. Biography Laurens was born in Fourquevaux and was a pupil of Léon Cogniet and Alexand ...

and

Benjamin Constant Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (; 25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a French people, Franco-Switzerland, Swiss political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion. A committed repub ...

. In Paris Shanks became influenced by the paintings of

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Born ...

. His painting ''Tiddley Winks'' was exhibited at the

Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI) is an independent organisation in Glasgow, founded in 1861, which promotes contemporary art and artists in Scotland. The institute organizes the largest and most prestigious annual art exhibitio ...

in 1897 and at one time was owned by

Eliot Hodgkin Eliot Hodgkin (19 June 1905 – 30 May 1987) was an English painter, born at Purley Lodge, Purley-on-Thames, near Pangbourne, Berkshire."Eliot Hodgkin ''Painter & Collector'', p. 7 Hodgkin began with oil painting in the late 1920s and in 1937 ...

who sold it to art dealer Charlotte Frank, the aunt of

Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...

; Sir David Montagu Douglas Scott obtained it from her in 1962 for £60. On loan to the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

from 2007 to 2008, it sold at

in 2008 for £181,250, a record for the artist.Sale of ''Tiddley Winks'' by William Somerville Shanks, R.S.A., R.S.W - Sotheby's (2008)
/ref> Shanks was to become a regular exhibitor at the

and the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...

Later Shanks was to return to the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) as a tutor of painting and drawing, remaining there for the next 29 years. A painter in oil and watercolours of portraits, interiors and still life but who preferred to work in oils, at the GSA Shanks was Assistant Professor (Drawing and Painting) Antique and preparatory life 1910 to 1911; Assistant Professor (Drawing and Painting) Life, head life, portrait and costume model, painting, antique and still life 1913 to 1914 and 1924 to 1925; Lecturer (Drawing and Painting) Drawing, painting and composition 1925 to 1926 and 1929 to 1930; Drawing and Painting (School of Design, Pictorial and Commercial Art) 1930 to 1931; Drawing and Painting (Drawing and Painting) 1934 to 1935. In 1922 he received a silver medal at the

Société des Artistes Français The Société des Artistes Français (, meaning "Society of French Artists") is the association of French painters and sculptors established in 1881. Its annual exhibition is called the "Salon des artistes français" (not to be confused with the ...

. Although not a member of the

Glasgow Boys The Glasgow School was a circle of influential artists and designers that began to coalesce in Glasgow, Scotland in the 1870s, and flourished from the 1890s to around 1910. Representative groups included The Four (also known as the Spook School ...

Shanks was clearly influenced by their work and would have known

Edward Atkinson Hornel Edward Atkinson Hornel (17 July 1864 – 1933) was a Scottish painter of landscapes, flowers, and foliage, with children. He was a cousin of James Hornell. His contemporaries in the Glasgow Boys called him Ned Hornel. Biography Hornel was born ...

and George Henry. Shanks was elected an Associate (ARSA) of the

in 1923 and elected Member of the RSA in 1933. Shanks lived at 8 Parkgrove Terrace in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. A self portrait (see above) is held in the Collection of

National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland ( gd, Gailearaidhean Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the National Collections o ...

.Self portrait of William Somerville Shanks (1864 - 1951)
-

References

External links

Artworks by William Somerville Shanks - Art Net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shanks, William Somerville 1864 births 1951 deaths Académie Julian alumni Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Academics of the Glasgow School of Art British art teachers Scottish painters Scottish male painters 19th-century Scottish painters 20th-century Scottish painters 19th-century Scottish artists 20th-century Scottish artists Royal Scottish Academicians Scottish watercolourists 19th-century British painters 20th-century Scottish educators 19th-century Scottish male artists 20th-century Scottish male artists