Morris Meredith Williams (1881–1973) was a British painter and illustrator. Lathgertha by Morris Meredith Williams

Life

Williams was born in

Cowbridge Cowbridge ( cy, Y Bont-faen) is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately west of the centre of Cardiff. The Cowbridge with Llanblethian community and civil parish elect a town council. A Cowbridge electoral ward exists for ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, the eldest child of Reverend M. P. Williams, at that time headmaster of

Cowbridge Grammar School Cowbridge Grammar School was one of the best-known schools in Wales until its closure in 1974. It was replaced by Cowbridge Comprehensive School. Founded in the 17th century by Sir John Stradling and refounded by Sir Leoline Jenkins, it had ...

. The family moved in 1889 to

Rotherfield Peppard Rotherfield Peppard (often referred to simply as Peppard by locals) is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. It is centred west of Henley-on-Thames, north of Reading, Berkshire and ...

near Henley-on-Thames when Reverend Williams became Rector there. Morris studied at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

in London. He continued his studies in Paris, where he met his first wife, the noted sculptor

Alice Meredith Williams Gertrude Alice Meredith Williams (1877 – 3 March 1934), who generally went by the name of Alice Meredith Williams, was a British sculptor, painter, illustrator and stained glass designer. Biography Williams was born in Liverpool, the ninth o ...

. They married in 1906 and lived in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

where Morris worked part-time as an Art Master at

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

and as an artist and prolific illustrator of children's books of myth, folklore and history. He served as an officer in the

Welsh Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

and The Royal Engineers in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and during this time drew many sketches of trench life and battlefield destruction, some of which were worked up into paintings after the war and now hang in regimental museums and in the

National Army Museum The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the " Chelsea Pensioners". The museum is a non-departmental public bo ...

. In 2017 a selection of his wartime work was published along with the couple's wartime correspondence. After the war, he and Alice worked together on many war memorials. Morris designed the metal frieze of naval and military figures, modelled by Alice, for the shrine of the

Scottish National War Memorial The Scottish National War Memorial is located in Edinburgh Castle and commemorates Scottish service personnel and civilians, and those serving with Scottish regiments, who died in the two world wars and subsequent conflicts. Its chief archit ...

at Edinburgh Castle. In 1929, the couple relocated to

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, living in and around

North Tawton North Tawton is a small town in Devon, England, situated on the river Taw. It is administered by West Devon Council. The population of the electoral ward at the census 2011 was 2,026. History Romans crossed the River Taw at what is now Newl ...

. Alice died in 1934 and Williams remarried in 1936, remaining in Devon for the rest of his life and ending his days in

Romansleigh Romansleigh is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. It is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Mariansleigh, Meshaw, Chulmleigh, and King's Nympton King's Nympton (Latinised to ''Nymet Re ...

in North Devon. Williams worked in landscape and genre painting, stained glass, engraving and illustration. He exhibited at the Royal Academy in London and at the Royal Scottish Academy. Several of his works are held by museums and galleries in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and by National Galleries of Scotland.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Morris Meredith 1881 births 1973 deaths 20th-century British painters British male painters British illustrators Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art 20th-century British male artists

Life

References

Further reading

External links