Penry Williams (1802 – 27 July 1885) was a Welsh artist who spent most of his life in Rome.

Life

He was baptised in February 1802 at Merthyr Tydfil, and was the son of a house-painter. Sent to London by Sir John Guest and others, he studied in the schools of the Royal Academy under

Henry Fuseli Henry Fuseli ( ; German: Johann Heinrich Füssli ; 7 February 1741 – 17 April 1825) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain. Many of his works, such as '' The Nightmare'', deal with supernatu ...

, and in 1821 gained a silver medal from the Society of Arts for a "drawing from the antique". From 1822, he was a frequent exhibitor of portraits and views at the Royal Academy, British Institution and

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 ...

until 1827, when he settled in Rome. In April 1828 Williams was elected an associate of the

Society of Painters in Watercolours The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wat ...

, exhibiting annually until 1833, when he resigned. Williams's Rome studio was one of the recognised attractions for English visitors, for half a century. He died in Rome on 27 July 1885, and his remaining works were sold at Christie's in the following year.

Personal life

Throughout most of his time in Rome Williams had a relationship with the Welsh artist John GibsonShopland, Norena 'Frances and Mary' from ''Forbidden Lives: LGBT stories from Wales'' Seren Books (2017)

Works

Penry Williams, Neapolitan Peasants at a Fountain (1859)

Williams worked mainly on Italian views and scenes of Roman life, in conventional style. He contributed works to the Royal Academy until 1869, and had many distinguished patrons. Among his prominent works were ''The Festa of the Madonna dell' Arco'', ''Ferry on the River Ninfa'', ''Il Voto, or the Convalescent'', ''The Fountain: a Scene at Mola di Gaeta'', ''Italian Girls preparing for a Festa'' (engraved by D. Lucas, 1830), and ''Procession to the Christening'' (engraved by

Lumb Stocks Lumb Stocks (29 November 1812 – 28 April 1892) was a British engraver. In a long career he produced engravings from paintings by notable artists of the day. Early life Stocks was born at Gawbert Hall, Lightcliffe, near Halifax, Yorkshire, th ...

for William Finden's ''British Gallery of Art''). The

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

acquired his ''Neapolitan Peasants at a Fountain'', ''Wayside in Italy'', and ''The Tambourine''; they have since been transferred to the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

. The last two, presented by Robert Vernon, were engraved by C. Rolls for ''

The Art Journal ''The Art Journal'' was the most important British 19th-century magazine on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title ''Art Union Monthly Journal'' (or ''The Art Union''), the first issue of 7 ...

''. Some of Williams's designs were engraved for ''The Amulet'' (1827–30) and the ''Literary Souvenir'' (1836).

Notes

External links

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Penry 1802 births 1885 deaths People from Merthyr Tydfil 19th-century Welsh painters Welsh male painters 19th-century Welsh male artists