Paintings by Edward Charles Williams

 

   
Left: The Old Roadside Inn, 1859, Center: Figure and Sheep before a Riverside Windmill, and Right: A Stone Quarry in a Forest of Dean.

   
Left: Out Fishing (A Wooded River Landscape), 1855, Center: I Arbetet, and Right: A Dutch Canal.

 

 

 

 

 

Paintings by Edward Charles Williams

 

Edward Charles Williams in later years when he had grown a beard.
A photo of Edward Charles Williams from a family album.

Edward Charles Williams was born in 1807 in London, as the oldest son of the English landscape painter Edward "Old" Williams. He had five brothers, all of whom became landscape painters also. He received his early training from his father, which is evident from the similarity of their works, with both father and son often painting in a woodland style reminiscent of early Dutch landscape artists.

Edward Charles lived in and around London most of his life, and many of his paintings feature scenes from the surrounding countryside, including Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and Essex. He died "in respectable poverty" on July 25, 1881 in Shepherds Bush, London.

He exhibited his first work at the Royal Academy in 1840 – "A Gypsy Encampment, Moon Rising" – only two years before his younger brother Sidney Richard also exhibited there. Edward turned out to be the least prolific exhibitor of the family, but he did display his works from 1839 to 1865 (52 paintings) at all the major exhibitions, including the Royal Academy (19 paintings), the Suffolk Street Gallery of the Royal Association of British Artists (10 paintings), and the British Institution (23 paintings). Wikipedia Article


signature from one of Edward Charles William's paintings

Today, examples of his work can be seen in several British museums and galleries, most of which are on the Art UK website.

  • Anglesey Abbey (National Trust), Lode, near Cambridge (three paintings)
  • Atkinson Art Gallery (four paintings)
  • Government Art Collection (two paintings)
  • Hastings Public Museum and Art Gallery (5 paintings)
  • Holburne of Menestrie Museum, Bath
  • Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire
  • Landsdowne Collection, Bowood, Wiltshire
  • Sheffield Museums
  • Trinity College, University of Cambridge

Edward Charles Williams

unsigned & undated - Figure and Sheep
      before a Riverside Windmill (Left)
unsigned & undated - A Dutch Canal (Right)

Two paintings by Edward Charles Williams similar in style to the work of his father Edward Williams, Sr..

Edward Charles Williams - signed but undated - The Sportsman

A landscape by Edward Charles Willliams that is reminiscent of James Ward's work, with a touch of William's father, Edward Williams, Sr., in the detailed execution of the bushes.

Edward Charles Williams - A Stone Quarry in a Forest of Dean

A work a little reminiscent of James Ward's "Gordale Scar", but without the dark tones and shadows.

Edward Charles Williams & William Shayer Collaborations

Examples of collaborative efforts between Williams and Shayer, where Williams painted the landscapes and Shayer added the figures.



 
Top Left: 1859 - The Old Roadside Inn, 1859, Top Right: The Roadside Inn, Somerset (undated),
and Bottom Center: The Last Load (undated).

Edward Charles Williams

unsigned & undated - Punch and Judy (top)
unsigned & undated - The Itinerant Musician (bottom)

Two paintings showing how Edward Charles William's collaborative efforts with William Shayer influenced some of his solo works.



Left: An Old Roadside Inn near Kent, 1850, and Right: A Summer Evening at Sonning, 1859. Both signed and dated.
Edward Charles Williams - signed but undated - I Arbetet

A Thames river scene,but unlike anything his father Edward Williams, Sr. would have done

Edward Charles Williams

1855 - Out Fishing (also called "A Wooded River Landscape") (Left)
1861 - Along the Upper Thames (Right)

Two Thames River scenes typical of landscapes done by the Williams Family.

Edward Charles Williams - 1870 - View of Holy Island, Isle of Arran

A different theme than usually painted by Williams. As with most of his paintings, it seems to show less attention to detail than the works of his father or those of his younger brothers.

 

 

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Copyright © Michael S. Clark, Ph.D., 1998- - All rights reserved.