Paintings by Henry John Boddington

Paintings by Henry John Boddington

Henry John Williams, called Boddington, was born in 1811 in the St. Marylebone district of London, as the second son of English landscape painter Edward "Old" Williams. He had five brothers, all of whom became landscape painters also. Although born Henry Williams, he adopted his wife's name when he married Clarissa "Clara" Boddington, so as to distinguish his art from that of his father, and brothers.

Henry showed an early talent for painting and received his only formal training from his father. However, he soon developed his own style, which is characterized by country scenes with sunlight filtering through archways of trees onto animals or people standing in a warm glade, or shadowed country lane. He also graced many of his paintings with country houses. As he generally lived near the Thames River, river scenes were also the subject of many of his paintings. He enjoyed painting on large canvasses, which allowed him to capture all the beauty and grandeur of the English countryside.

Quickly establishing his reputation as a painter of woodland and village scenes, Boddington became so popular that he was invited in 1842, at the age of only 31, to join the prestigious Royal Society of British Artists. Although many artists exhibited at the Society's Suffolk Street Gallery, membership was exclusive, limited to only 110 living members, and Henry was the only one of his family to achieve that distinction. His membership in the Royal Society put him in contact with many of the leading artists of his day, and he even collaborated at times with fellow member John Frederick Herring, who specialized in hunting scenes. Boddington would paint the landscapes, and Herring would add in animals, usually horses. Henry exhibited extensively with the Society, and took great pride in his membership.

A progressive ailment, probably a brain tumor, robbed Boddington during his final two years of his sight and abilities, resulting in some poor quality paintings. He died on April 11, 1865, at the age of only 54, and was buried near his father in Old Barnes Cemetery, under his given surname of Williams. His wife Clara, having given him her name during the course of his carrer, eventually took his name and died Clara Williams, forty years after Henry's passing. Wikipedia Article

signature from one of Henry John Boddington's paintings

Henry Boddington's work was displayed (sometimes posthumously) from 1837 to 1869 (355 paintings) at all the major British exhibitions of his day, including the Royal Academy (51 paintings), the Suffolk Street Gallery of the Royal Association of British Artists (244 paintings), and the British Institution (60 paintings).

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

Atkinson Art Gallery
Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery (4 paintings)
Buxton Art Museum and Gallery
Dundee Art Galleries and Museums
Glasgow Museums resource Centre
Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston (2 paintings)
Kirklees Museums and Galleries
Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Art Gallery
Oldham Gallery
Rotherham Heritage Services
Rozelle House Galleries
Royal Cornwall Museum
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum
Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield
Southampton City Art Gallery
Southwark Art Collection
Towneley Hall Art Gallery and Museum
Victoria & Albert Museum, London (but not currently on display)
York City Art Gallery

Other Museums not on the Art UK website

National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, Wales (2 paintings)
Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, Scotland
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA

Paintings by Henry John Boddington An unidentified photo of one of the Williams brothers from a family album. The process of elimination indicates that it might be Henry Boddington. Henry John Williams, called Boddington, was born in 1811 in the St. Marylebone district of London, as the second son of English landscape painter Edward "Old" Williams. He had five brothers, all of whom became landscape painters also. Although born Henry Williams, he adopted his wife's name when he married Clarissa "Clara" Boddington, so as to distinguish his art from that of his father, and brothers. Henry showed an early talent for painting and received his only formal training from his father. However, he soon developed his own style, which is characterized by country scenes with sunlight filtering through archways of trees onto animals or people standing in a warm glade, or shadowed country lane. He also graced many of his paintings with country houses. As he generally lived near the Thames River, river scenes were also the subject of many of his paintings. He enjoyed painting on large canvasses, which allowed him to capture all the beauty and grandeur of the English countryside. Quickly establishing his reputation as a painter of woodland and village scenes, Boddington became so popular that he was invited in 1842, at the age of only 31, to join the prestigious Royal Society of British Artists. Although many artists exhibited at the Society's Suffolk Street Gallery, membership was exclusive, limited to only 110 living members, and Henry was the only one of his family to achieve that distinction. His membership in the Royal Society put him in contact with many of the leading artists of his day, and he even collaborated at times with fellow member John Frederick Herring, who specialized in hunting scenes. Boddington would paint the landscapes, and Herring would add in animals, usually horses. Henry exhibited extensively with the Society, and took great pride in his membership. A progressive ailment, probably a brain tumor, robbed Boddington during his final two years of his sight and abilities, resulting in some poor quality paintings. He died on April 11, 1865, at the age of only 54, and was buried near his father in Old Barnes Cemetery, under his given surname of Williams. His wife Clara, having given him her name during the course of his carrer, eventually took his name and died Clara Williams, forty years after Henry's passing. Wikipedia Article signature from one of Henry John Boddington's paintings Henry Boddington's work was displayed (sometimes posthumously) from 1837 to 1869 (355 paintings) at all the major British exhibitions of his day, including the Royal Academy (51 paintings), the Suffolk Street Gallery of the Royal Association of British Artists (244 paintings), and the British Institution (60 paintings). Today, examples of his work can be seen in several British museums and galleries, most of which are on the Art UK website. Atkinson Art Gallery Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery (4 paintings) Buxton Art Museum and Gallery Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Glasgow Museums resource Centre Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston (2 paintings) Kirklees Museums and Galleries Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Art Gallery Oldham Gallery Rotherham Heritage Services Rozelle House Galleries Royal Cornwall Museum Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield Southampton City Art Gallery Southwark Art Collection Towneley Hall Art Gallery and Museum Victoria & Albert Museum, London (but not currently on display) York City Art Gallery Other Museums not on the Art UK website National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, Wales (2 paintings) Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, Scotland Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
	Henry John Boddington - 1840 - A Norfolk Hamlet Boddington began his career as a painter of cottage and village scenes, and became so popular with this style that he was invited to join the Royal Society of British Artists, the only member of his family to receive that honor.
	Henry John Boddington - Stopping at the Inn Another painting typical of Boddington's cottage and village scenes. He frequently placed horses in his pictures, whereas cows, sometimes sheep, were the animals of choice employed by his younger brother Sidney Richard Percy.
	Henry John Boddington - 1844 - The Vale of Ashburton, South Devon
	Henry John Boddington - 1856 - An English Lane Two more Boddignton cottage scenes. The left-hand painting is signed and dated, whereas the on on the right is unsigned, but has been attibuted to Boddington. It shows a slightly different view of the same cottage, and has been titled at different times "The Ford" and "Outside the Cottage".
	Henry John Boddington - A Path Through the Woods This is the classic Boddington painting, characterized by sunlight filtered through an archway of trees to light up a figure with a horse. Henry Boddington had a profound influence on Sidney Richard Percy, possibly as much as their father "Old Williams", and many of Sidney's early paintings are similar in style to Henry's. Consider Sidney's "The Road Across the Common", painted in 1851, which shares many elements in common with a Boddington painting.
	Henry John Boddington - Early Morning on the Thames Both of these pictures have the same name, but show different views of the river. Boddington always lived near the Thames, and it became the subject of many of his paintings.
	Henry John Boddington - A View of Windsor Castle from the Thames This is probably the most widely available Boddington painting on the internet, in the form of cards and posters. It is also bascially the same view of the Thames as the one on the right painted by his father Edward Williams. One might suppose that these were painted at the same time with father and son working side by side, which might indicate that Boddington's painting is one of his earlier efforts that was executed while still studying under his father.
	Henry John Boddington - 1860 - Cattle Watering in a Summer Landscape (on the Dee) A landscape with cattle more in the style of Sidney Richard Percy, but with sunlight reflecting in the middle view, shade on the left, and sunlit on the right, which is a mix in light conditions more typical of Boddington's work than Percy's.
	Henry John Boddington - 1860 - On the Hills Another landscape more in the style of his younger brother Sidney Richard Percy, but with the classic Boddington use of shafts of sunlight, filtered this time over the mountain ridge instead of through trees or clouds. This landscape would have been painted by Boddington in the last years of his life, just before he began to lose his sight and abilities from a "brain disease".
	Henry John Boddington undated - A Peep into Surrey - Kirklees Museums and Galleries undated - On the Thames - Rotherham Heritage Services Two undated, bright-colored landscapes by Boddington that are on public display. A date of c.1850 has been assigned by the museum to the right-hand painting, which is a 1908 gift from Edward Nightingale.
	Henry John Boddington - Kusparti Med Fiskare A very atypical Henry Boddington painting, as he seldom painted seascapes. It was probably painted late in his career, but there is really no way to know for sure.
	Henry John Boddington - A View of the Alps - The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery & Museum Another very atypical Henry Boddington oil painting that does not seem to be in his style at all. Although it is not signed nor dated, it is attributed to Boddington by the museum where the painting hangs. The provenance is well known, the landscape having been bequeathed to the City of Dendee in 1878 by George Duncan (1791-1878), who from 1841-1857 was Member of Parliament (MP) for Dundee. This work is reminiscent of Alpine paintings by two of Henry's brothers -- "Mountain Landscape" by Sidney Richard Percy, and "A View of the Dolomites" by Alfred Walter Williams.