Walter Williams

Pair of Antique British River landscapes, with waterfalls, mountains and trees

circa 1870

William Thornley was a painter of coastal scenes whose work is very similar to Hubert and Charles Thornley, who may have been members of the same family. He painted scenes of genre, architecture and landscapes as well. A number of the landscapes were of Belgium, Holland, Italy and Norway. However, it is for his seascapes that he is best remembered. Thornley’s works are beautifully detailed and show a masterful understanding of the moods of both weather and sea. They are often small in size and put together with fine detail and great artistic merit. Thornley’s fishing scenes are spirited and similar in style to those of “Jock” Wilson, and are often painted in pairs. Thornley’s works have always been popular when they appear on the art market. He was believed to have first exhibited marines at the Royal Academy in 1859 from an address in Paddington, London and also at the British Institution from 1861 until it closed in 1867. He continued to exhibit at the Royal Academy until 1898. Thornley also exhibited at the Paris Salon and the Salon of French Artists, receiving an honourable mention in 1881 and a third place medal in 1888. William Thornley also went by the names Georges William and William...

William Thornley was a painter of coastal scenes whose work is very similar to Hubert and Charles Thornley, who may have been members of the same family. He painted scenes of genre, architecture, and landscapes as well. A number of the landscapes were of Belgium, Holland, Italy, and Norway. However, it is for his seascapes that he is best remembered. Thornley’s works are beautifully detailed and show a masterful understanding of the moods of both weather and sea. They are often small in size and put together with fine detail and great artistic merit. Thornley’s fishing scenes are spirited and similar in style to those of “Jock” Wilson, and are often painted in pairs. Thornley’s works have always been popular when they appear on the art market. He was believed to have first exhibited marines at the Royal Academy in 1859 from an address in Paddington, London and also at the British Institution from 1861 until it closed in 1867. He continued to exhibit at the Royal Academy until 1898. Thornley also exhibited at the Paris Salon and the Salon of French Artists, receiving an honorable mention in 1881 and a third-place medal in 1888. William Thornley also went by the names Georges William and William...

Provenance: Christie’s, London, 3 March 1922, lot 46 (with The Tower of Babel); James Nicoll Private Collection Sotheby’s, London, 29 March 1983, lot 157 Private Collection, New Yo...

William Edward Webb British, (1862-1903) Penzance Harbour Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 29 inches x 45.5 inches Size including frame: 38 inches x 54.5 inches A pleasing coastal painting of Penzance Harbour at low tide by William Edward Webb. In the foreground, a fisherman sells his catch to a woman and her daughter, whilst figures in horses and carts wait for others to unload their boats. William Edward Webb was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire in 1862 to William Benjamin Webb and Ellen Butler. His father was a printer and an artist and it is highly likely he received tuition from him. Following the death of his mother, his father remarried and moved the family to Manchester sometime after 1871. By the 1880’s, Webb had started working as an artist and later set up a studio at 30 Exchange Buildings in Manchester. He began exhibiting at the Manchester City Art Gallery from 1890, where he showed more than 60 paintings during his lifetime. He also exhibited at the Royal Academy and Walker Art Gallery Liverpool from 1892. He married Clara Foster in 1899 and the couple lived at 1 Sylvan Grove, Chorlton Upon Medlock in South Manchester with their daughter Florrie. He became friends with the artist Walter Emsley (1860-1938) who also lived in Manchester. Although he spent the rest of his life in Manchester, Webb travelled throughout the UK painting coastal and marine scenes around the main ports and harbours. He spent a great deal of time in the Isle of Mann painting numerous scenes along the coast including views of Peel and Douglas Harbour, subjects he frequently returned to. Webb painted in a highly distinctive style; loose and informal but which manages to retain the sense of perspective. He struggled with ill health and depression throughout his life which sadly led to his suicide 9 November, 1903. In 1974, a retrospective exhibition was held at The Old Customs House and Old Solent House in Lymington, which brought a new found interest in his work. His paintings are now highly sought after and are represented in many collections and Museums including the Astley Hall...