William Shayer Senior Art
British, 1787-1879
William Joseph Shayer, senior was a self-taught artist, who began by painting decorations on rush-bottom chairs, and moved on to painting carriages in the town of Guildford, after which he started doing a heraldic painting. Ultimately he began painting oil on canvas and became skilled at portraying woodland scenes with gipsies, people and animals in front of country inns and farmhouses, and beach scenes crowded with boats and fishermen. He lived mainly in the south of England, in Shirley, Southampton, but painted throughout Hampshire and in a wooded district in the southwest part of Hampshire called the New Forest. Michael Hoy, a wealthy Southampton merchant, was one of his most enthusiastic patrons and bought many of Shayer’s paintings of the area.
Shayer lived a long life, during which he had two wives and ten children. His eldest son, William Joseph Shayer, junior (1811-1892) was also a painter and painted in a style very similar to his father. Their paintings are easily confused, which is made all the more difficult by the fact that they probably collaborated on several paintings in the elder Shayer’s later years. Three of Shayer senior’s younger sons – Edward Dasherwood Shayer (1821-1864), Henry Thring Shayer (1825-1894) and Charles Walker Shayer (1826-1914) – became painters as well, and all assisted him at times in his studio. William Shayer, senior died at the age of 92 on 21 December 1879 at his home at Bladon Lodge near Southampton.
William Shayer, senior was a competent landscape artist, but he is best known as a figure painter. His work is reminiscent in some respects to the paintings of George Morland, another very popular figure painter. Shayer’s work though has a depth and brightness to it missing from the paintings of many of his contemporaries, due to his skilful application of glaze (i.e., spreading a thin, oily, transparent layer of paint over a dry opaque paint). He exhibited at the Royal Academy (6 works), the British Institution (82 works), and at the Suffolk Street Gallery of the Society of British Artists (338 works). He also exhibited in many of the lesser-known Victorian art venues as well. His works are on display at many museums including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Gallery, the Glasgow Art Gallery, and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.to
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William Shayer Senior (1787-1879) - Framed Mid 19th Century Oil, A Good Ale
By WILLIAM SHAYER SENIOR (1787-1879)
Located in Corsham, GB
A very fine example of the work of William Shayer Senior (1787-1879). A Good Ale, oil on panel. Signed to the lower left. Well presented in an ornate gilt-effect frame with floral an...
Category
Mid-19th Century William Shayer Senior Art
Materials
Oil
Sailboats on a Calm Sea, Sky and Harbor, British 19th century
By WILLIAM SHAYER SENIOR (1787-1879)
Located in Hillsborough, NC
Seascape by famous artist of the period, this fine oil painting on canvas shows us soft hues in skies and waters, with a white-sailed ship in the center. One of Shayer’s more beauti...
Category
Mid-19th Century Naturalistic William Shayer Senior Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
19th Century genre oil painting of fisher folk on a beach
By WILLIAM SHAYER SENIOR (1787-1879)
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
William Shayer
British, (1787-1879)
Fisher Folk on the Beach
Oil on canvas, signed & dated 1839
Image size: 27.25 inches x 35.25 inches
Size including frame: 37.25 inches x 45.25 in...
Category
19th Century Victorian William Shayer Senior Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
English Antique Landscape Oil Painting “Start of the Day” by William Shayer Sr.
By WILLIAM SHAYER SENIOR (1787-1879)
Located in Shippensburg, PA
WILLIAM SHAYER, SR.
British, 1788-1879
"The Start of the Day"
Oil on canvas signed lower left "Wm Shayer Sr"
Item # 012PGJ11S
A bright and atmospheric painting by self-taught lu...
Category
19th Century English Romantic Antique William Shayer Senior Art
Materials
Canvas, Paint
Victorian Oil on Canvas: Country Village Scene, Framed, 39x49
By WILLIAM SHAYER SENIOR (1787-1879)
Located in St. Albans, GB
William Shayer Senior
Oil on Canvas. Signed bottom right
Canvas Size: 30 x 40" (76 x 102cm)
Outside Frame Size: 39 x 49" (99 x 125cm)
1787-1879
William Shayer was born in Southam...
Category
Mid-19th Century Victorian William Shayer Senior Art
Materials
Oil
English Antique Seascape of "Sussex Coast" (1854) by William Shayer, Sr.
By WILLIAM SHAYER SENIOR (1787-1879)
Located in Shippensburg, PA
WILLIAM SHAYER, SR.
British, 1788-1879
"Sussex Coast" (1854)
Oil on canvas signed lower left "William Shayer '54" titled in graphite on stretcher bars verso
Item # 404REX19W
Th...
Category
19th Century British Victorian Antique William Shayer Senior Art
Materials
Canvas, Paint
Oil Painting by William Shayer Snr "An Inn Interior"
By WILLIAM SHAYER SENIOR (1787-1879)
Located in Mere, GB
Oil Painting by William Shayer Snr "An Inn Interior" 1787- 1879 Leading regency rural landscape painter from Southampton. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, B.I and 338 times at the ...
Category
19th Century William Shayer Senior Art
Materials
Oil
Fisherfolk On The Beach, 19th Century
By WILLIAM SHAYER SENIOR (1787-1879)
Located in Blackwater, GB
Fisherfolk On The Beach, 19th Century
by William SHAYER (1787-1879)
Fine Large 19th Century English scene with fisherfolk on the beach overlooking the coastline, oil on canvas. E...
Category
19th Century William Shayer Senior Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$4,999 Sale Price
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By WILLIAM SHAYER SENIOR (1787-1879)
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Artist: William Shayer Snr (British) 1787 - 1879
Medium: Oil on canvas in its original gilt frame
Title: Unloading the catch
Canvas Size: H: 28 in / 71.2 cm ; W: 36 in / 91.5 cm
Framed Size: H: 49 in / 124.5 cm ; W: 41 in / 104.2 cm
Artists biography:
William Joseph Shayer senior was a self-taught artist, who began by painting decorations on rush-bottom chairs, and moved on to painting carriages in the town of Guildford, after which he started doing heraldic painting...
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19th Century English Romantic Antique William Shayer Senior Art
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Canvas, Paint
H 49.02 in W 41.11 in D 4.14 in
English early Victorian period, Figures on a beach with horses, dogs, people
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Find a wide variety of authentic William Shayer Senior art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by William Shayer Senior in oil paint, paint, canvas and more. Not every interior allows for large William Shayer Senior art, so small editions measuring 34 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Adolphus Knell, John Horace Hooper, and Edward Robert Smythe. William Shayer Senior art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $5,946 and tops out at $12,436, while the average work can sell for $11,600.