WILLIAMS, PENRY (1800 - 1885), painter

The son of William Williams, a stonemason, he was christened at Merthyr Tydfil 2 February 1800. He studied at the Royal Academy schools under Fuseli, gained a silver medal from the Society of Arts for a drawing from the antique in 1821, and exhibited his work at the exhibitions of the British Institution, the society of British Artists, and the Royal Academy, where thirty-four of his pictures were hung between 1822 and 1869, including portraits of John Gibson (1844) and lady Charlotte Guest (1845). He settled in Rome in 1827, where he became very friendly with John Gibson.

He was elected an associate of the Society of Painters in Watercolours in 1828. Most of his pictures depict Italian views and scenes of Roman life. Some of his pictures are to be found in the National Gallery, the British Museum, and the South Kensington Museum, and a number of them have been engraved. Williams died in Rome, 27 July 1885.

Editorial note 2021:

Penry Williams's partner in Rome was the sculptor John Gibson.

Author

• Megan Ellis, (1906 - 2001)

Sources

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• T. M. Rees, Welsh painters, engravers and sculptors, 1527–1911 (1912)
• bishops' transcripts
• H. Blackwell, NLW MS 9277A: A Dictionary of Welsh Biography

Further Reading

• Derrick Pritchard Webley, Cast to the winds (Aberystwyth 1997)
• Wikipedia Article: Penry Williams

Works

• NLW: Drawing vol. 432: Book of drawings by Penry Williams
• People's Collection Wales: Penry Williams - Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery
• ArtUK: Penry Williams

Additional Links

• VIAF: 315943654
• Wikidata: Q12065586

Published date: 1959

Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/