An English River in Autumn
Benjamin Williams Leader (1831-1923) was an English artist. Born in Worcester as Benjamin Leader Williams, he was the son of civil engineer Edward Leader Williams (who was also a keen amateur artist and friend of John Constable) and Quaker Sarah Whiting. His brother, also called Edward Leader Williams, followed in his father's footsteps and became a notable civil engineer. The family lived in Worcester at Diglis House (now the Diglis Hotel).
Williams Leader was educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester and then the Royal Academy Schools.
He immediately became successful as an artist and first exhibited his work at the Royal Academy in 1854. Since that year until his death in 1923 his paintings were hung in every summer exhibition at the Royal Academy.
He was knighted as Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by the French in 1889 and was created a full member of the Royal Academy in 1898 (RA - Royal Academician). In 1914 he was given the Freedom of the City of Worcester in recognition of his services (as a director of Royal Worcester Porcerlain and a native of the city).
Famous paintings include February Fill Dyke and Autumn's Last Gleam. His paintings were bought by King George V and William Gladstone amongst others, and he became one of the most popular and expensive artists of his day. His works received popular approval for their verisimilitude, and the fame of February Fill Dyke, facilitated by an etching, spread to London, Paris, and the United States. However, the painting later came to be seen as symbolic of Victorian 'false naturalism', and was criticized by Clive Bell, Roger Fry, and Kenneth Clark.[1]
The record price for a painting today is £168,000 for A Summer's Day painted in 1888 sold in 2003 by Sotheby's. His paintings are exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Tate Gallery (London), Manchester, Birmingham and many more. Several of his paintings feature Claines Church, Worcester.
He died in Surrey in 1923.
Art collector Amanda E. Shore put together the largest exhibition of Leader's work outside the United Kingdom at The Cambridge Art Gallery in Santa Monica, California. Shore also owns the largest known collection of his work.
References
- ^ Martineau, Jane, et al., Art Treasures of England: The Regional Collections, p.244. Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1998. ISBN 0 900946 59 8
There is a painting by Leader("Worcester Cathedral")at the Chazen Art Museum in Madison,Wisconsin.
