Walter Ernest Webster

Walter Ernest Webster (1877-1959) was a British figure and portrait painter. He also worked as an illustrator.

Walter Ernest Webster
Born(1877-11-17)17 November 1877
Manchester, England
Died30 April 1959(1959-04-30) (aged 81)
London, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationFigure and Portrait Painter and illustrator
Years active1900-1959
Known forFigure and portrait paintings of young women
Notable work
Sonata, c.1935, at the McLean Museum and Art Gallery

Biography

Webster won a scholarship to study at the National Art Training Schools (which was renamed the Royal College of Art) before attending the Royal Academy Schools from 24 January 1899 to 1904.[1] He was a good student and won scholarships and prizes including: a scholarship for painting in 1901;[2] first prize (£50 and a silver medal) in a competition for six drawings of a figure from life.[3] Firsat prize (£25 and a silver medal) for a cartoon of a praped figure a Sibyl.[4]

By the age of 23 he was living in Putney, London with his mother Mary and his elder sister Gertrude Mary, a shorthand-typist (b. 21 March 1876). He enlisted for service in the 4th Battalion of the Essex Regiment on 14 February 1916.

He married Susan Beatrice Pearse (b. 19 January 1878), and artist and book illustrator, at Fulham in December 1919.[5] By 1939 he was living with his wife and sister Gertrude Broome Villa, 27 Broomhouse Road, near Parsons Green. He still lived at that address when he died on 30 April 1959 leaving £6,158 17s 9d to his widow Susan and his sister Gertrude.[6]

Painting and illustrating

Having once attended the Royal Academy Schools, Webster started exhibiting works at the Royal Academy, and continued to exhibit there almost every year until his death in May 1959. He also exhibited at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, Royal Glasgow Institute and the Paris Salon. He was awarded awarded bronze and silver medals in Paris before WW1 and a gold medal there in 1931.[7]

Webster produced illustrations for the front covers of several publications including "Ladies' Home Journal" and "Etude". Many of these reflected the Art Deco style of the period. He also produced illustrations for books, including: eight colour plates for "Champion" by John Colin Dane (1907); four colour plates for "King of the Air: or, To Morocco on an Aeroplane" (1907) by Herbert Strang; four colour plates for "For Treasure Bound" by Harry Collingwood (1910).[8] He was a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI) and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) and these designations are sometimes given after his name.

Works

Webster produced a large body of work. An image search for his name yielded over sixty uniques images on Google. Artnet currently lists 161 auctions (including some pieces which have been sold numerous times) of works by Webster since 1995.[9] ) Since 1998 the highest price paid for a work by Webster was US$62,935 for "The Japanese Fan", sold at Christie's London in 2004.[10]

Webster's work can be seen in many public collections in the UK including The Walker Art Gallery, Gallery Oldham, Paisley Museum and Art Galleries, McLean Museum and Art Gallery, Wellcome Collection, and the Government Art Collection. The last of these holds Webster's portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.[11] Webster had earlier painted a water colour of the young Princess Elizabeth.

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References
  1. RA Collection: People and Organisations. "Walter Ernest Webster (b. 1878)". Royal Academy. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  2. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons (1902). Sessional Papers. 24. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 92.
  3. The British Architect: A Journal of Architecture and the Accessory Arts. 56. The British Architect Company Ltd. 1901. p. 416.
  4. The Building News and Engineering Journal. 83. 1902. p. 828. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  5. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  6. "surname Webster and the year of death 1959". Find a Will service:Wills and Probate 1858 -1996. GOV.UK. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  7. "Walter Ernest Webster (1878-1959)". Masterpieces of Art. 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  8. "Women at a Mirror: Walter Ernest Webster". WorthPoint. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  9. "Walter Ernest Webster (British, 1878-1959) Artworks". Artnet. 2019-11-12. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  10. "Walter Ernest Webste, British, 1878-1959". MutualArt. 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  11. "Walter Ernest Webster". Art UK. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
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