Lucy Gwendolen Williams

Lucy Gwendolen Williams (also known as Gwen Williams), (December 27, 1870 – February 11, 1955) was a sculptor and painter and a descendant of the Williams family of Highfield Hall in Flintshire.[1][2]

Life

Lucy Gwendolen Williams was born in Cheshire to the Reverend Henry Lewis Williams, the vicar of Bleasely and his wife Katherine.[1] During the 1890s she studied at Wimbledon Art College under the tutelage of Alfred Drury, later moving to the Royal Academy where she was taught by Professor Edouard Lanteri.[1] Although she also painted watercolours and reliefs, her main work was in bronze or marble, consisting of statuettes, busts and children's heads.[2][3] Williams interests included gardening and Theosophy and she was a Fellow of the Brighton and Hove Theosophical Society.[2] She died in Buxton in 1955.[3]

Career

During her career, which spanned over 40 years, Williams was primarily based in London although she spent a period of 8 or 9 years in Rome from 1910 and may also have worked in New York for some time.[1][3] In 1893, whilst still a student at Wimbledon College, some of her work was exhibited at the Royal Academy and she was to continue exhibiting here until 1935.[1][3] Her work was also shown at the Royal Scottish Academy, the Paris salon, in Rome and in New York. She also had a one-man show at the Brook Street Gallery in London in 1935.[3] Williams awards included silver medals at the Welsh National Eisteddfod and the Franco-British exhibition and a bronze Santiago medal.[2] Her private patrons included Queen Alexandra and Queen Margherita of Italy and examples of her work can be seen throughout the United Kingdom including two bronze statuettes in Leeds and one in Liverpool.[2] A typical piece, entitled 'The Queen of Dreams' is held by the Victoria and Albert museum and reflects the influence of Alfred Drury. The piece is made of the zinc alloy, Spelter, which was often used as a cheaper alternative to bronze.[4] The National Museum of Wales in Cardiff holds three pieces, (The Chase, The Stick and Jeanette) whilst further examples can be seen in the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.[1][5] In 1926 Williams was commissioned to create a bronze bust of Robert Owen which is on display at the museum dedicated to his life in Newton, Powys.[6]

Bibliography

References
  1. University of Glasgow (2011). "Lucy Gwendolen Williams". Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851 - 1951. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  2. "Who's Who". www.ukwhoswho.com. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
  3. Gray, Sara (2009). Dictionary of British Women Artists,. Cambridge: Lutterworth Press. p. 285.
  4. "The Queen of Dreams". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  5. "The Stick by Gwendolen Williams, ?-1955". www.victorianweb.org. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
  6. "The Collection". Robert Owen Museum. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.