This month we feature a view of Devon by prolific Victorian painter, William Widgery, who was best known for his Dartmoor landscapes.
This month we feature an painting on canvas by William Widgery (1826 -1893), a prolific Devon painter who is known for his numerous paintings of Dartmoor. The title is River Scene, Dartmoor in Background.
About the painting
This oil painting on canvas measures 75cm x 152cm. It is signed by the artist but undated.
It features a river scene, with people working on boats, or using the navigable river as a mode of transport. In the background are high peaks. The artist uses a pale blue for the water and sky, with a weak sun waiting to break out to create the effect of a misty day.
Although we don’t know which river is depicted, as there is no title on the painting, it is likely to be the River Teign with Dartmoor in the background. Another painting by the same artist of the River Teign is very similar - click here to see if you agree.
About the Artist
William Widgery was born in North Molton in North Devon. Census records during the 19th century show he was born in c1826. He moved to Exeter at some stage and initially worked as an apprentice stonemason, but later left this profession to follow his natural ability as an artist.
It seems that he was self-taught in the art of painting. As mentioned above, he specialised in painting the landscapes of Dartmoor.
Very prolific in his work, it has been assessed that he could have painted around 3,000 pictures. He was also known for using artistic licence, which sometimes makes it difficult to identify the scenes depicted in his works.
In many respects he was a Devon man – he lived in Devon all his life, and appears to have exhibited his work principally in Exeter and Barnstaple.
You can view other examples of his work in public collections here.
William Widgery clearly made a very good living from painting, as census records show him living with his family in well-appointed areas of Exeter such as St Leonards, Southernhay and Howell Road. In 1880 he commissioned a house and studio to be built at Lydford on the edge of Dartmoor. (This is now the Lydford House Hotel.)
Local Standing
William Widgery was a prolific and competent painter who was part of the fabric of Exeter and Devon. He was a member of the Exeter Graphic Society and records show that several exhibitions of his work were mounted at ‘Eland’s Gallery’ in Exeter, both whilst he was living and after his death.
His prominence as a citizen of Exeter is exemplified by this obituary in Trewman’s Exeter Flying Post of Saturday April 8th, 1893;
Death of Mr William Widgery
"It is with deep regret that we announce the death, at the age of 68, of Mr. William Widgery, the well-known artist. The sad event took place shortly after daybreak this morning, and although not altogether unexpected, has created a feeling of profound sorrow among the very large circle of friends by whom he was so highly esteemed. …… The life history of the deceased artist is an interesting one, and presents the example of a man who has attained to a position of high eminence in the world of art by the upward gravitation of superior natural ability and force of character.
He began life as an artisan, and for a time worked as a mason in Exeter, being in the employ of Mr Williams, of Bartholomew Street. His genius, however, was above his surroundings, which proved uncongenial to him, and it was not long ere he followed the dictates of his natural bent, and with what success is well known. His splendid achievements are the more remarkable when it is remembered that he was almost a self-tutored man.
A keen observer of men and things, and a devoted student of nature in all her most beautiful moods and phases, he was the possessor of high artistic instinct, and quickly made his way to the front, his progress being facilitated by an extraordinary capacity for work and great resource and executive skill.
He will be best remembered by the charming pictures in which he has limned for us so graphically the romantic grandeur, and rugged loveliness of Dartmoor and the beautiful valley of the Lyd. Here was his Parnassus; here it was that he was most closely in commune with the muse of art; here the scenes of his most powerful realisations. Dartmoor he looked upon as his alma mater, and he left a record of his loving devotion to the spot by a votive jubilee offering in the form of a stone cross which crowns the eminence of one of the Tors at Lydford. Of Dartmoor his pictures are legion, and they may be found in every part of the world. He possessed great skill as a marine painter, some of his paintings of Ilfracombe and other parts of the Devonshire and Cornish coast being gems of the limner's art.
Of Italian- and other scenes there are also numerous emanations from his brush. The magnificent panels which adorn the Theatre, the Rougemont Hotel, and the Victoria Hall are eminently characteristic of the genius of the deceased painter, and they have elicited genuine admiration from all who have seen them.
He it was who was selected by the Great Western Railway to popularise by a series of pictures the romantic and picturesque scenery in of Cheddar. As an animal painter he achieved great success.
His private life was adorned by - a number of excellent qualities, and his removal will create a gap which it will be difficult to fill.”
The Widgery Family of Artists
William Widgery’s youngest son was the professional landscape artist Frederick J Widgery (1861 – 1942), who also became Mayor of Exeter.
William’s eldest daughter, Julia, was also a well-recognised artist. She moved to America where she continued with her art and co-founded the Tacoma Art League.
Both William, Frederick and Julia are buried in the cemetary of St David's church, Exeter.
Acknowledgements
- Art UK website
- Legendary Dartmoor website https://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk
- Ancestry.com
- Bearnes Hampton and Littlewood article 'William Widgery' https://www.bhandl.co.uk/knowledge/article/william-widgery-1826-1893.aspx
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