Born in Hascombe, Surrey, the eldest of five girls, and educated by a governess at home. The artist was encouraged to draw and paint from an early age. In 1908-9 she lived with her uncle in India. Her diary from that time records an expedition over the Khyber Pass on horseback, and evening parties and dances. In 1910-11 she lived in Paris and studied at Julian's Academy, drawing from the nude and learning etching and dry-point printing from copper plates. Her major influences were Meryon, Whistler and others.
In 1911 she married John Fischer Williams and they built a house on the south coast of Cornwall where they settled from 1920-1931, spending time also in Paris and travelling widely in France, Holland, Belgium and Italy. Four daughters, three of whom were to have important international careers in law, medicine and psychiatry respectively, aside from literature, were brought up by Marjorie. She was also stepmother to Barbara, Jack's daughter by his first marriage.
She specialised in drawing and etching of church architecture. Her subject matter was the back streets, peasant scenes, flowers and countryside. From 1931 the family spent summers in Cornwall and after her husband's death in 1947 she continued to visit France in order to sketch. Lino-cut designs were also an interest, and she printed curtains and cushions. Her WWII diary is available at the Hypatia Trust, along with writings by her daughters, Jenifer Hart, Dr Mariella Fischer-Williams, and Judith Hubback. Three of her etchings were displayed in the Group Show at Falmouth in 1996, Fisherman's Workshop, Cobbler's Shop (Cornwall) and Treveague Farm.
Born in Whitchurch, Salop, the daughter of a clergyman, and educated in England and Germany. Studied art at Atelier Colarossi in Paris and exhibited there at the Paris Salon (from 1914), her main exhibits being drawing and painting from the nude. From Paris she moved in 1921 to Norway House, St Ives where she set up her studio, removing to Enys Studio (1924-35).
The reviewer in 1924 remarks 'Miss Williams has painted a portrait low in tone and full of mystery, called The Enigma. I believe the same model sat for this as for the artist's The Mystic, sent to the Salon. The face is a little weary, and has learned many secrets. The picture is full of imagination.'
Born in Liverpool, his studies were in Paris and Antwerp under Verlat. Williams worked across France and in Africa and Italy winning many international medals and awards. He specialised in coastal painting, in particular harbours and estuaries.
The artist first arrived in St Ives in about 1890; returned many times but never settled there. He worked the Cornish and Devon coastline in a nomadic manner throughout his life. Greatly influenced by Impressionists, he produced bright and colourful scenes which gave a glow of the Mediterranean.
He contributed two series of six self-illustrated articles to The Artist on 'Pastel Art' (1932) and 'Harbour and Fishing Subjects' (1935). Each included colour and black & white plates of the artist's work. He was himself the subject in `Famous Artists', No 8 in May 1932, when his Twilight St Ives was featured. In December of 1932, The Artist reported that Williams had just returned to London from spending eleven weeks in Mousehole painting from a picture window overlooking the harbour.
A well-loved and kindly artist, a stalwart member of the Penzance Arts Club who lived and worked in Penzance for some years. Notice of his death after a long illness, at Goldsithney, has just been received. (October 21). Condolences to his wife, Heather Collings, and their families.
Suzanne Williams was born in Surrey but the family moved to Cornwall in 1975. She studied Fine Art at University College Falmouth and in 2012 opened Four Crows Gallery in Porthleven to showcase her work and that of other artists.
Williams works as a visual artist throughout the UK. She describes her painting as 'immersive'.
Emma Williams trained in textile design at Huddersfield University. She worked as a freelance textile designer before turning to art full-time in 1997. She has exhibited widely throughout the UK and her work is held in a number of private collections. Cornwall has been a constant source of inspiration to her.
She is a regular exhibitor at the New Craftsman Gallery in St Ives.
Ros Williams was born in Oldbury, Worcestershire, the fourth child (of 5) of Arthur and Rosaline (nee Neale) Williams. She dropped out of a degree course in librarianship to study art at Bournville School of Art, Birmingham from 1981-3, before moving to Cornwall where she graduated from Falmouth School of Art with a BA Hons Fine Art in Printmaking (1986). The following year she worked for the Cornwall Trust for Nature Conservation, the nature painter Andrew WADDINGTON being one of her co-workers.
She began to show her work in group shows in the UK and abroad, living on a boat on the coast of Cornwall from 1988-1995, and sharing studios with painters Judy ANDERSON and Stephanie BOON. Ros's children were born in Cornwall and home educated.
In 1997 she moved to the Isle of Wight, and was active with the Steve Ross Foundation for the Arts, teaching non-toxic printmaking and book arts to adults and children. She initiated Open Access Printmaking. By 2008 she had returned to Cornwall, working from Krowji, The Old Grammar School, Redruth and in Penwith. She received Arts Council Awards for her work in 2004 and in 2008.
In 2012 she is partnering the artist Peter FOX in creating a 'pop up' gallery, currently located at Trevelyan House, 16 Chapel Street, Penzance, where they are showing their own work and the artwork of associates, and holding bookarts workshops for pupils of all ages. Together with the Hypatia Trust they will provide temporary exhibition space for artists who specialise in 'outsider art' and who may find difficulty in taking space in the relatively closed circle of contemporary and public galleries. The gallery will have an on-line presence as well, and may 'pop-up' near you at any time.
It is thought that this may be possibly be F A WILLIAMS. Frederick Adolphus Williams (known as Freddie) was town clerk of Padstow in the 1930s. He was married to Flora (nee Garey).
This information was provided by his great-nephew in 2013. Three fine paintings of sailing ships (one dated January 1933) are in the possession of the family.
Another descendant has been in touch (2020) to tell us of two paintings of sailing ships (dated November 1930) which have been in his family for many years. He recalls that his maternal grandmother Elizabeth Jane Gamblin's sister Flora (one of eight siblings) settled in Cornwall, presumably becoming the wife of F A Williams.
Paul Williams moved to Cornwall in 1996, after some years as a ship's photographer on a world cruise liner. The experience influenced him to study for a degree in photography at Falmouth College of Art. He now lives in Falmouth with his partner and their son.
Though his previous work has mainly been in portraiture, his personal love is for landscape photography and his work now combines Cornish landscape used 'out of context' to create imaginary or alternative reality (comment from website). He creates photomontages with some of the miscellaneous and myriad images that he collected in various ports of call around the world he travelled.
Williams creates enormous abstract paintings from The Old Bakery Studios in Truro. As a designer in the film industry, in 2016 he was part of the BAFTA award-winning special effects team on Star Wars : The Force Awakens. During the same year, his work was selected to be shown at the John Moores Painting Prize at Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery.
Williams' bold, striking canvases, employing gestural, sweeping strokes, are on show at the Penwith Gallery in St Ives in April 2017 - a group exhibition he has curated himself.
He is a tutor at the Newlyn School of Art (2017).
Paul J Williams is a painter who has been living in Perranwell, near Falmouth, since 1999.
Nicholas Charles Williams was born in Surrey and studied at Richmond College. He is a figurative painter whose allegorical work is based on the early Baroque tradition.
In 2001 Williams was awarded the Hunting Art Prize, and was shortlisted for the Threadneedle Art Prize in 2008. He has enjoyed solo exhibitions at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum in Bournemouth, St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, Liverpool Cathedral, Truro Cathedral and the Royal Cornwall Museum. His work is held in Falmouth Art Gallery, the British Museum and the Frissiras Museum in Athens.
Currently he lives in Newquay, where he works from a former lifeboat station. He is also a dedicated surfer.
An exhibition of his work at the Drang Gallery, Padstow, in autumn 2015, was his first solo show for almost a decade. The exhibition included works from 'Demise of Compassion' - a project begun in 2004 in response to the Iraq War. Drawing on the still life 'vanitas' theme, a group of these paintings featured IEDs, in reference to the conflict.
Amanda Williams Lucas was born in Wales. She studied initially at Wrexham College of Art, then became a student at Falmouth College of Arts (now University College Falmouth) where she subsequently lectured part-time.
She seeks to express a fascination for theoretical physics in visual form. Some of her work is inspired by Rorschach images.The artist has exhibited widely in Cornwall and beyond. Group shows include the London Art Fair. Her work is held in private collections in Europe and Canada.
Association with Falmouth, one painting of his, A Shipping Scene, featuring in the Falmouth Art Gallery collection.
Born in Whitstable, Kent, Willow took a Fine Art degree at the Falmouth College of Art. In Cornwall she has shown her work in a number of installation exhibitions with PALP (Penwith Artist-Led Projects) and others.
Willow is a tutor at Newlyn School of Art (2016).
Mr Wills, of the company WILLS Bros of London, lived at The Willows, Cornwall Terrace. He was the sculptor responsible for executing the statue of Humphry Davy in Market Jew Street, Penzance, and he died in the town.
Three paintings by this artist, are in the art collection held by the West Cornwall Hospital, Penzance.
Barbara Wills was born in Sheffield and at age 16, with the early encourage of her grandfather, who also painted, entered the Sheffield College of Art. From there she went on two years later to the Royal College of Art which continued its classes during WWII at Ambleside in Cumbria.
With her diploma she taught art in schools in Dolgellau, Dagenham, and Basingstoke. At the latter she was to meet her future husband, Edward. During the 1950s and '60s she exhibited her paintings locally and also at the RA, before the couple moved to Cornwall to live at St Hilary, where Edward's family had lived for several generations.
In Cornwall Barbara became a loyal member of the NSA, holding her first solo exhibition in 1971 at the Newlyn Art Gallery.
Her obituary in the Cornishman (19 September 2013) concludes with the following:
'As well as gaining a reputation and following for her paintings - in which she captured a strong sense of the mood and movement of the moment - she also found the time, energy and enthusiasm to teach small groups of children in her studio and also to start and tutor for 22 years in Painting for Pleasure classes at Rosudgeon.'
Nigel Wills was born in Falmouth and the sea has been a formative influence in his life. He left school at 14 and after serving an apprenticeship at a local garage firm, he became a welder, working at Falmouth Docks and then at Compair Holmans in Camborne. Since 2011 he has begun to use his skills to create sculptures in steel of marine creatures. Each piece has its own individuality and character and is heat tempered to create a wonderful iridescent green-blue colour.
The son of Frederick J Wilmer, chemist and druggist of Wilmer & Co of Falmouth, four paintings by this artist were exhibited at the 150th Anniversary Exhibition at the RCPS in Falmouth (1983). He is credited with a triptych in the Warrior Chapel of Falmouth Parish church. In September 1900 he exhibited at the RCPS, and in 1906 Lake's Directory lists him as an artist living at 2 Park Crescent. Later he lived at Pennance Road, also in Falmouth.
Born in Lea Hall (Birmingham), the artist's initial sending-in address was in Birmingham, where she also exhibited with some frequency. From an address in Gloucester the artist exhibited Newlyn Harbour in 1904 at the RA. By 1910 she had returned to Birmingham and was again exhibiting there, though this was her last entry in The Year's Art.
The co-founder of the Lamorna Pottery, alongside CHRISTOPHER JAMES LUDLOW.
After the end of World War II, Derrick Wilshaw and Ludlow met as fellow-students at a pottery in Stoke-on-Trent. In 1947 Ludlow returned to Penzance and came across the old milk factory in Lamorna, which he and Wilshaw converted to a pottery in order to set up in business together.
Ludlow was not commercially minded and struggled with his mental health, so the joint venture was not an unqualified success. In 1952 Wilshaw married Lilian Reynolds, a Helston girl. He found the pottery and its surroundings claustrophobic. In 1956, after the tragic drowning of their son, he left Lamorna for Falmouth, where he became a well-regarded lecturer in ceramics.
In an interview for a book on sculptors by Marion Whybrow, he commented: 'Clay has a skin-like quality that is important because I like a figurative element in my work. At some point it ceases to be clay and takes on a character and personality that you endow it with...What is important for me is the historical connection, a progression of development of forms, one relating to another. You can have a conversation through the work, making a spiritual contact and something visual between yourself and the material you are manipulating.'