William Lionel Wyllie
1851 - 1931
He held several exhibitions at galleries of the Fine Art Society and elsewhere. In 1889 he was elected an associate of the Royal Academy, and exhibited his work there in 1901, an event which greatly enhanced his reputation. Wyllie spent much of his time at sea working for the White Star Shipping Line, and serving in the Royal Navy during WWI.
Wyllie painted seascapes and coastal landscapes, in which his treatment of light and atmosphere was the predominant feature, bringing to the paintings a feeling of peace and tranquility. His watercolours and oils portrayed a wide range of maritime subjects, from destroyers and battleships to fishing boats and sailing dinghies. It was his etchings and watercolours showing working life on the Thames and the Medway that brought him widespread popularity. Later in his life he played an important role in the restoration of the Victory, and this led him to paint, somewhat uncharacteristically, the 42 foot panorama of the Battle of Trafalgar, as seen from the stern of the French ship of the line Neptune. He completed the panorama in 1930 with the assistance of his daughter Aileen.
Wyllie died on the 6th April 1931 in Hampstead, and scouts from the 1st Portchester Sea Scout Troop, which he had founded, rowed his coffin across Portsmouth Harbour for his burial at Portchester Castle.
Person TypeIndividual
