W.O. Geller. Image: Brian Stevenson (see sources)
William Overend Geller (1804- 1881) was a Bradford-born painter and engraver who became an accomplished mixed-method engraver of both his own, as well the artwork of other artists, including Sir Joshua Reynolds.
His original surname was Gelder and his father, John Gelder, was a tradesman in Bradford; ‘Overend’ was his mother’s maiden name. After leaving school, William trained and worked initially as a house decorator. However, he had artistic talent and aspirations and in his own time taught himself wood and steel engraving.
He made friends in Bradford with other artists, and in 1827 William and others formed the ‘Bradford Artists’ Society of Painting and Sculpture’. The Society organised an exhibition of paintings and sculptures by artists from Bradford and neighbouring towns. The exhibition was open for just over two months in 1827, but proved a financial disaster, as few artworks were sold. William also played a prominent role in the formation and opening of the Mechanics Institute in Bradford in 1832.
Around the same time, William began to make mezzoprint prints of local scenes, as well as portraits of local people. In 1832 he produced a mezzoprint portrait of a local clergyman, Rev. Henry Heap, but these and other similar artistic initiatives were also unsuccessful commercially. An engraver had to recover the cost of printing from sales of prints before making any money, and if the prints did not sell, the artist/engraver would lose out financially.
Engraving of John Hunter, from the portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Image: Wellcome Institute
Disillusioned, William resolved to leave Bradford to seek work in London, and this feeling was heightened when he exhibited a painting in a Leeds exhibition. This was seen by a Bradford banker, who expressed an interest in buying it, but retracted his offer when he learned that William was a Bradford, and not a Leeds or London based artist – the assumption being that, originating from Bradford, the work would be inferior! This attitude toward Bradford artists persisted well into the 19th century and only changed from 1969 onward after the formation of the Bradford Art Society, under its first President, John Sowden who was well-known and regarded by art patrons in the city (Source: Wood, 1892).
In 1833 William left Bradford for London and soon found employment in the printing trades, using techniques, such as mezzo-tinting, aquatinting, engraving and etching, to produce work for commercial printing. His work was well-regarded for its fine detail and he was commissioned to engrave copies of paintings by other artists, including Joshua Reynolds.
Engraving by W.O. Geller of Thomas Campbell, painted by Thomas Thompson. Image: in a private collection.
He also produced both monochrome and colour engravings from his own paintings that spanned a variety of subjects, including historical scenes and scenes from the Bible. He also made friends with other London artists, including John Martin.
William’s own paintings were shown at Art Society exhibitions between 1871-75. One of his paintings was a portrait of John Nicholson, the ‘Airedale Poet’ (see below).
John Nicholson, ‘the Airedale Poet’ Image: ; Bradford Museums and Galleries;
He married, and he and his wife, Margaret, had 5 children and the family lived at 4 Stanhope Place, in the Regent’s Park area of London.
William became very interested in photography and the opportunities and link this medium created in the printing process. He became acquainted with many of the leading photographers of the age, including Henry Fox Talbot and Frederick Scott Archer, and began to construct his own photographic equipment. In 1867 he left London to work at the Sarony photographic studios in Scarborough, and he was resident in Scarborough when he died in 1881. He is buried in the town cemetery.
Sources:
Stevenson, B. Microphotograph maker “W.O.G.”: William Overend Geller, 1804-1881. Online at http://microscopist.net/WOG.html (accessed 12 Sept 2020).
Wood, B. (1892) Some Old Bradford Artists. Published in ‘The Bradford Antiquary’, 1895, pp.198-209.