WHITELEY, John William

 

 

John William Whiteley (1859-1936) was a painter best known for his portraits, landscapes, and nude figures. He was born in the Bradford district, but also lived in Leeds, Hertfordshire, and finally Essex, where he died.

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He was born in Wyke, Bradford, the only child of parents Henry, a Master stonemason and builder, and mother Mary.  He spent his childhood and early teenage years in the Wyke area, but between 1871 and 1881 the family had moved to the Woodhouse Moor area of Leeds. By 1881 John was also employed as Lithographer, a printing trade that required precision drawing ability, as well as printing knowledge to an advanced level.  He had studied at Leeds School of Art and remained an Associate of the School, and it is clear that parallel to his employment he was developing his talent for fine art and was beginning to exhibit his work. This included exhibiting his paintings at the annual shows of the Leeds School of Art.

 

 

Around the end of 1883, early 1884 he decided to abandon printing and practise freelance as a fine artist. The Leeds Mercury (9/1/1884) reporting of the 5th Annual of the Leeds School of Art reported that:

Prominent mention is due to the work of J W Whiteley. So good they are all round that it is no surprise we hear that he has decided to adopt art as a profession.  His three largest works, which are to be shown at the Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Watercolours are ‘Returning from the Farm’,  ‘On the Verge of Winter’, and ‘Mist Clad’. The last, though ambitious, is a successful effort.’

The Leeds Mercury also praised a number of Whiteley’s small paintings as ‘remarkably good’.   In addition to the Royal Institute of Watercolours referred to in the article, his paintings had been chosen for Royal Academy shows from 1882 onward; between 1882 and 1900,  for example, he exhibited nine works at the Royal Academy, and continued to regularly show his work in Leeds.

In 1890 he started an art course at the Herkomer Art School in Bushey, Hertfordshire. This had been established in 1883 by Sir Hubert von Herkomer and quickly built a good reputation for the high standard of student it attracted.  It was not so much an initial training establishment, but more a place where emerging professional artists went to develop their talents in a stimulating environment.  It was relatively small in size and attracted both male and female students. Sir Hubert expected high standards from students and the focus of teaching was on drawing and painting from living models, as well as landscapes, and portraiture. Male and female students ( unusual for that time) worked together, apart from in the living nude model classes.

 

 

Students typically stayed at the School for two years, and afterwards a number stayed in the Bushey area, and an artist colony soon established.  Bushey was within easy travel distance of London, but was in a peaceful and attractive rural location, and without London property prices to contend with.

John flourished at the Herkomer Art School and his work gained special mention in the School Annual Reports and was exhibited there on a number of occasions. He returned to Leeds to visit his parents and exhibit work. He gained portrait commissions, including in 1892 the family portraits shown below of George and Ester Whitfield, and a grandson, Willie (images by courtesy of Jon Whitfield).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His artistic advances, both stylistically and in his commanding use of colour,  can be dated from his time at the Herkomer School.  It was an important period for him too, in terms of contact with other talented artists there, and in the networking advantages his association with Sir Hubert brought to him.

 

 

In 1894 John married Catherine Pickering and the couple made their home in the Bushey area, where John established an art studio.  However, he also continued to return to the Leeds area to visit his parents and exhibit paintings.  He began to gain portrait commissions, including his Portrait of Annette Gardner, painted in 1897, now in a private collection after being sold at Christies for £1200 in 2006 (see below).

 

 

 

Hubert von Herkomer directed the School until 1904 and one of his students, Lucy Kemp-Welsh, by then a successful painter of scenes featuring animals, took over the running of the institution in 1905 and renamed it the Bushey School of Painting.  John Whiteley was appointed as a tutor and stayed in that post until the mid 1920s.  In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he continued to work from his Bushey studio as a freelance painter. He and Catherine made their home in the Dunstable area and raised two children, Enid and Wilfred.

In addition to exhibitions in Leeds, the Royal Academy, and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, his paintings were also shown at the Fine Art Society, and Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.  He was also included in the book: A Dictionary of Victorian Landscape Painters, 1891- 1971 (1968) edited by Sidney H. Paviere, published by F. Lewis Publishers, Leigh-on-Sea.

Around 1926/7 John, now in semi-retirement, moved with Catherine to the Pilgrim’s Hatch area of Brentwood, Essex, where he died in 1936.  After his death,  Catherine moved to the Dover area of Kent, where she died in 1953.

Examples of J W Whiteley’s art work can still be found in public galleries: Pannett Art Gallery, the Bushey Museum and Art Gallery, and Scolton Manor Museum.

 

 

(With thanks to Jon Whitfield for alerting me to this locally born artist and for information about the artist’s life and work.)