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Octavius Oakley RWS (27 April 1800, in
Oakley was born in Bermondsey, London on the 27th April 1800.
Initially he worked for a Watercolour - Portrait of Thomas Baker (1809-64)
Birmingham Museum. His youngest daughter, Isabel Naftel was also an artist. He died at his home, 7 Chepstow Villas,
Octavius Oakley08a.jpg, Country Family of Emigrants, watercolour
Octavius Oakley12.jpg, Portrait of a gypsy woman, watercolour on paper, 31 x 25 cm, oval format
Octavius Oakley01.jpg, Portrait of Benjamin Gibbons, son of John Gibbons(1777-1851), with a view of Eton College Beyond, Watercolour, 16 1/2 X 11 1/4 inches (36.8 x 28.6 cm)
Joseph Paxton by Octavius Oakley, c1850.jpg,
Portraits by O. Oakley
( National Portrait Gallery)
Portrait of Benjamin Gibbons Seated, with a view of Eton College Beyond
(Victorian web) 1800 births 1867 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery English watercolourists 19th-century English painters English male painters English landscape painters 19th-century English male artists {{England-painter-stub
Bermondsey
Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...
– 1 March 1867, in London), was a British watercolour
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...
portrait, figure and landscape artist.
Life
Oakley was born in Bermondsey, London on the 27th April 1800.
Initially he worked for a Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
textile company. He developed into a specialist of portraits in watercolour and was given commissions by the Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has b ...
.
Whilst living in Derby
Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
where he painted rustic scenes until he moved to Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...
in Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
in 1836. He returned to London in the 1840s and worked there until his death, producing paintings of street scenes and gypsies and their lifestyle.
His emphasis on gypsy paintings which he exhibited at the Royal Watercolour Society earned him the name 'Gypsy Oakley'.
Oakley met Thomas Baker in Leamington Spa, where Baker was living and working and in 1841 did a portrait of the celebrated painter, who was an important figure in the Midlands
The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...
and Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
art world.Birmingham Museum. His youngest daughter, Isabel Naftel was also an artist. He died at his home, 7 Chepstow Villas,
Kensington
Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
, on the 1st March 1867 and was buried in a family grave (no.14459) on the western side of Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...
.
Gallery
Sir Joseph Paxton
Sir Joseph Paxton (3 August 1803 – 8 June 1865) was an English gardener, architect, engineer and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament. He is best known for designing the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde ...
, builder of The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...
Octavius Oakley04.jpg, Portrait of Thomas Baker (1809-1864), watercolour, 301 x 232mm
References
External links
Portraits by O. Oakley
( National Portrait Gallery)
Portrait of Benjamin Gibbons Seated, with a view of Eton College Beyond
(Victorian web) 1800 births 1867 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery English watercolourists 19th-century English painters English male painters English landscape painters 19th-century English male artists {{England-painter-stub