Sidney Richard Percy (22 March 1822 – 13 April 1886) was an English landscape painter during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, and a member of the

Williams family of painters The Williams family of painters, also known as the Barnes School, is a family of prominent 19th-century Victorian landscape artists known for their paintings of the British countryside, coasts and mountains. They are represented by the artist Edw ...

Biography

Life and career

Sidney Richard Percy was born Sidney Richard Percy Williams on 22 March 1822 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was the fifth son of the painter Edward Williams (1781–1855) and Ann Hildebrandt (c.1780-1851), and a member of the

, who were related to such famous artists as James Ward, R.A. and

George Morland George Morland (26 June 176329 October 1804) was an English painter. His early work was influenced by Francis Wheatley, but after the 1790s he came into his own style. His best compositions focus on rustic scenes: farms and hunting; smugglers an ...

. His father was a well-known landscape artist, who taught him how to paint; otherwise he received no formal instruction. Although his early paintings were signed "Sidney Williams", he used the name "Percy" from the age of 20 onwards to differentiate himself from the other artists in his family. Starting in 1842, he exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

(65 works), the

British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it ...

(48 works), and the Suffolk Street Gallery of the

Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fi ...

(67 works). He also exhibited in many of the lesser-known Victorian art venues as well. His early years were spent in or near the artist's quarter of Tottenham Court, before moving about 1846 with his family to

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People *Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom * Barnes, London, England ** Barnes railway station **Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes High Stree ...

on the outskirts of London. Here he lived and worked with his father and brothers in a communal artist setting in a large house with a studio that they shared at 32 Castelnau Villas. Barnes today is part of the urban sprawl of London, but much of it was rural countryside in Victorian times. Situated close to the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

, there were quiet marshes beneath windmills, farms where horses pulled plows, and wheel-rutted dirt roads running past country inns or through shaded glens. These were the scenes that the Williams brothers captured on canvas during their early years as painters, but as Sidney Richard Percy matured as a landscape painter he increasingly sought his inspiration in

Northern Wales North Wales ( ) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia National Park ( ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

and

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

. He moved after his 1857 marriage to the Florence Villas on Inner Park Road in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, and then moved his family about 1863 to ''Hill House'' in the village of

Great Missenden Great Missenden is a village and civil parish in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover. It adjoins the village of Little Kingshill, and is a mile from Lit ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. Hill House was well placed for painting forays into the English countryside, situated as it was across from the Misbourne Valley. He was extremely popular during these years, which brought him sufficient income to indulge the extravagant tastes of his wife, which included a carriage and several servants. Percy traveled in 1865 to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

with his friend and neighbor the water colour artist William Callow (1812–1908), and returned visiting

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Although war between

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in 1866 put an end to these travels, he returned home to ample artistic inspiration in the Welsh countryside, where he spent many days painting in and around the villages of

Llanbedr Llanbedr () is a village and Community (Wales), community south of Harlech. Administratively, it lies in the Ardudwy area, formerly Meirionnydd, of the county of Gwynedd, Wales. In 2011 the community had a population of 645. History Ancient ...

and

Arthog Arthog () is a village, post town and community (Wales), community in the Meirionnydd area in Gwynedd, north Wales including the villages of Fairbourne and Friog. It is located on the A493 road, A493, approximately west of Dolgellau, and had a ...

, on either side of the

Mawddach is a river in Gwynedd, Wales, which has its source in a wide area north of Dduallt in Snowdonia. It is 28 miles (45 km) in length, and is much branched; many of the significant tributaries are of a similar size to the main river. The ...

estuary in

Merioneth Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is an anglicisation of the Welsh placename ''Mei ...

. He also made painting forays to the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. He spent his final years at 34 Mulgrave Road in

Sutton, Surrey Sutton is a town in the London Borough of Sutton in South London, England. It is the administrative headquarters of the Outer London borough, on the lower slopes of the North Downs. It is south-southwest of Charing Cross, one of the fourteen ...

, where his knee was injured when he was thrown from a horse in a riding accident. When his leg had to be amputated as a consequence, he died prematurely on 13 April 1886 at his home of a heart attack due complications from the operation. He was buried at Beckenham Cemetery in Kent. Though once quite wealthy, his finances at the time of his death were no longer robust, and his widow had to be supported in her final years by her son-in-law.

Marriage and children

Sidney Richard Percy Williams married Emily Charlotte Fairlam (1835–1904), the daughter of Richard Fairlam, on 30 June 1857 in the Barnes Parish Church. He and Emily had four children. #Gordon Fairlam Percy Williams (12 April 1858,

− 12 Sept 1870,

Westhampnett Westhampnett (or West Hampnett) is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the district of Chichester in West Sussex, England, located northeast of Chichester on the former A27 road, now by-passed. The village is pre-Norman and is home ...

, West Sussex) #Edith Maude Percy Williams (14 April 1859,

− 1883,

Epsom, Surrey Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The earliest ev ...

) # Amy Dora Percy Williams (6 October 1860,

− 11 June 1957,

Grange-over-Sands Grange-over-Sands is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north side of Morecambe Bay in Cumbria, England, a few miles south of the Lake District Lake District National Park, National Park. In the United Kingdom Census 201 ...

, Cumbria) # Herbert Sidney Percy Williams (18 Feb 1863,

, Buckinghamshire − 8 Oct 1932,

Hammersmith, London Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

) Sidney Richard Percy's daughter Amy Dora Percy exhibited one painting at the Royal Academy, and married the chemist Richard Freshfield Reynolds (1860–1907), but she is best known for a collection of poems and several novels she wrote as Mrs. Fred Reynolds. Her brother Herbert Sidney Percy (1863–1932) studied at the

Royal Academy of Art The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, where he won two silver medals in painting, and exhibited one painting at the Academy. He became a professional artist whose portraits and miniatures hang in the homes of many prominent English families. He also painted landscapes, and illustrated books, particularly those of his close friend G.K. Chesterton.

The Williams family

Sidney Richard Percy was born into an artist family that is sometimes referred to as the

Barnes School Barnes School, Deolali, is a boarding school in west India. It was established in 1925, on the basis of a 1718 original foundation. It is a private co-educational University-preparatory school, prep school. It is an Anglican school, founded i ...

. His father and five surviving brothers (listed below) were all noted landscape painters during the

. Percy was one of three of the sons of Edward Williams who changed their last names to protect the identity of their art. * Edward Williams (father) *

Edward Charles Williams Edward Charles Williams (10 July 1807 – 25 July 1881) was an English landscape painter during the Victorian Era, and a member of the Williams family of painters. Early life, family and education Edward Charles Williams was born in Londo ...

Henry John Boddington Henry John Boddington (1811 – 11 April 1865) was an English landscape painter during the Victorian era, and a member of the Williams family of painters. Biography Henry John Boddington was born Henry John Williams on 14 October 1811 in L ...

George Augustus Williams George Augustus Williams (4 May 1814 – 26 May 1901) was an English landscape painter during the Victorian era, and a member of the Williams family of painters. Biography George Augustus Williams was born on 4 May 1814 in London. He was the ...

Arthur Gilbert Arthur Gilbert (19 December 1819 – 21 April 1895) was an English landscape painter during the Victorian era, and a member of the Williams family of painters. Biography Arthur Gilbert was born Arthur Gilbert Frederick Williams on 19 Decem ...

Alfred Walter Williams Alfred Walter Williams (18 July 1824 – 16 December 1905) was an English landscape painter during the Victorian era, and a member of the Williams family of painters. Biography Alfred Walter Williams was born on 18 July 1824 in Southwark, Lo ...

Art

Influence

Sidney Richard Percy had his greatest success painting landscapes of grazing cattle, typically set against backgrounds of distant mountains and cloudy skies. The prevailing hues of his landscapes are earth tones and soft greens, accentuated by a variety of pastel hues. The detail in his work is part of its appeal, and ''"it was remarked that his rocks and stones were sufficiently accurate to have served as illustrations to the writings of Sir Roderick Murchison, the popular 19th-century geologist."''Reynolds (1975), p. 33. ''Llyn-y-Ddinas, North Wales'', one of his more popular works on the internet, displays these qualities. He also painted landscapes of farm fields, wheel-rutted country roads, and the occasional boat scene on a lake. His art interests were not limited to painting, and he was also an amateur photographer, in a day when photography was new and exciting, yet still a poorly understood medium. He frequently used his own photographs of gypsies in the Barnes or Wimbledon Common as the basis for similar figures in his paintings, even though some contemporary critics complained how these figures ruined what otherwise would be delightful landscapes. A classic example is ''Storm Gathering on Cader Idris, North Wales'', which he exhibited in 1856 at the

, and which has the same gypsy girls in it as one of seven of his photographs in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

. In fact, this painting is one of the ones singled out for some of the aforementioned criticism. These same girls appear in his 1861 work ''A Rest on the Roadside'', and they appear again, but reversed, in his 1873 version of ''Llyn-y-Ddinas, North Wales'', showing that he repeated themes when convenient. Although he generally painted in oils, a number of small watercolors on cardboard exist, typically unsigned, that are his work. The family, and his son the painter Herbert Sidney Percy in particular, referred to these as ''"potboilers"'', meaning that they were quickly, and often crudely executed, yet easily and cheaply sold "to put food on the table" when working on larger, more time-consuming oils for exhibition, or commissions. Many of these watercolor "potboilers" were done in the field, and then brought back to the studio to refer to when executing a more formal oil on canvas. Sidney Richard Percy was extremely popular during the early part of his career, which for a short time brought him a fair amount of income. Among his patrons during this time was

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

the Royal consort who in 1854 gave Percy's landscape of ''A view of Llyn Dulyn, North Wales,'' which had just been exhibited at the

, as a gift to his wife

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. This painting still hangs today in the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

. Unfortunately Sidney Richard Percy outlived his popularity, and the art world was more excited about

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and other styles than landscapes when he died. Today though, his work is much sought after, and his better paintings bring much higher prices in auction than any of those of his brethren in the Williams family. However, a drop in demand over recent decades for Victorian landscapes has been reported. This is illustrated by the Percy oil painting ‘’Loch Lomond’’. It was sold for £35,200 at Christie’s (London) Victorian Pictures sale on 2 June 1989, followed by £70,000 on 6 October 1993 at an English gallery. In contrast the most recent price was £17,700 on 10 January 2018 at Stroud’s Auction Rooms (Gloucester, UK).

When the

Athenaeum Athenaeum may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798 * ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921 * ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...

in 1886 (i. 592) ran an obituary for Sidney Richard Percy they called him, ''"the well-known and popular painter, founder of the so-called School of Barnes . . ."'' Graves (1895), v. 44, p. 429. Although depending on the context of what is meant by the so-called Barnes School, this is a bit of an injustice to his father Edward Williams, whom it might be argued is the founder of the Barnes School of painters, but it illustrates the popularity that Sidney Richard Percy held with the art-buying public of his day.

Paintings

Some further examples of his work (arranged chronologically). Image:Sidney Richard Percy02.jpg, ''The Angler's Corner'', 1851 File:Sidney Richard Percy01.jpg, ''Near Bettwys-y-Coed'', 1869 File:Sidney Richard Percy Carn Dearg and Ben Nevis from Achintee.jpg, ''Carn Dearg and Ben Nevis from Achintee'', 1874 File:Sidney Richard Percy22.jpg, ''Grizedale, Westmorland'', 1883 File:Sidney Richard Percy - Road Across the Common, 1851.jpg, ''The road across the Common'', 1851 File:Sidney Richard Percy - A Rest on The Roadside 1861.jpg, ''A rest on the roadside'', 1861 File:Sidney Richard Percy Llyn-y-Ddinas North Wales.jpg, ''Llyn-y-Ddinas, North Wales'', 1873 File:Sidney Richard Percy - Loch Scavaig 1883.jpg, ''Loch Scavaig, Isle of Skye'', 1883

Museums

* Museum and Art Gallery, Salford, England * Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Nottingham, England *Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, (

Osborne House Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. Albert designed the house in the style ...

on the Isle of Wight), England *

Ferens Art Gallery The Ferens Art Gallery is an art gallery in the English city of Kingston upon Hull. The site and money for the gallery were donated to the city by Thomas Ferens, after whom it is named. The architects were S. N. Cooke and E. C. Dav ...

, Kingston-upon-Hull, England (two paintings) *

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile stretch of Sherbrooke Street west. The MMFA ...

, Montreal, Canada * Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum, Baroda, India (two paintings) *

Mappin Art Gallery Weston Park Museum is a museum in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is one mile west of Sheffield city centre within Weston Park. It is Sheffield's largest museum and is housed in a Grade II* listed building and managed by Museums Sheffie ...

, Sheffield, England *

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, New York, United States * Museum and Art Gallery, Sunderland, England *

National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, Cardiff, Wales *

New Walk Museum The Leicester Museum & Art Gallery (until 2020, New Walk Museum and Art Gallery) is a museum on New Walk in Leicester, England, not far from the city centre. It opened in 1849 as one of the first public museums in the United Kingdom. Leicest ...

, Leicester, England (two paintings) * Tate Gallery, London, England * Temple Newsam House, Leeds, England *

Victoria Art Gallery The Victoria Art Gallery is a public art museum in Bath, Somerset, England. It was opened in 1900 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. It is a Grade II* listed building and houses over 1,500 objects of art including a collectio ...

, Bath, England (2 paintings) *

Wolverhampton Art Gallery Wolverhampton Art Gallery is located in Wolverhampton, England. The building was funded and constructed by local contractor Philip Horsman (1825–1890), and built on land provided by the municipal authority. It opened in May 1884. The buildi ...

, West Midlands, England

Notes

References

* * * * * *

External links

Genealogy of the Percy, Williams and Ward families
*Sidney Richard Percy biography o
Richard Green Gallery
*Sidney Richard Percy biography and paintings o
World Classic Gallery
*Paintings by Sidney Richard Percy in British Museums o
Art UK
*Paintings by Sidney Richard Percy o
Wikigallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Percy, Sidney Richard 1822 births 1886 deaths 19th-century English painters Artists from the London Borough of Camden Artists from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames English male painters English landscape artists People from Barnes, London People from Somers Town, London 19th-century English male artists People from Sutton, London