Thomas Webster (10 March 180023 September 1886), was a British painter of
genre
Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
scenes of school and village life, many of which became popular through prints. He lived for many years at the
artists' colony
Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission- ...
at
Cranbrook in Kent.
Life
Webster was born in Ranelagh Street,
Pimlico
Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...
, London. His father was a member of the household of
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
, and the son, having shown an aptitude for music, became a
chorister, first at
St George's Chapel
St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal Peculiar (a church und ...
in
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
, and then the
Chapel Royal
A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family.
Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...
at
St. James's Palace
St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster. Although no longer the principal residence ...
in London. He abandoned music for painting, however,
and in 1821 was admitted as a student 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 ...
, exhibiting, in 1824, a portrait of "Mr Robinson and Family". In the following year he won first prize in the school of painting.

In 1825, also, Webster exhibited ''Rebels shooting a Prisoner'', at the
Suffolk Street Gallery
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 ...
- the first of a series of pictures of schoolboy life for which he subsequently became known. In 1828 he exhibited ''The Gunpowder Plot at the Royal Academy, and in 1829 ''The Prisoner'' and ''A Foraging Party Aroused'' at 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 ...
. These were followed by numerous other pictures of school and village
life at both galleries. In 1840 Webster was elected an associate of the Royal Academy (ARA), and in 1846 a Royal Academician (RA). He continued to be a frequent exhibitor there until 1876, when he retired from
the academy. He exhibited a self-portrait in 1878, and ''Released from School'', his last picture, in 1879.
In 1856 Webster was photographed at the
Photographic Institute in London by
Robert Howlett
Robert Howlett (3 July 1831 – 2 December 1858) was a British pioneering photographer and founding member of the 27 Club, whose pictures are widely exhibited in major galleries. Howlett produced portraits of Crimean War heroes, genre scenes an ...
, as part of a series of portraits of artists. The picture was among a group exhibited at the
Art Treasures Exhibition
The Art Treasures of Great Britain was an exhibition of fine art held in Manchester, England, from 5 May to 17 October 1857.[Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...]
in 1857.
[ Thomas Webster biography](_blank)
("Leighton Fine Art).
From 1835 to 1856 Webster lived at The Mall,
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 ...
, but the last thirty years of his life were spent at the artists' colony in
Cranbrook, Kent, where he died on 23 Sept. 1886.
Work
Webster became known for his genre paintings, often with children as subjects, depicting incidents from everyday life in a genial and humorous way. Many of these were exceedingly popular, particularly his
''Punch'' (1840) with which he procured associate membership of the Royal Academy.
In the limited range of subjects which he made his own, Webster was unrivalled. Some of his pictures - such as ''Please remember the Grotto'', ''Snowballing'' and maybe ''The Swing'' - were issued as prints by
Abraham Le Blond
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the covenantal relationship between the Jewish people and God; ...
.
''The Smile'' (1841), ''The Frown'' and ''The Boy with Many Friends'', are among the numerous pictures which became well known by engravings. He also contributed work to volumes issued by the London-based
Etching Club
The Etching Club (also known as Etching Club, the London Etching Club, and the British Etching Club; or the Junior Etching Club for its younger membership grouped separately) was an artists' society founded in London, England, in 1838 by Charl ...
: ''The Deserted Village'' (1841), ''Songs of Shakespeare'' (1843), and ''Etch'd Thoughts'' (1844).
Webster was influential on the work of fellow Cranbrook artists
George Bernard O'Neill
George Bernard O'Neill (17 July 1828 – 23 September 1917), was a prolific Irish genre works, genre painter, from 1859 a member of the Cranbrook Colony of artists.
Life and work
O'Neill was born in Dublin in Ireland, the ninth of fifteen chi ...
and
Frederick Daniel Hardy
Frederick Daniel Hardy (13 February 1827 – 1 April 1911) was an English genre works, genre painter and member of the Cranbrook Colony of artists.
Early life
Frederick Daniel Hardy was born at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in Berkshire, the ...
.
Notes
References
Attribution:
*
*
External links
*
*
In Sickness and Health' (1843),
The artist's father and mother(first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1844),
A Dame's School (1845)
*
The Village Choir' (1847).
(ArtCyclopedia)
Thomas Webster biography and works(
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 ...
collection)
Thomas Webster biography and art(The Weald - people history and genealogy)
The Dunce(c. 1850 painting)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Thomas
1800 births
1886 deaths
19th-century English painters
English male painters
English genre painters
Royal Academicians
People from Pimlico
Painters from London
19th-century English male artists