The Old Roadside Inn
EDWARD CHARLES WILLIAMS
(1807 - 1881)
The Old Roadside Inn
Oil on canvas
28 5/8 x 50 inches
Signed with monogram and dated 1859
Titled on a label on the reverse
Edward Charles Williams was born on July 10th, 1807 and was the eldest son of Edward Williams (the British landscape painter).  He received his early training from his father, as can readily be seen from the similarity of their works – both painting in the same woodland style reminiscent of the early Dutch landscape artists.  In the early 1840’s he was living at 2, London Street – close to Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt – and exhibited his first work at the Royal Academy in 1840 – A Gypsy Encampment – Moon Rising.  By 1854 he had moved to Hammersmith and in 1857 his first wife, Mary Ann, died.  His only child, Alice, was born a year later to a woman who had been his wife’s nurse – the two did not marry for another 10 years.

Williams lived in and around London for most of his life and many of his paintings feature scenes from the surrounding countryside including Kent, Surrey Sussex and Essex.   He was the least prolific exhibitor of the family, but did exhibit at all the major exhibition halls, including: The Royal Academy, British Institution, Royal Society of British Artists, Institute of Fine Arts and the National Institution.

Williams died on July 25, 1881.

Examples of his work can be seen in the collections of: Holburne of Menstrie Museum, Bath; Lansdowne Collection, Bowood, Wilts.; Public Museum and Art Gallery, Hastins and Anglesey Abbey, Lode, Near Cambridge.

Among his exhibited works were:

Gypsies - Moonlight (British institution, 1841)
The Village Green (Royal Academy, 1846)
Skirts of a Common – Passing Shower (Royal Academy, 1849)
The Organ Boy (Liverpool Academy, 1850)
Early Morning on the Coast (British Institution, 1851)
At Undercliffe, Isle of Wight (British Institution, 1852)
At Chiddingstone (British institution, 1853)
A Breeze from the River (Royal Academy, 1854)
Night – Moonrise, Hastings (National Institution, 1856)
Early Morning – Haying in Cumberland (Royal Academy, 1860)
A Windy Day on the Thames (Royal Academy, 1861)
Bonchurch – Isle of Wight
(Royal Academy, 1864)
Llyn Ddinas (Society of British Artists, 1865)

Additional Reading:

Reynolds, Jan, The Williams Family of Painters, Antique Collectors' Club, 1975

 
INDEX - A VISUAL HISTORY <
Virtual Exhibition Index prev
AIRY, ANNA (1882 - 1964)The Little Mirror
BARBER, CHARLES BURTON (1845 - 1894)Off to School
BOLOTOWSKY, ILYA (1907 - 1981)Abstract
BONHEUR, AUGUSTE (1824 - 1884)Ploughing in the Nivernais
BONHEUR, ROSA (1822 - 1899)Couching Lion
BOUDIN, EUGENE LOUIS (1824 - 1898)La bassin, Deauville
BOUGUEREAU, WILLIAM A. (1825 - 1905)La Frileuse
BOUGUEREAU, WILLIAM A. (1825 - 1905)Marchande de grenades (Pomegranate Seller)
CHAIGNEAU, JEAN F. (1830 - 1906)Le Jardin de l'Artiste
CHOULTSE, IVAN F. (b.1877)Nuit de Mars, Russie
CLAYS, PAUL JEAN (1819 - 1900)Shipping on the Scheldt
COALE, GRIFFITH BAILEY (1890 - 1950)The Baltimore Flower Mart - 1915
COROT, JEAN-BAPTISTE-CAMILLE (1796 - 1875)Pâturage dans les marais (Souvenir des environs d'Amiens)
CORTÈS, EDOUARD LEON (1882 - 1969)The Breton Family
DAWSON, MONTAGUE (1895 - 1973)The Pirate's Cove, Wafer Bay, Cocos Island
DIÉTERLE, MARIE (1856 - 1935)Troupeau dans un chemin creux
DRUMMOND, ARTHUR (1871 - 1951)Victorian Fantasy
DUPRÉ, JULES (1811 - 1889)Environs de Plymouth
DUPRÉ, JULIEN (1851 - 1910)La rentrée au village
DUPRE, JULIEN (1851 - 1910)Glaneuses
DUPRE, JULIEN (1851 - 1910)La Prairie
ELSLEY, ARTHUR J. (1860 - 1952)Good Night
FISHER, R.A., WILLIAM MARK (1841-1923)In the Garden
FRERE, CHARLES THEODORE (1814 - 1888)A Caravan Crossing the Desert
GIRARDET, EUGENE ALEXIS (1853 - 1907)Outside the Mosque
GIRARDET, EUGENE ALEXIS (1853 - 1907)The Wailing Wall
HERBO, LEON (1850 - 1907)La Charmeuse
ISRAELS, ISAAC (1865 - 1934)Dancing at the Moulin de la Galette
JOUBERT, LEON (fl.1883 - 1900)Un Coin de Seine a Lavacourt
KNIGHT, DANIEL RIDGWAY (1839 - 1924)A Pensive Moment
KNIGHT, DANIEL RIDGWAY (1839 - 1924)En Vendanges
LUNY, THOMAS (1759 - 1837)Engagement Between Sir George Brydges Rodney and the Spanish Squadron, Commanded by Don Juan de Langara, Near Cape St. Vincent, January 16, 1780
MARCKE DE LUMMEN, EMILE VAN (1827 - 1890)Vaches a Pâture
MOREAU, ADRIEN (1843-1906)Une Mascarade au XVII Siecle
MOSTYN, TOM (1864 - 1930)Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May
MUNIER, EMILE (1840 - 1895)May I Have One Too
MUNIER, EMILE (1840 - 1895)La retour du marché
PERRAULT, LEON J.B. (1832 - 1908)Away From Home
PERRAULT, LEON J.B. (1832 - 1908)Sleeping Putto
PERUGINI , CHARLES EDWARD (1839-1918)The Green Lizard
RIGOLOT, ALBERT GABRIEL (1862 - 1932)Soleil Levant dans la Brume
ROSSI, ALEXANDER MARK (FL.1870 - 1903) May I Have This Dance?
ROSSI, ALEXANDER MARK (FL.1870 - 1903)Forbidden Books
SALMON, ROBERT (1775 - c.1845) The Estridge off Dover
SCHIELE, EGON (1890 - 1918)Semi-nude with Green Stockings from the Back
SCHRYVER, LOUIS MARIE DE (1862 - 1942)Après l’averse; - place du Théâtre-Français
SCHRYVER, LOUIS MARIE DE (1862 - 1942)A Young Man's Fancy
SEIGNAC, GUILLAUME (1870 - 1924)Reflections
SISLEY, ALFRED (1839 - 1899)La Seine à Suresnes
TOPHAM, FRANCIS W.W. (1838 - 1924)Young Girl on a Swing
WARDLE, ARTHUR (1864 – 1949)The Deer-Stealer
WILLIAMS, EDWARD CHARLES (1807 - 1881)The Old Roadside Inn