William Anderson
(1757 - 1837)
Little is known about William Anderson’s early life except that he was born in Scotland and became a shipwright. It was not until his thirties that he began to pursue painting seriously and Anderson moved to London to begin a career as a marine painter. His style was based on the Dutch 17th Century school and although he lived well into the 19th Century, he never attempted to contribute to the Romantic Movement.
Although Anderson did paint some large canvases he is better known for his smaller pictures which have always sold very well. His first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1787 and at the British Institution in 1810. Not all of Anderson’s works that were exhibited were marines: in 1822 his exhibit at the British Institution was a ‘Battle of Waterloo’. At the Royal Academy in 1799 he exhibited ‘The Wolverine Engaging Two French Luggers’ and also in 1824 he showed a view of Berwick-on-Tweed and another of Tynemouth. These two works indicate the date that he journeyed north-east where he became a very influential to the Hull school of painters, in particular to John Ward who copied at least one of his paintings of Greenwich Reach. Anderson’s last exhibit at the Royal Academy was in 1834 was a major work, ‘Lord Howe’s fleet at Spithead’. Anderson was a friend of Julius Caesar Ibbotson who is believed to have collaborated with him on some of his paintings. He had a son William Guido Anderson, who joined the Royal Navy and was wounded at the Battle of Copenhagen. Anderson died in London on May 27th 1837.
His works have been exhibited widely and have shown in many museums and galleries including the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, the Ferens Art Gallery, Hull and Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield.