202 - EDWARD WILLIAMS (1781–1855)

EDWARD WILLIAMS (1781–1855) Fisherman on the Thames in the Moonlight Oil on re-stretched canvas, monogrammed in the lower right corner. Dimensions: 37 x 53 cm - An English landscape painter of the Victorian era born in London, Edward Williams spent most of his life in the artists’ quarter of Tottenham Court Road in London before moving to the countryside in Bames, Surrey. He began by painting miniatures and copying Baroque scenes, and as he developed his style, he turned to landscapes of the English countryside that, unsurprisingly, resembled those of his uncle George Morland. Williams quickly became known for his scenes of boats and mills for sale by moonlight along the Thames, earning him the nickname “Moonlight Williams.” He rarely signed his paintings, and when he did, he used his monogram, which distinguished him from his son Edward Charles Williams, who painted in a similar style and signed his works “E. Williams.”