Richard Wilson (1714–1782)

Brief Biography of the Artist

Richard Wilson (1 August 1714 – 15 May 1782) was a Welsh landscape painter who worked in Britain and Italy. He began his career as a portrait artist but converted to landscapes during his sojourn in Italy during the 1750s, depicting various classical Italian scenes. On his return to England, he continued to paint landscapes in a manner reminiscent of his Italian works. He enjoyed great success in the 1760s becoming a founding member of the Royal Academy. His reputation dwindled in the 1770s due to ill health. However, his legacy lived on, capturing the attention of later generations of landscape painters including Turner and Constable.

Read full Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wilson_(painter)

Wilson in the Archive Collections

Substantial material:

W.G. Constable Archive

William George Constable (1887–1976) was an art historian and gallery director. Constable’s specialism was in 17th and 18th-century British painting, hence his interest in Wilson. The majority of the archive relates to: Constable, W.G. (1953) Richard Wilson. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. The archive contains over 260 files of the correspondence, research notes and photographs he collected during his research for this publication. The W.G. Constable Archive has been catalogued and the descriptions are available online.

Ellis Waterhouse Archive

Sir Ellis Kirkham Waterhouse (1905–1985) was an art historian and museum director. The Waterhouse Archive contains a series of ‘Research files on artists’ which include the material he created, collected and compiled on different artists throughout his career. Within this series there are seven files concerning Wilson, which include over 430 images of works by the artist. The Ellis Waterhouse Archive has been catalogued and the descriptions can be searched online.

Paul Oppé Archive

Adolph Paul Oppé (1878–1957) was a British art historian, critic, art collector and museum official. Paul Oppé’s specialism was in eighteenth and nineteenth-century British art history, hence his interest in Wilson, both as a collector and scholar. The Oppé Archive contains a series of ‘Research files on artists' which include material he created, collected and compiled on different artists throughout his career. Within this series there are four files containing material on Wilson. Oppé also wrote about Wilson in the unique and highly personal set of notebooks, collectively known as the ‘Black Books’, that he maintained between 1894–1955. Specific references to Wilson appear in volume 115. The Paul Oppé archive has been catalogued and the descriptions can be searched online.

Frank Simpson Archive

Frank Simpson (1911–2002) was an amateur art historian. He worked as Librarian at The Barber Institute of Fine Art, Knoedler & Co. and at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. The archive contains records from the London office of Knoedler’s, detailing works of art which passed through their London, New York and Paris branches, and includes one file specifically relating to works of art by Wilson. These files contain information about approximately 21 works which passed through the saleroom between 1913 and 1971. The type of information for each work varies, but may include photographs, correspondence and pedigree information. The Frank Simpson Archive has been catalogued and the descriptions can be searched online.

Brian Sewell Archive

Brian Sewell (1931–2015) was a British art historian, author, critic and media personality. His highly acclaimed work for the Evening Standard and other publications led him to write on a huge range of subjects, but particularly the arts. The archive contains one file which includes Sewell’s review of an exhibition featuring Wilson in 1996. The Brian Sewell archive has been catalogued and the descriptions can be searched online.

The above archive collections contain substantial amounts of material for Wilson. You may also discover smaller quantities of material, such as individual letters referencing the artist, research notes and photographs, by searching the online catalogue and boxlists.

Wilson in the Photographic Archives

• The Paul Mellon Centre Photo Archive consists of mounted reference images depicting works of art. It has been digitised in its entirety and contains in excess of 1,100 images associated with Richard Wilson. The PMC archive also has various folders of photographs that meticulously document the development of Wilson’s art whilst travelling across Italy. Engravings and etchings after the artist are also represented.
• The Tate Photo Archive has not been digitised but contains seven folders of images associated with Wilson. It can be accessed on site with an appointment.

Wilson in the Library

The Library has a medium amount of material on this artist.

• Books – more than 15 books, including biographies, artist monographs, art criticism and catalogues raisonnés and artist monographs dating from the late nineteenth century to the present day.
• Exhibition catalogues – more than 20 exhibition catalogues from national and regional public museums and private galleries in the UK and Europe.
• Journal articles - over five journal articles from journals such as the Apollo, the British Art Journal and the Burlington Magazine.
• Auction catalogues: dating from the 1920s to the 1950s.
• One PhD thesis published in the USA.

Wilson in Paul Mellon Centre Publications

The Paul Mellon Centre has published a small number of books concerning Wilson. Paul Spencer-Longhurst, David Solkin and Kate Lowry’s catalogue raisonné of the artist’s work was published online in 2014 with the intention of re-establishing Wilson’s status. Two years earlier, Spencer-Longhurst wrote an essay on the artist's drawings as collectors' items for the book Windows on That World: Essays on British Art Presented to Brian Allen (2012).