William Collins (painter)

William Collins ( born September 8, 1788 in London, † February 17, 1847 in London) was an English landscape and genre painter.

Life and work

William Collins was born the son of an Irish writer in London. For friends of the family belonged to the painter George Morland, who impressed the young William deep. 1807 William Collins began to study at the Royal Academy, where he also exhibited already in the same year.

After the early death of his father in 1812 he became the family provider. He painted mainly landscapes with increasing success, often with children. In 1814 he was appointed an associate member of the Royal Academy, and in 1820 he was elected a full member of the Academy. In 1822 he married Harriet Geddes, sister of Margaret Sarah Carpenter Porträmalerin. They had two sons, William, who made ​​his name as a writer, and Charles, who was also a painter.

William Collins also undertook some study trips. His first trip led him in 1815 to the coast of Norfolk. In 1817 he was in Paris. In the following years went on further trips through England and Scotland. In 1828 he visited Holland and Belgium, and from 1836 to 1838 he spent in Italy. In 1840 he visited Germany.

William Collins was in his time one of the most popular landscape painters in Britain. During his lifetime, he exhibited 124 paintings at the Royal Academy and 45 at the British Institution.