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Learn more about John William Waterhouse's paintings and life story.
Biography
Biographical Overview
Painter of classical, historical, and literary subjects. John William Waterhouse was born in 1849 in Rome, where his father worked as a painter. He was referred to as “Nino” throughout his life. In the 1850s the family returned to England. Before entering the Royal Academy schools in 1870, Waterhouse assisted his father in his studio.
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Biographical Sketch from 1885
A biographical sketch of John William Waterhouse published by the Illustrated London News (August 22nd 1885) on the occasion of Waterhouse's election as an Associate of the Royal Academy.
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JW Waterhouse, a man of the North
Although born in Rome, Italy, John William Waterhouse considered himself a man of northern England, in particular the city of Leeds, Yorkshire. His father, William, was from Leeds and Waterhouse was educated in the city.
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Photographs
Photographs
A selection of photographs depicting the painter John William Waterhouse are shown on this page. They include formal studio portraits together with informal family snapshots. Most of the photographs come from the John Physick Collection. The others are reproduced either in the Anthony Hobson 1980 monograph, or Jeremy Maas's Victorian Art World in Photographs.
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The Models
A Waterhouse Model Discovered
There has been much speculation into the identity of the models used by the artist John William Waterhouse. Whilst the focus had primarily been upon the female faces and figures that populate his pictures, research that I conducted in 2005 introduced the name of a well-known Victorian male model to feature within Waterhouse’s oeuvre.
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Ethel and Narcissus - a closer look at two of Waterhouse’s models
Late in 2004, whilst looking through John William Waterhouse’s old sketchbooks at the V&A, I discovered the names of several models, recorded by the artist along with details of their addresses.
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Artists and Beauty: The Opinion of Eminent Painters
The sole record of John William Waterhouse's model selection preference is found in a 1907 article, where he chose an artist's model from a set of photos.
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Some Women Models by Harry Furniss
An excerpt from 'Some Victorian Women: Good, Bad, and Indifferent' by the Punch caricaturist Harry Furniss (1923, John Lane, The Bodley Head Limited)
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Events and Lectures
J.W. Waterhouse's Rape of Persephone
Reproduced here is the full text of a presentation given by art historian and Waterhouse biographer Peter Trippi at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the College Art Association in Atlanta, Georgia (February 16-19, 2005). The presentation was part of a session chaired by Alicia Craig Faxon called The Pre-Raphaelites and the Mythic Image.
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John William Waterhouse Symposium at Tate Britain
On the 10th of October 2002, Tate Britain held a one day Symposium dedicated to John William Waterhouse, timed to coincide with the publication of a new monograph J W Waterhouse by Peter Trippi.
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Autograph Letters
Letters written by John William Waterhouse
Little is known about John William Waterhouse's private life. This website has gathered together a number of letters written by Waterhouse which are now in private collections.
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Letter to Miss Lloyd
The letter featured here, addressed by John William Waterhouse to a Miss Lloyd, comes from the private collection of Donald J. Kurtz.
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Letter to M.H. Spielmann
The letter featured here, addressed by John William Waterhouse to Marion Harry Spielmann (1858-1948), comes from a private collection. M.H. Spielmann was an art critic and editor of The Magazine of Art from 1887 to 1904. Waterhouse lived at 6 Primrose Hill Studios in the 1890s.
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Letter to Mr Sant
This letter from a private collection dates to the 1890s when Waterhouse was living at the Primrose Hill Studios. The recipient of this letter is difficult to decipher - it could be Sant, or Jacob. James Sant (1820-1916) was a British painter.
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Letter to Peregrine Feeney
The "Feeney" to whom John William Waterhouse is conveying bad news about a picture is probably his brother-in-law Peregrine Feeney (1837-1913). The letter comes from a private collection, and is without a letterhead making it difficult to date.
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Letters to John Charles Dollman
The letters featured here, addressed by John William Waterhouse to "Dollman", presumably the artist John Charles Dollman (1851-1934), come from a private collection. They are written from 10 Hall Road and therefore date between 1901-1917.
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Obituaries
Obituary Overview
John William Waterhouse died on 10th February 1917 and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in northwest London. Although by 1917 Waterhouse's work had fallen out of fashion, and the country was in the midst of the Great War, several newspapers covered his death and printed obituaries.
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Birmingham Daily Post Obituary
The obituary of Waterhouse published in the Birmingham Daily Post on February 13, 1917 , was written by its anonymous art critic "F.S.R.". The critic who preceded "F.S.R." was Alfred Feeney, a cousin of Waterhouse's sister-in-law's husband Peregrine Feeney.
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Daily Telegraph Obituary
Daily Telegraph Obituary, 13th February 1917, by Sir Claude Phillips.
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London Times Funeral Notice
On 16th February 1917 the following notice was placed in the London Times.
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London Times Obituary
On 12th February 1917 the following obituary was placed in the London Times.
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West London Gazette Obituary
The following obituary is taken from The West London Gazette, 24th February 1917.
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Waterhouse's Grave
The Final Resting Place
John William Waterhouse died on 10th February 1917. Following a funeral service held at St Mark's Church in St John's Wood, London, Waterhouse's body was taken to be buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in northwest London.
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Restoring Waterhouse's grave
By the start of the 21st century Waterhouse's grave at Kensal Green Cemetery in north London was in poor condition and the inscription on the headstone was illegible. In 2008 the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery started an appeal to raise funds to restore the grave.
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Blue Plaque
English Heritage Blue Plaque
In 2002 a Blue Plaque was installed at the former home of John William Waterhouse in St John's Wood, London. The Blue Plaque is a scheme organized by English Heritage which honours famous people and important buildings in the United Kingdom.
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10 Hall Road, St John's Wood, NW8
John William Waterhouse lived at 10 Hall Road, St John's Wood, north London, from 1900 until his death in 1917. The previous occupant was the sculptor Harry Bates, A.R.A. The house today is still a private residence, so please respect the privacy of the current owner if paying a visit to see the Blue Plaque.
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Reminiscences
Reminiscences about J.W. Waterhouse
Almost nothing is known of Waterhouse's private life. Gathered here is a selection of mentions and anecdotes discovered by searching old magazines and books.
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'A Painter of Pictures' by John Butler Yeats
An excerpt from an article written by John Butler Yeats (1839-1922) who remembered a visit to Waterhouse's studio around 1907. Yeats' article 'A Painter of Pictures' was published in The Freeman, 4th January, 1922.
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Reminiscences from 'Bridle and Brush' by George Denholm Armour
John William Waterhouse occupied a studio at Primrose Hill Studios, a purpose built artists' community in north London, from 1878 until 1900. His fellow artists included William Logsdail, Maurice Greiffenhagen, and George Denholm Armour (1864-1949). G.D. Armour later wrote about his memories of the community in Bridle and Brush, published in 1937.
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Youthful exploits of John Singer Sargent and JW Waterhouse
A recollection of an event experienced by John William Waterhouse and John Singer Sargent when students in Italy together was published in The Gateway magazine in 1907. It recollects a morbid event experienced by the painters John Singer Sargent (Giovanni) and John William Waterhouse (Nino) when they were young art students together in Italy. During a walking tour they painted a portrait of a dying Italian boy on the walls of his home. The source was published in 1907 which would put the date of the event at circa 1882.
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Collectors
Patrons and Collectors
Below is a list of known patrons and collectors of Waterhouse's paintings during his lifetime, along with brief biographies.
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Collecting Waterhouse Paintings Today
Art dealers and Waterhouse's biographer, Peter Trippi, discuss the appeal of Waterhouse to modern day collectors.
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Lost and Found
Coming soon...
Paintings
The Sketchbooks
Sketchbooks used by Waterhouse throughout his career were donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London by John Physick, great-nephew of the artist, and have now been digitised for online viewing. They can also be viewed in person in the Prints and Drawings Room at the museum.
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Caricatures
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Exhibitions
The Last Exhibition, 1917
After Waterhouse's death in February 1917, four paintings were exhibited at the Royal Academy that year, his last exhibition.
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Family
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The Biographers
Rose Sketchley, biographer of JW Waterhouse
Some information about Rose Sketchley (1875-1949), an art critic who wrote about John William Waterhouse in 1909 (R.E.D. Sketchley, 'The Art of J.W. Waterhouse, R.A.', Art Annual (Art Journal Special Number), Christmas 1909). To this day, Rose is sometimes mistaken for a man due to using the initials "R.E.D." when publishing her work, or in correspondence with others.
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Timeline
Coming soon...
Articles are written by Julia Kerr unless otherwise indicated.