Henry Brittan Willis was an English landscape and animal painter.
Life and work
Willis was born in Bristol and worked initially with his father, G. H. Willis, also a landscape painter. In 1842, after little financial success in his native city, and on the advice of his father, he traveled to New York, USA, to take up a job in a merchant's office. Owing to ill-health, he eventually had to relinquish the post and return to England, where he initially practiced as a portrait painter in Bristol. In 1843 Willis settled in London where he gained a considerable reputation as a painter of landscapes and animals. From 1844 to 1862, he exhibited frequently at the galleries of the Royal Academy, British Institution and Society of British Artists. He also showed his work outside London at places like the Liverpool Academy of Arts etc. From 1851-57 he was a member of the "Free Exhibitions" society. In 1862 he was elected an associate of the "Old" Watercolour Society, becoming a full member in 1863; He was a frequent contributor to the society's exhibitions. Willis painted rural landscapes all over England, Wales and Scotland, in both oils and watercolour, and often featuring groups of farm animals such as cattle or sheep. He sometimes worked in collaboration with other artist such as F W Hulme. Four of his pictures were engraved for the "Art Union Annual" of 1847. In 1849, he published "Studies of cattle and rustic figures". On 13 January 1873, 30 years of Willis's art work. Willis was eclipsed by Constable, both in his lifetime and after it, but he has in recent years enjoyed a revival in interest.
Paintings
The following list is not necessarily complete. It shows either the date painted, or, if accompanied by a named gallery, the date at which the painting was exhibited: Landscape with cattle • River Avon, near Bristol, with the Tower of Cook's Folly • A Quiet Homestead in Surrey • Early Morning - going a-field • A sunny scene on the Severn • Lights and shadows on the Conway • Scene in the valley of the Lleddr • • A Family Group • Oxen, Mid-Day Rest • Blessings of a shepherd's life • • • Highland Cattle • Ben Cruachan cattle coming south • Farm Horses • View near Coal Pit Heath • Hastings Castle by Moonlight • View of the Castle of Kautz • Drover with cattle watering • Landscape with sheepherder and dog • Landscape with figure on a Log in the Foreground • A Group of Cows. For others see : Graves, Algernon. .
