Lucy Gwendolen Williams
Other names: Gwen Williams
Born 27 December 1870
Died 11 February 1955
Active: 1893 - 1939
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor, painter
Born at Lower Bebington, Cheshire. She was the daughter of the Reverend Henry Lewis Williams, Vicar of Bleasely, Nottinghamshire and Rural Dean and of his first wife, Katherine Frances June (née Waters). Lucy was later drawn to Theosophy and became a Fellow of Brighton and Hove Theosophical Society (dates of membership unknown, but possibly after the First World War or even in the 1930s).
She began studying art at Wimbledon Art College with Alfred Drury in the early 1890s and then attended the Royal College of Art, from about 1895, where she worked under Professor Edouard Lanteri. Her sculptures were exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1893 whilst she was still a student at Wimbledon. Williams later showed work at the Paris Salon and in a number of International Exhibitions. From about 1910 to 1918 or 1919, she worked successfully in Rome, where she is said to have built workshops for herself and other artists. From childhood she suffered from backache which became arthritic, compelling her to abandon her work. After returning to England, her health had recovered sufficiently by the mid-1920s that she resumed her career. Williams visited the USA at least twice between 1926 and 1928, and may have spent some time in America. She seems never to have regained fully her early success.
Her work chiefly comprised portrait busts, heads of children and bronze statuettes. In 1926 she made the bust of Robert Owen for the museum devoted to his life and work at Newtown, Powys. Her statuettes were bought by Leeds, Liverpool, and three (The Chase, The Stick and Jeanette) were acquired for the National Gallery of Wales at Cardiff. Her private patrons included Queen Marghereta of Italy and Queen Alexandra. Williams' work was awarded medals at a number of exhibitions including the Franco-British, Welsh Eisteddfod and Santiago. There was a one-person show of her bronzes and watercolours at Brook Street Gallery, in September 1935.
This record includes information submitted by Sally Rackham drawn from a CV prepared by Williams for an exhibition in Newtown. The bust of Robert Owen is listed in the Robert Owen Museum collections: http://robert-owen-museum.org.uk/collection (accessed 15 April 2013).
Works
Dates are usually the year a work was exhibited so may differ from date of production.
New entries have been made each time a work was exhibited. Click here for more information.
Geraldine from Coleridge's Christabel
Geraldine from Coleridge's Christabel
Queen of Dreams
1900 (Circa)
Idleness
1906 (Presumed)
The Faded Flower
1906
Hypnotism
1906 (Presumed)
Dawn
1906 (Presumed)
Sappho
1906 (Presumed)
Idleness
1906 (Presumed)
The Green Beetle
1906 (Presumed)
Star Gazing
1906 (Presumed)
Sappho
1907 (Presumed)
£12 12s.
The Blue Butterfly
1907 (Presumed)
£9 9s.
Star Gazing
1907 (Presumed)
£8 8s.
The Green Beetle
1907 (Presumed)
The Daisy
1907 (Presumed)
£6 6s.
The Queen of Dreams
1907 (Presumed)
£12 12s.
Dawn
1907 (Presumed)
£8 8s.
Watching
1907 (Presumed)
The Stick
1907 (Presumed)
A Flower Vase
1907 (Presumed)
The Queen of Dreams
1907 (Presumed)
The Daisy
1907 (Presumed)
A Primrose by the River Bank
1907 (Presumed)
The Blue Butterfly
1907 (Presumed)
The Daisy
1907 (Presumed)
The Blue Butterfly
1907 (Presumed)
The Cauldron
1907 (Presumed)
'A Primrose by the River's brim'
1907 (Presumed)
The Faded Flower
1908 (Presumed)
£15 15s.
The Stick
1908 (Presumed)
£8 8s.
Flower Vase
1908 (Presumed)
£10 10s.
Idleness
1908 (Presumed)
£8 8s.
A Primrose by the River's Brink
1910 (Presumed)
£6 6s.
The Dolphin
1910 (Presumed)
£12 12s.
Achilles and Penthesilea
1910 (Presumed)
£26 5s.
Miranda
1910 (Presumed)
Ferdinand
1910 (Presumed)
The Stick
1911
Queen of Dreams
1911
£5 5s.
The Wasp
1911
£8 8s.
Lennox Robinson
1912
The Dolphin
1912
The Chase
1912
The Daisy
1912
£15 15s.
Watching - Small Bronze Group
1913
Poverty
1913
Stick
1913 (Presumed)
Locations
Address The Art College Wimbledon London | View on map
1893 (Circa)
Address Alexandra House Kensington Gore London W | View on map
1895 (Circa) - 1897 (Circa)
Address Bleasby Vicarage Nottingham | View on map
1901 (Circa) - 1909 (Circa)
Also working from a studio address at 3 Wentworth Studios, Manresa Road, London during this time.
Address 33 Via Margutta Rome | View on map
1910 (Circa) - 1919 (Circa)
See also studio address in the Viale Giulio Cesare given between 1913-18
Address c/o Mrs Rudling, 20 Meredyth Road Barnes London SW13 | View on map
1919 (Circa)
Address New York | View on map
1926
Williams travelled to and from New York at least twice between 1926 and 1928, she may also have made other trips.
Address c/o Mrs Collinson, 81 Hallam Street London W1 | View on map
1928 (Circa)
Address 9 Meadow Way, Wakemans Hill Colindale London | View on map
1935 (Circa)
Address 2 Rochester Terrace Buxton | View on map
1939 (Circa)
Studio located at 4 The Studios, Holland Park Road Kensington London W | View on map
1899 (Circa) - 1901 (Circa)
Studio located at 3 Wentworth Studios Manresa Road London SW | View on map
1903 (Presumed) - 1907 (Presumed)
Studio located at Calpurnia Studios, 51 Viale Giulio Cesare Rome | View on map
1913 (Circa) - 1918 (Circa)
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at Competition to design and build Glamorgan County Hall (Cardiff), 1908
'Flower Vase'
Exhibited at Fifth Exhibition of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (London), 1905
'The Chase'
Exhibited at Sixth Exhibition of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (London), 1906
'The Faded Flower'
Exhibited at Exhibition of Fair Women (International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, London), 1909
Multiple works
Exhibited at Eighth Exhibition of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (London), 1908
'Flower and Bud'
Exhibited at Ninth Exhibition of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (London), 1909
'The Wasp'
Exhibited at Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition, 1911
'The Wasp'
Exhibited at Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition, 1912
Multiple works
Exhibited at Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition, 1913
'Poverty'
Exhibited at The Eightieth Autumn Exhibition at the Rooms of the Society, New Street (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists), 1906-1907
Multiple works
Exhibited at The Eighty-First Autumn Exhibition at the Rooms of the Society, New Street (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists), 1907-1908
Multiple works
Exhibited at Nottingham Society of Artists. Annual Exhibition of Pictures in Oil and Watercolours, 1906
'The Green Beetle'
Exhibited at Nottingham Society of Artists. Annual Exhibition of Pictures in Oil and Watercolours, 1907
Multiple works
Exhibited at Leeds City Art Gallery, The Spring Exhibition, 1901
'Geraldine from Coleridge's Christabel'
Exhibited at Leeds City Art Gallery, The Spring Exhibition, 1902
'Doris'
Exhibited at Leeds City Art Gallery, The Spring Exhibition, 1906
'Hypnotism'
Exhibited at Leeds City Art Gallery, The Spring Exhibition, 1907
'Watching'
Exhibited at Leeds City Art Gallery, The Spring Exhibition, 1908
'The Dolphin'
Exhibited at Leeds City Art Gallery, The Spring Exhibition, 1910
'The Cauldron'
Exhibited at Leeds City Art Gallery, Exhibition of Modern Works by Yorkshire Artists, 1919-1920
'Bull-Dog Pup'
Exhibited at The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers Exhibition (Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery), 1905
Multiple works
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Twenty-Third Autumn Exhibition, 1905
'Watching'
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Fifteenth Autumn Exhibition, 1897
Multiple works
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Seventeenth Autumn Exhibition, 1899
'Sappho'
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Queen's Park Branch, Exhibition of Pictures Illustrating Childhood, 1907
Multiple works
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Twenty-Fifth Autumn Exhibition, 1907
'Idleness'
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Twenty-Fourth Autumn Exhibition, 1906
'Miranda'
Exhibited at Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, 80th Spring Exhibition, 1939
'The Wasp'
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Twenty-Second Autumn Exhibition, 1904
'Hypnotism'
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Nineteenth Autumn Exhibition, 1901
'Geraldine from Coleridge's Christabel'
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-third (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1893
1893
Hypathia (cat. no. 1203, head, £7 7s.).
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1893 - 1935
Exhibited 24 times (most years between 1893-1919, and then twice after that in 1928 and 1935), thirty-five works in all (a mixture of heads, busts, medallions, statuettes and reliefs, usually in bronze, where a medium is given)
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-fourth (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1894
1894
Christabel (cat. no. 1283, plaster, £15 15s.).
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-eighth (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1898
1898
'O Lady Moon. Thy horns point towards the west. Wane - be at rest' (cat. no. 1414, plaster, £31 10s.); Sappho (cat. no. 1419, bronze, £105); Seated Mercury (cat. no. 1502, plaster, £8 8s.).
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-ninth (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1899
1899
A Peri (cat. no. 1356, plaster bust, not for sale); La Papillon (cat. no. 1391, £6 6s.); Nemesis (cat. no. 1395, plaster bust, £31 10s., for sale in bronze £63).
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the thirty-first (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1901
1901
Doris (cat. no. 1546, bust, £21); Pandora (cat. no. 1576, bust, £31 10s.).
Exhibited at Royal Cambrian Academy of Art Twenty-Fifth Annual Exhibition, 1907
20 May 1907 - 28 September 1907
Exhibited at Exhibition of the Bristol Academy, Annual Spring Exhibition for the Promotion of the Fine Arts, The Sixty-Second, 1907
1907
Exhibited at Exhibition of the Bristol Academy, Annual Spring Exhibition for the Promotion of the Fine Arts, The Sixty-Third, 1908
1908
Exhibited at Exhibition of the Bristol Academy, Annual Spring Exhibition for the Promotion of the Fine Arts, The Sixty-Fifth, 1910
1910
Exhibited at The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts Annual Exhibition, 1861-1951
1910 - 1912
Exhibited at the annual exhibition 3 times: 1910 (3 works), 1911 (3 works) and 1912 (3 works)
Exhibited at Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Cymru National Museum of Wales Exhibition of Works by Certain Modern Artists of Welsh Birth or Extraction, 1913
5 December 1913 - 28 February 1914
Exhibited at Art Exhibitions of the Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales. Competitive Exhibits at the Patti Pavilion, 1926
26 July 1926 - 12 August 1926
Exhibited in Case No.27 in Competition No.22, Exhibit No.946.
Received 'Very Highly Commended'
Institutional and Business Connections
Student at Royal College of Art (including National Art Training School)
1895 (Circa) - 1897 (Circa)
Personal and Professional Connections
Studied under (Edward) Alfred Briscoe Drury
1893 (Circa)
At Wimbledon School of Art
Studied under Edouard Lanteri
1895 (Circa) - 1897
At the National Art Training Schools (Royal College of Art)
Sources
Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the thirty-first, 1901 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1901
pp. 46-7
Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-eighth, 1898 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1898
pp. 45-48.
Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-fourth, 1894 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1894
pp. 49-52.
Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-ninth, 1899 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1899
pp. 48-52.
Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-third, 1893 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1893
pp. 42-45.
Catalogue of the 80th Spring Exhibition, Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, 1939
1939
Cat. No. 336, pp. 47, 65
Catalogue of the Exhibition of Modern Works by Yorkshire Artists, 1919
1919
Cat. Nos. 39, 40, 41, 42, 53, pp. 9, 10, 12, 34
Catalogue of the Exhibition of Pictures Illustrating Childhood, 1907
1907
Cat. Nos. 211, 212, 213, p. 32
Catalogue of the Fifteenth Autumn Exhibition, 1897
1897
Cat. Nos. 414, 417, pp. 43, 60
Catalogue of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters & Gravers' Exhibition, Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, 1905
1905
Cat. No. 333, pp. 48, 63
Catalogue of the Nineteenth Autumn Exhibition, 1901
1901
Cat. Nos. 282, 286, pp. 49, 62
Catalogue of the Seventeenth Autumn Exhibition, 1899
1899
Cat. Nos. 253, 254, pp. 43, 54
Catalogue of the Spring Exhibition, The City Art Gallery, Leeds 1901
1901
Cat. Nos. 529, 531, pp. 50, 68
Catalogue of the Spring Exhibition, The City Art Gallery, Leeds 1902
1902
Cat. No. 475, 489, pp. 45, 47, 74
Catalogue of the Spring Exhibition, The City Art Gallery, Leeds 1906
1906
Cat. Nos. 442, 445, pp. 41, 42, 101
Catalogue of the Spring Exhibition, The City Art Gallery, Leeds 1907
1907
Cat. Nos. 728, 732, 733, 734, pp. 58, 88
Catalogue of the Spring Exhibition, The City Art Gallery, Leeds 1908
1908
Cat. Nos. 370, 374, 378, 380, pp. 35, 95
Catalogue of the Spring Exhibition, The City Art Gallery, Leeds 1910
1910
Cat. Nos. 395, 397, 399, pp. 34, 35, 87
Catalogue of the Twenty-Fifth Autumn Exhibition, 1907
1907
Cat. Nos. 258, 267, pp. 47, 48, 62
Catalogue of the Twenty-Fourth Autumn Exhibition, 1906
1906
Cat. Nos. 259, 275, pp. 47, 49, 63
Catalogue of the Twenty-Second Autumn Exhibition, 1904
1904
Cat. Nos. 292, 293, pp. 48, 63
Catalogue of the Twenty-Third Autumn Exhibition, 1905
1905
Cat. No. 278, pp. 46, 62
Nottingham Society of Artists. Catalogue, 1906 Nottingham Society of Artists
1906
Unpaged.
Royal Cambrian Academy of Art Twenty-Fifth Annual Exhibition
1907
Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts, Catalogue of the Eighty-Fourth Exhibition, 1913 RHA Annual Exhibition Catalogues
1913
p. 42 (553, 555)
Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts, Catalogue of the Eighty-Third Exhibition, 1912 RHA Annual Exhibition Catalogues
1912
p. 36 (510-13)
The Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales. Catalogue of the Competitive Art Exhibition 1926
1926
Citing this record
'Lucy Gwendolen Williams', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib1_1203424401, accessed 25 Mar 2023]
