Samuel William Ward Willis
Born 1868
Died 1 March 1948
Active: 1895 - 1948
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor
Born in Paddington, London. He was the son of Samuel J. Willis (born c.1844 in Southampton), a draper. Died in Dorset.
Wealth at death: £566 5s. 7d.
Probate date: 7 May 1948
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.
Vanity's Harvest
1901 (Presumed)
£31 10s.
Locations
Address 20 Kilburn Park Road London England | View on map
1899 (Circa) - 1901 (Circa)
Address 1 Fitzroy Road Regent's Park London England | View on map
1901 (Circa) - 1915 (Circa)
Address 1 Fitzroy Square Regent's Park London England | View on map
1912 (Circa)
This may be a mistake in the source and it should be Fitzroy Road.
Address 5 Adelaide Road London NW3 England | View on map
1916 (Circa)
Address The Studio 5A Regent's Park Road London NW England | View on map
1917 (Circa) - 1918 (Circa)
Address 4 Belsize Studios Glenisla Road London NW3 England | View on map
1919 (Circa) - 1935 (Circa)
Address 28 Woodside Road Parkstone England | View on map
1948
Living at this address when he died.
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at Second Exhibition of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (London), 1899
'The Dawn of Thought'
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-seventh (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1897
1897
The Dawn of Thought (cat. no. 1300, bust, not for sale).
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-ninth (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1899
1899
'Do!' (cat. no. 1363, plaster bust, £15 15s.).
Exhibited at Exhibition of the Bristol Academy, Annual Spring Exhibition for the Promotion of the Fine Arts, The Fifty-Sixth, 1901
1901
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1904 - 1935
Exhibited 19 times, twenty works in all (statuettes, busts, and groups in bronze where medium is given).
Exhibited at The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts Annual Exhibition, 1861-1951
1912
Exhibited at the annual exhibition 1 time: 1912 (1 work)
Exhibited at The Royal Scottish Academy Exhibition, 1826-
1932
Exhibited at the annual exhibition 1 time: 1932 (1 work)
Promoted Prize for Distinguished Service to Sculpture (Royal Society of British Sculptors), 1923-1949
1923
The prize was originally proposed by T. M. Crook and 'seconded' by Ward-Willis, to the Council of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.
Institutional and Business Connections
Associate member of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1923 - 1928 (Circa)
Resigned in 1928 only to rejoin in 1946.
Member of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1909 - 1948
Rejoined Royal Society of British Sculptors
1946 - 1948 (Circa)
Died in 1948.
Personal and Professional Connections
Nominated by Francis Derwent Wood
4 January 1909
For membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors [4 January 1909, Royal Society of British Sculptors: Minutes of Council Meetings, no.1].
Seconded by Arthur George Walker
4 January 1909
For membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors [4 January 1909, Royal Society of British Sculptors: Minutes of Council Meetings, no.1].
Descriptions of Practice
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
'Draper's Assistant' worker (presume for his father who was a draper).
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
'Artist (Sculptor)' working own account at home
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
'Artist Sculptor' worker
Occupation given in London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921
1895
'Sculptor'
Sources
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-seventh, 1897 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1897
pp. 44-47.
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
2004
Class: RG12; Piece: 1046; Folio: 48; Page: 29; GSU Roll: 6096156
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
2005
Class: RG13; Piece: 133; Folio: 37; Page: 4
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
2011
RG14PN680 RG78PN23 RD9 SD1 ED29 SN1
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
2006
Name: Samuel William W Willis
Date of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar 1868
Registration district: Kensington
Inferred County: London
Volume: 1a
Page: 31
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: Samuel William Willis
Probate Date: 7 May 1948
Death Date: 1 Mar 1948
Death Place: Dorset, England
Registry: London, England
List of Members: Royal Society of British Sculptors
2008
London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921
2010
London Metropolitan Archives, Saint Augustine, Paddington, Register of marriages, P87/AUG, Item 012.
Royal Society of British Sculptors. Minutes of Council Meetings No. 1, 1905-1913
19 May 1913
4 January 1909.
Citing this record
'Samuel William Ward Willis', 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=msib2_1203033739, accessed 22 Sep 2023]