(William) Gilbert Foster RBA
Born 1855
Died 3 July 1906
Active: 1880 - 1905
Country of birth and death: England
Painter, sculptor
Born in Manchester and raised in Leeds. He was the son of William Foster (born c.1830 in Glossop, Derbyshire) a portrait painter and bookseller from Birkenhead who moved to Leeds before 1871. William Gilbert became an art master at Leeds Grammar School and later an undermaster at Leeds School of Art. He also taught private pupils in his studio including, it is assumed, his daughter Dorathea (1880-c.1940). Foster exhibited widely, including the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Society of British Artists, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists.
Wealth at death: £2,241 11s. 11d.
Probate date: 25 September 1906
Works
Dates are usually the year a work was exhibited so may differ from date of production.
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Designed Decorative Frames
Locations
Address Beechwood Chapel Street Leeds | View on map
Address 4 Winstanley Terrace Headingley Leeds | View on map
1891 (Circa)
Personal and Professional Connections
Mother/father/parent of Dorathea Hirst
Wife/husband/spouse to Nora Mary Foster
Descriptions of Practice
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
Father and daughter both 'Artist painter sculpt' working on own account
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
'Artist'
Sources
Catalogue of the Arts & Crafts Exhibition 1900
1900
Cat. No. 64, p. 22
Catalogue of the Spring Exhibition, The City Art Gallery, Leeds 1901
1901
Cat. Nos. 408, 415, 497, 506 (all paintings), p. 57
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871
2004
Class: RG10; Piece: 4560; Folio: 151; Page: 5; GSU roll: 847140
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
2004
Class: RG12; Piece: 3709; Folio: 56; Page: 20; GSU roll: 6098819
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
2001
Class: RG13; Piece: 4198; Folio: 15; Page: 22.
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: William Foster
Probate Date: 25 Sep 1906
Death Date: 3 Jul 1906
Death Place: Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Registry: Wakefield
Citing this record
'(William) Gilbert Foster RBA', 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=msib5_1208550637, accessed 31 Mar 2023]
