G. C. Williamson

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G. C. Williamson
Born
George Charles Williamson

1858 (1858)
Guildford, England
Died(1942-09-00)September 1942 (aged 84)
Guildford, England
Other namesRowley Cleeve
EducationUniversity of London
Occupation(s)Historian, writer
Spouse
Louisa Mary Lethbridge
​
​
(m. 1883)​

George Charles Williamson (1858–1942)[1] was a British art historian, antiquarian, and author of numerous books on European art and artists. He sometimes wrote under the pen name Rowley Cleeve.[2]

Biography

G. C. Williamson was born in Guildford in 1858, and was educated at the University of London.[3] He married Louisa Mary Lethbridge in 1883.[4]

He wrote many books on European art and artists, focusing on the period from the Renaissance to the late 19th century. A number of these were issued as volumes in the publisher George Bell & Sons' Miniature Series of Painters, of which he was also the series editor.[5] He wrote some of these under his real name and some under his "Rowley Cleeve" pseudonym.[2][5]

He also wrote guides for art collectors on various topics—including several on

J. Pierpont Morgan, he put together a four-volume catalogue of Morgan's collection of miniatures; a fifth volume was never completed due to Morgan's death.[6] Williamson also served as an adviser to Morgan on some purchases for his collection.[1]

Williamson occasionally wrote on literary, historical, and cultural topics outside the field of art. Among these are Curious Survivals, a book on English customs, and a book on the voyages of the Elizabethan naval commander George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland.

Among Williamson' coauthored books is a study of the painter

Lady Victoria Manners, was prompted by the discovery in the RA archives of a manuscript in Kauffmann's handwriting, written in Italian and previously untranslated, which gives an account of Kauffmann's paintings post-1781.[7][8] Manners and Williamson wrote that this enabled them to "come to certain definite conclusions regarding many pictures hitherto ascribed to other artists."[8] They included numerous reproductions in both colour and black-and-white on the grounds that prior books on Kauffman had presented inadequate reproductions of her paintings.[8]

He died at his home in Guildford in September 1942.[3]

A few of Williamson's papers from the period 1921–1937 are held by Boston College.[9]

Publications

Solo authored

  • John Russell, R.A. (1893)
    John Russell
    .)
  • The Money of the Bible (1894)
  • Portrait Miniatures from the Time of Holbein 1531 to That of Sir William Ross 1860: A Handbook for Collectors (1897)
  • Bernardino Luini (1899)
  • George J. Pinwell and His Works (1900)
  • Francesco Raibolini
    Called Francia     (1901)
  • Fra Angelico (1901)
  • Frederic, Lord Leighton (1902)
  • Murillo (1902)
  • Pietro Vannucci Called Perugino (1903)
  • Holman Hunt
     (1903)
  • Velazquez (1904)
  • The History of Portrait Miniatures (1904)
  • Guildford in the Olden Time: Side-Lights on the History of a Quaint Old Town (1904)
  • Guildford The Ancient Crypts in the High Street, Guildford (1904)
  • Richard Cosway, R.A. (1905)
  • Catalogue of the Collection of Miniatures, the Property of J. Pierpont Morgan (1906)
  • John Downman, A.R.A. (1907)
  • George Morland: His Life and Works (1907)[11]
  • Catalogue of the Works of Art Belonging to Dr. G.C. Williamson (1909)
  • Catalogue of the Collection of Jewels and Precious Works of Art: The Property of J. Pierpont Morgan (1910)
  • The Strozzi Collection of Instruments by Erasmus Habermehl (1911)
  • Catalogue of a collection of miniatures: The property of His Royal Highness Prince Ernest Augustus William Adolphus George Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, K.G., G.C.H. (Priv. print) (1914)
  • George, Third Earl of Cumberland (1558–1605): His Life and His Voyages: A Study from Original Documents (1920)
  • Daniel Gardner, Painter in Pastel and Gouache: A Brief Account of His Life and Works (1921)
  • Curious Survivals: Habits and Customs of the Past That Still Live in the Present (1923)
  • Stories of an Expert (1925)
  • The Book of Famille Rose (1926)
  • Signed Enamel Miniatures of the XVIIth, XVIIIth, and XIXth Centuries (1926)
  • The Guildford Caverns (1930)
  • English Conversation Pictures of the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries (1931)
  • The Book of Amber (1932)
  • The Book of Ivory (1938)
  • Recollections of Old School Days (unknown)

Coauthored

  • George Engleheart, 1750–1829: Miniature Painter to George III (1902; with Henry Lewis Dillman Engleheart)
  • How to Identify Portrait Miniatures (1904; with Alyn Williams)
  • Cities of Northern Italy: Verona, Padua, Bologna, and Ravenna (1906; with Grant Allen)
  • John Zoffany
    , R. A.: His Life and Works 1735–1810     (1920; with Lady Victoria Manners)
  • Angelica Kauffmann, R.A.: Her Life and Her Works (1924; with Lady Victoria Manners)
  • The Art of the Miniature Painter (1926; with Percy Buckman)
As Rowley Cleeve

References

  1. ^ a b "Catalogue of the Collection of Jewels and Precious Works of Art, the Property of J. Pierpont Morgan". The Met website.
  2. ^ a b Carty, T.J. A Dictionary of Literary Pseudonyms in the English Language. Routledge, 2015, p. 826.
  3. ^
    The Gazette
    . London. 19 September 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 8 October 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. The Encyclopedia Press
    . 1917. p. 186. Retrieved 8 October 2021 – via archive.org.
  5. ^ a b Baldry, Alfred Lys. Sir John Everett Millais. London: George Bell & Sons, 1902. (Advertisement in front matter).
  6. ^ "Williamson, George Charles, 1858–1942". Social Networks and Archival Context website.
  7. ^ Findlen, Paula, Wendy Wassyng Roworth, and Catherine M. Sama. Italy's Eighteenth Century: Gender and Culture in the Age of the Grand Tour. Stanford University Press, 2009, pp. 396–97.
  8. ^ a b c Manners, Lady Victoria, and G.C. Williamson. Angelica Kauffmann, R.A.: Her Life and Her Works. London: John Lane the Bodley Head, 1924.
  9. ^ "George Charles Williamson papers, 1921–1937". Archivegrid website.
  10. ^ "Review of John Russell, R.A. by G. C. Williamson". The Athenaeum (3560): 91–93. 18 January 1896.
  11. ^ "Two Books on Morland". The Athenaeum (4177): 625–626. 16 November 1907.

External links

Wikisource has original works by or about:
George Charles Williamson
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