Often referred to as the leading marine artist of the 19th century, William Lionel Wyllie was, and indeed remains, immensely popular with collectors.
Born on 5 July 1851 in Camden Town, London, Wyllie was the elder son of painter William Morrison Wyllie and singer Katherine Benham. He began his artistic education at the Heatherley School of Fine Art and, in 1866, continued at the Royal Academy Schools under mentors like Edwin Henry Landseer, John Everett Millais, and Frederic Leighton. At 18, he won the Turner Gold Medal for his piece Dawn After a Storm.
He was a great admirer of Whistler and Turner and sought to evoke a similar sense of atmosphere through sensitive observation of light and weather conditions.
He was also extremely engaged with his subject matter at an academic level, having studied the history of ship building alongside his artistic training at the Royal Academy Schools, in order to better inform his paintings.
