William Frederick Witherington
British (1785-1865)
William Frederick Witherington was born in London in 1785. In 1805, he began his studies at the Royal Academy Schools. He first exhibited at the British Institution in 1808, and at the Royal Academy in 1811 where he continued to exhibit almost every year. He also exhibited for several years at the Birmingham Society of Arts. He travelled around England painting views of rural life in Devon, Kent, Wales and the Lake District.
During the 18th and 19th centuries the hop gardens of Kent, Sussex and Surrey provided artists with a rich source of subject matter. The picking season was the English equivalent of the French and Italian grape harvest.
Witherington’s works are in the National Portrait Gallery, London, Tate Gallery, Royal Academy of Arts Collection in London, Dallas Museum of Art and Indianapolis Museum of Art.
