William Shayer Snr. (Attrib.to ) 19thc Oil Painting Cattle & Sheep Resting in a Landscape

WILLIAM SHAYER (1787–1879) was an English landscape painter and figure painter who became prominent during the Victorian era.

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William Joseph Shayer, was a self taught artist, who started his career by painting decorations on rush-bottom chairs. He progressed to painting carriages, and later heraldic painting.

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He lived mainly in the south of England, in Shirley, Southampton, but painted throughout Hampshire and in a wooded district in the southwest part of Hampshire called the New Forest.

He sometimes collaborated with other artists. Particularly successful were his collaborations with Edward Charles Williams, where Williams would paint the landscape and Shayer would add in people and animals. He also collaborated with other members of Williams' family.

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Shayer was a competent landscape artist, but he is best known as a figure painter. His work is reminiscent in some respects to the paintings of George Morland, another very popular figure painter.

However Shayer's work though has a depth and brightness to it missing from the paintings of many of his contemporaries, due to his skillful application of glaze (i.e., spreading a thin, oily, transparent layer of paint over a dry opaque paint).

Shayer lived a long life, during which he had two wives and ten children. His eldest son, William Joseph Shayer, junior (1811-1892), was also a painter, in a style similar to his father.

Their paintings are easily confused, which is made all the more difficult by the fact that they probably collaborated on several paintings in the elder Shayer's later years.

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Three of Shayer senior's younger sons – Edward Dasherwood Shayer (1821-1864), Henry Thring Shayer (1825-1894) and Charles Walker Shayer (1826-1914) – became painters at well, and all assisted him at times in his studio.

William Shayer, senior died at the age of 92 on 21 December 1879 at his home at Bladon Lodge near Southampton.

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EXHIBITED at the Royal Academy (6 works), the British Institution (82 works), and at the Suffolk Street Gallery of the Society of British Artists (338 works). He also exhibited in many of the lesser-known Victorian art venues as well.[6] His works are on display at many museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Gallery, the Glasgow Art Gallery, and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art

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This painting is of a very high standard with extreme attention to detail where the cattle and sheep are accurately painted with great realism rather similar to the late 18th Dutch manner.

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The herdsman sits smoking his clay pipe and is painted in scale and on close inspection you will spot his loyal and well behaved dog standing patiently next to him.An herds woman sits opposite on her donkey and chats.

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The large tree as backdrop presents the artist at their best as the branches and leaves are painted superbly which is difficult to achieve for the majority of artists who fail to provide the immense detail seen in this fine landscape, and perhaps with an helping hand from collaborating with Edward Charles Williams (1807-1881)

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FRAMED MEASUREMENTS

Height: 33.5 Inches ( 84.6cm )

Width: 41.5 Inches ( 105 cm )

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CONDITION

Excellent Order throughout for age after past careful refurbishment , reline and clean and is now looking stunning ready to hang.

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DELIVERY

UK By Fine Art Courier ( Allow 7 Days ) £100

Worldwide: Europe £150 / USA & Asia £325

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