Home ⋅ Published Books ⋅ Privilege & Poverty: The Life and Times of Irish Painter and Naturalist Alexander Williams RHA (1846-1930)

Privilege & Poverty: The Life and Times of Irish Painter and Naturalist Alexander Williams RHA (1846-1930)
Share by Email Share on Messenger Share on Whatsapp Share on Whatsapp

Publisher: The Collins Press
Published: August 2010
Pages: 440
Categories: Biography
Available as: Hardback
On sale at:
ISBN-13: 9781848890343
ASIN: 1848890346

'Alexander Williams exhibited at the RHA annually for 61 years to great acclaim. Primarily a landscape painter, he was also an apprentice hatter, taxidermist, professional singer and gardener. Illustrated with a wide selection of his work, this biography illuminates the diversity of his life and times with material found nowhere else. Alexander Williams was the first artist to open the West of Ireland, particularly Achill Island, to a wide audience. His extensive collection of memoirs and papers, preserved and never made public, form unique records from Victorian Ireland. His life was extraordinarily wide ranging. Primarily a landscape painter, his studies of old Dublin buildings and streetscapes are of particular interest. But he was also an apprentice hatter, a taxidermist and a professional singer, and with the help of Achill Islanders, he built a house and created a garden on Achill, now open to the public. This absorbing biography gives unique glimpses of life in Dublin as seen by a painter favoured by the Lord Lieutenant and the 'castle set'. The contrast between the artist's life and that of the islanders on impoverished Achill is stark. Williams exhibited at the RHA annually for 61 years, a unique record, and his exhibitions and recitals were social events attended by well-known names such as Bram Stoker, W. B. Yeats, Percy French and William Orpen. Illustrated with a wide selection of his work, this biography illuminates the diversity of his life and times with material found nowhere else. Acknowledgements Part I: Beginnings Chapter 1 Origins Chapter 2 A Drogheda Boyhood Chapter 3 To Dublin Part II: The Taxidermist Chapter 4 The Battle of the Hats and Birds Chapter 5 The Ornithologist Part III: The Singer Chapter 6 Parallel Lives Part IV: The Painter Chapter 7 Foundations Chapter 8 Road to Achill, 1873 Chapter 9 The Dublin Sketching Club Chapter 10 Inveterate Traveller Chapter 11 The Academician (Going Solo) Chapter 12 The Castle Set Chapte

Other Books From this Category

View More From This Category

About Us

Irish Interest in based on one very simple idea: to bring the contents of any Irish bookshop to people everywhere, especially those outside Ireland who do not have the possibility of keeping abreast of new books published in Ireland. The Irish Interest web platform is purely a provider of information about new publications. The aim of the site is to have every publishing house in Ireland adding their latest titles as they become available. Hyperlinks to each title bring users of the site directly to the publisher's web area or to a sales site where books can be purchased.

Privacy Policy

Irishinterest.ie and its owners strive at all times to preserver the privacy of all personal information stored on its website and servers. Information deemed to be private and confidential will not be communicated to any parties or divulged in any way. Cookies and similar technologies Irishinterest.ie and its owners are not responsible for external data collection entities. Third party sites with access to Irishinterest.ie may be able to acquire or assimilate data. Cookies and similar technologies can be utilized by third parties accessing our site without our knowledge.

Terms & Conditions

Irishinterest.ie, Irishinterest.com, and its owners take no responsibility for information issued on its site that is posted by third parties. It is the sole responsibility of the third parties who utilize the site for publication of any information to ensure that such information is correct and does not infringe laws and the rights of others who may be affected by publication of such information. Disputed material will be removed pending clarification.