William Owen. William Owen was an English portrait painter known for his portraits of society figures such as Pitt the Younger and George, Prince of Wales.
William Owen was born at 13 Broad Street, Ludlow, Shropshire in 1769 and was baptised on 3 November in Ludlow Parish Church. Owen's father, Jeremiah Owen, had trained for the church but instead chose to follow in his father's profession and took over the family barber shop which he later expanded into a stationary and bookshop.
Owen found his talent at a young age, and would frequently be found sketching the scenery of his surrounding area, his first identifiable work being a drawing of Ludlow Castle, which is thought to have been given to Margaret Maskelyne, Lady Clive. In 1786 Owen moved to London, where he was apprenticed to the coach painter Charles Cotton, RA.This position was most likely arranged by his uncle, who was butler to the scholar and art theorist Richard Payne Knight, who lived near Ludlow.
It appears that Owen was drawn to figure painting from the outset, and after copying a portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds of the much admired actress Mary Robinson, he was sent on the recommendation of Reynolds to the Royal Academy Schools in 1791. By 1794 Owen had moved out of his lodgings with Cotton on Gate Street and into a new to studio at No.211 Piccadilly where he remained for two years before moving to No.5 Coventry Street, Haymark
William Owen was born at 13 Broad Street, Ludlow, Shropshire in 1769 and was baptised on 3 November in Ludlow Parish Church. Owen's father, Jeremiah Owen, had trained for the church but instead chose to follow in his father's profession and took over the family barber shop which he later expanded into a stationary and bookshop.
Owen found his talent at a young age, and would frequently be found sketching the scenery of his surrounding area, his first identifiable work being a drawing of Ludlow Castle, which is thought to have been given to Margaret Maskelyne, Lady Clive. In 1786 Owen moved to London, where he was apprenticed to the coach painter Charles Cotton, RA.This position was most likely arranged by his uncle, who was butler to the scholar and art theorist Richard Payne Knight, who lived near Ludlow.
It appears that Owen was drawn to figure painting from the outset, and after copying a portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds of the much admired actress Mary Robinson, he was sent on the recommendation of Reynolds to the Royal Academy Schools in 1791. By 1794 Owen had moved out of his lodgings with Cotton on Gate Street and into a new to studio at No.211 Piccadilly where he remained for two years before moving to No.5 Coventry Street, Haymark
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