Willson Group

The Willson Group was not a conventional commercial brand or incorporated business. It was the collective name used for a close-knit English Quaker family of artists whose work was produced and exhibited mainly in and around Leeds from roughly the 1860s until the early twentieth century. The group centred on John Joseph Willson, known as J.J. Willson, his wife Emilie Dorothy Hilliard, his sister Hannah Willson, and their four children: Michael Anthony Hilliard Willson, twins Margaret Willson and E. Dorothy Willson, and Mary Hilliard Willson. The family’s artistic activity was enabled in part by the financial position of the Willson family and its Leeds leather business, Wilson, Walker & Co. The firm was established in 1823 by John Wilson Senior and moved to Sheepscar Street in 1847. It manufactured Spanish leather, leather glue, and other leather goods. By the late nineteenth century it was described as the country’s largest tannery, although the business failed in 1901. J.J. Willson’s role as senior partner and inherited family resources appear to have provided the household with the means to pursue art without depending entirely on commercial commissions. The family changed the spelling of its surname from Wilson to Willson. Members generally worked from their homes rather than from a shared public studio. Their Leeds-area residences included Newton Grove in Potternewton, Moorland Terrace in Lawnswood, Ballamona in Headingley, and later Moorland Road. The household functioned as an artistic community: several relatives exhibited, while others undertook commissioned portraits and caricatures of prominent Leeds figures. J.J. Willson was the most publicly prominent member. He was largely self-taught, received some instruction from Edwin Moore and Richard Waller, and specialised in watercolour landscapes and sporting subjects. He exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Walker Art Gallery, served as a vice-president of the Yorkshire Union of Artists from 1896, and held leadership roles in the Leeds Fine Art Society and related exhibition organisations. His work included views and atmospheric landscapes such as The Breezy Expanse of Adel Moor, A Study of Gossamer, Home in the Gloaming, and The Last Gleam. Margaret Willson and E. Dorothy Willson also exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, with Margaret appearing there on five occasions. Michael and Mary Willson developed a practice that included caricatures and oil portraits. Their commissions included depictions of Leeds public figures such as Sir James Kitson and John Barran, as well as portraits of Isaac and Ann Rickett and the architect George Corson. Hannah Willson was also an artist, although the surviving material gives less detail about her output. The family’s importance extends beyond individual pictures. J.J. Willson played a significant role in Leeds cultural life, helping promote the creation of a permanent public art gallery. He was involved with the Leeds Fine Art Society’s fundraising and organising committee, which worked during the late nineteenth century toward establishing what became Leeds Art Gallery. The family therefore occupied a position between private artistic practice, civic cultural advocacy, and the local professional exhibition network. The group gradually disappeared as a recognisable artistic household after the collapse of the leather business and the deaths or ageing of its members. J.J. died in 1903, and the surviving children and Hannah continued to be associated with the family home for a time. The Willson Group is now chiefly remembered through biographical and local-art historical records rather than as an active organisation or continuing brand.

The Willson family had roots at High Wray House in the Lake District, a property built in 1728 by Anthony Wilson and Dorothy Wilson. In the nineteenth century the family became associated with Leeds through John Wilson Senior, who established the leather firm Wilson, Walker & Co. in 1823. The business later occupied a substantial tannery at Sheepscar and produced leather, glue, and leather articles. Its commercial success supported the family’s social and cultural activities, including the artistic work of J.J. Willson and his relatives. John Joseph Willson was born in Leeds around 1837. Like his father, he was a Quaker and entered the family business, eventually becoming its senior partner. Alongside his commercial career, he pursued painting, concentrating on watercolours of landscapes and sporting scenes. He had some lessons from Edwin Moore and Richard Waller but was primarily self-taught. His pictures were shown at regional exhibitions and at the Royal Academy. His output included views of Yorkshire, Scotland, Norway, Ireland, and other landscape subjects, with contemporary criticism often noting his atmospheric effects and developing control of composition. The wider household included J.J.’s wife Emilie Dorothy Hilliard, his sister Hannah, and their children Michael, Margaret, E. Dorothy, and Mary. The family worked from home and moved among several Leeds addresses. Margaret and E. Dorothy exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition; Margaret did so five times. Michael and Mary undertook portraits and caricatures, including commissions depicting Leeds civic and commercial figures. The family’s work demonstrates the range of nineteenth-century middle-class artistic practice, from private study and exhibition painting to local commissions. J.J. Willson also became an important organiser and advocate for art in Leeds. He was associated with the Leeds Fine Art Society for decades, serving as its president and helping organise exhibitions. In 1876 he joined a committee seeking to establish a permanent public art gallery. The committee raised subscriptions, worked with civic authorities, and promoted the idea that Leeds should possess an institution capable of displaying collections and supporting local artists. Leeds Town Hall later assumed a central role in the project, and Leeds Art Gallery opened in 1888. The family’s commercial foundation weakened when Wilson, Walker & Co. collapsed in 1901. J.J. died in 1903 at High Wray. The family continued to be recorded in Leeds residences for several years, but the collective artistic identity did not survive as an organised group. Hannah Willson died in Leeds in 1918. Modern references to the Willson Group generally treat it as a historical family of artists rather than a continuing enterprise.

• 1918

  Death of Hannah Willson

  [1]Willson Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Hannah Willson died in Leeds on 7 July 1918.

• 1903

  Death of J.J. Willson

  [1]Willson Groupen.wikipedia.org

  John Joseph Willson died at High Wray on 15 November 1903.

• 1901

  Family leather business collapses

  [1]Willson Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Wilson, Walker & Co. failed after decades of operation.

• 1896

  J.J. Willson becomes Yorkshire Union of Artists vice-president

  [1]Willson Groupen.wikipedia.org

  J.J. Willson was appointed a vice-president of the Yorkshire Union of Artists, whose president was John William Waterhouse.

• 1888

  Leeds Art Gallery opens

  [1]Willson Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The Leeds public-gallery project reached completion with civic support; J.J. Willson had participated in the earlier movement.

• 1876

  J.J. Willson joins art-gallery initiative

  [1]Willson Groupen.wikipedia.org

  J.J. Willson became involved in the committee promoting a permanent public fine-art gallery for Leeds.

• 1847

  Leather business moves to Sheepscar

  [1]Willson Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Wilson, Walker & Co. moved its tannery to Sheepscar Street in Leeds.

• 1823

  Wilson, Walker & Co. established

  [1]Willson Groupen.wikipedia.org

  John Wilson Senior established the family leather business that later helped finance the artistic household.

A family-based Victorian and Edwardian artistic circle associated with Leeds, combining amateur and commissioned painting with participation in regional exhibitions and civic art institutions.

• Painting

  Landscape watercolours

  Landscape watercolour was the principal medium associated with J.J. Willson. His subjects included Yorkshire moors and countryside, Scottish and Irish scenery, and atmospheric views. Recorded works include The Breezy Expanse of Adel Moor, A Study of Gossamer, Ballinahinch, Home in the Gloaming, and The Last Gleam.

• Painting

  Portraits

  Michael and Mary Willson produced commissioned oil portraits of private and public figures. Surviving references include portraits of Isaac and Ann Rickett and George Corson, reflecting the family’s connections with Leeds civic and professional circles.

• Drawing

  Caricatures

  Michael and Mary Willson also created caricatures of prominent Leeds figures, including Sir James Kitson and John Barran. These works formed part of the group’s locally oriented commissioned practice.

• Drawing · 1860

  Pen-and-ink sketches

  J.J. Willson produced pen-and-ink material as well as watercolours. One recorded example is a bound set of sketches depicting a Society of Friends annual meeting at Devonshire House in London.

1. 1Willson Groupen.wikipedia.org