- John Wright Oakes
John Wright Oakes (
9 July ,1820 –8 July ,1887 ) was an English landscape painter.He was born at
Sproston House , nearMiddlewich ,Cheshire , which had been in the possession of his family for several generations. He was educated inLiverpool , and studied art under John Bishop in theschool attached to the Liverpool Mechanics' Institution. His earliest works were fruit-pieces. These he exhibited in 1839 and the following years at the Liverpool Academy, of which he became a member, and afterwards honorary secretary for several years.About 1843 Oakes began painting
landscapes fromnature , and in 1847 the first picture exhibited by him in London, 'Nant Frangcon, Carnarvonshire,' appeared at theBritish Institution , and was followed in 1848 by 'On the River Greta, Keswick,' at theRoyal Academy . He continued to send pictures, chiefly of Welsh mountain, moorland, and coast scenery, to these exhibitions, as well as to theSociety of British Artists ,Dudley Gallery ,Portland Gallery , and elsewhere, and in 1859 came to reside inLondon .He painted also in water-colours, and in 1874 was elected an associate of the
Institute of Painters in Water-Colours , but resigned this position in 1875. He was elected an associate of theRoyal Academy in 1876, and an honorary member of theRoyal Scottish Academy in 1883. During the last six years of his life ill-health greatly interfered with the practice of his art. He still, however, exhibited annually at the Royal Academy, where a picture entitled 'The Warren' appeared the year after his death. Among his best works were 'A Carnarvonshire Glen,' 'A Solitary Pool,' 'Glen Derry,' 'Malldraeth Sands,' 'Aberffraw Bay,' 'Marchlyn Mawr,' 'Linn of Muick,' 'Dunnottar Castle,' 'The Bass Rock,' 'The Fallow Field,' 'The Border Countrie,' 'The Dee Sands,' and 'Dirty Weather on the East Coast.'Oakes died at his residence, Leam House, Addison Road,
Kensington , and was buried inBrompton Cemetery .As of 1894, the
South Kensington Museum had an oil painting by him entitled 'Disturbed,' an effect of early spring twilight. 'A North Devon Glen' was in theWalker Art Gallery ,Liverpool , and 'Early Spring' in theGlasgow Corporation galleries.ources
"Times", 13 July 1887; "Athenæum", 1887, ii. 89; "Bryan's Dict. of Painters and Engravers", ed. Graves and Armstrong, 1886–9, ii. 768; Exhibition Catalogues of the Royal Academy, British Institution (Living Artists), Society of British Artists, and Liverpool Academy, 1839–1888.
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