William Arthur BREAKSPEARE (1855-1914) ✿

William Arthur Breakspeare (1856-1914) was an artist from Birmingham, England, the son of John Breakspeare, a flower painter working in the Birmingham japanning trade. Breakspeare lived in Edgbaston, Birmingham until the age of 22. He was apprenticed to the japanners, Halbeard and Wellings, as a decorator. In 1877, he moved to Paradise Street in central Birmingham. He was closely associated with the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) gallery, exhibiting 34 works from 1874 to 1899. He was one of the first Associates of the RBSA in 1881 and was elected to the RBSA in 1884. He was also a founder member of the Birmingham Art Circle. In about 1884 he visited Newlyn in Cornwall where other ‘Birmingham Boys’ were helping to establish the colony of artists. His work covered many genres including genre, portrait, figure and 18th-century costume pieces and landscape.