About Wilfred Ball
Wilfrid Williams Ball (1853–1917) was born in London. He was a Victorian and Edwardian painter of landscapes and marine subjects.
He spent a few years working in an accountant’s office as his father did not believe he should become an artist. However, Wilfred studied drawing at Heatherley School of Fine Art in Chelsea in the evenings.
Wilfred Ball started exhibiting in 1877, when was of his etchings was accepted for a Royal Academy exhibition. This then lead him to quit his job and start working as a full-time artist.
In 1886, he became the president of the Society of British Artists. Then in 1900, he was awarded a bronze medal for one of his etchings at the Paris Exhibition.
Wilfred Ball became well known for his etchings but then his success came from his watercolour paintings of rural landscapes and marine scenes.
He exhibited frequently at the Royal Academy; the Royal Society of Painters, Etchers and Engravers; the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours; and other venues. He also wrote and illustrated several articles for the art magazine The Studio, one on Egypt and another on Venice.
