William Henry MargetsonRI (December 1861 – 2 January 1940) was a British painter and illustrator, mainly known for his aesthetic portraits of women.
Margetson was born atCamberwell, London. He studied atDulwich College, and later at theRoyal College of Art and theRoyal Academy Schools. In 1885 he first exhibited at the Royal Academy, and later also at theRoyal Society of British Artists, theRoyal Institute of Oil Painters and theGrosvenor Gallery. In late 1885 he won the Armitage Medal for his studies at the RA, which is now in theBritish Museum.[1]
Margetson painted in oils and watercolours. He made his name with portraits of beautiful women, often with modern hairstyles and hats. He also created religious and allegorical artworks. To begin with he worked in an academic, Victorian style. Later he would use a looser brushstyle inspired by thePost-Impressionists and thePre-Raphaelites, and in particularLawrence Alma-Tadema. His most successful work was the classically decorativeThe Sea Hath its Pearls which he exhibited in 1897 at the Royal Academy, now in the possession of theArt Gallery of New South Wales, in Australia.
A portrait ofAlfred Tennyson by Margetson is in theNational Portrait Gallery in London.
Margetson also worked as an illustrator of books. He was married to the artistHelen Hatton, who he met when they worked on an illustration project together. He lived and worked first in London and later inBlewbury and Wallingford. He died inWallingford, Oxfordshire, in 1940, at the age of 78.
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