# William Frederick Witherington artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/william-frederick-witherington/
Profile generated: 2026-05-31T05:56:38.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1785-05-25
- Death date: 1865-04-10
- Nationality: English, British
- Movements: British academic painting
- Common media: oil painting, drawing

## About William Frederick Witherington

William Frederick Witherington (1785–1865) was an English painter and Royal Academician whose career spanned more than five decades of the British art world. Born in London, he entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1805 and exhibited there nearly every year from 1811 until his death, making him one of the most consistent RA exhibitors of the nineteenth century. He was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1830 and full Royal Academician in 1840, retiring from the body in 1863. Witherington is known for landscape and genre subjects, often depicting rural English life with a warm, narrative quality. His work is held in public collections including the Tate. The RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History and the Getty Union List of Artist Names both maintain authority records for the artist, and he taught the painter John Scarlett Davis.

## Common works and media

Witherington most commonly produced oil-on-canvas landscape paintings and genre scenes depicting rural English life and pastoral narratives. He also worked as a draftsperson, and finished drawings occasionally appear on the market. His RA-exhibited works ranged from cottage interiors and agricultural subjects to idealized countryside views. Prints after his paintings were also produced, reflecting the Victorian market for reproductive engravings of popular genre subjects.

## Market and appraisal context

Witherington's works appear at auction primarily as 19th-century British paintings and drawings. His landscape and genre scenes in oil are the categories collectors encounter most often. Value depends on subject matter, size, condition, and documented provenance, particularly any connection to his extensive Royal Academy exhibition record. Works bearing a clear RA exhibition history or published literature references (such as Mallalieu's dictionary or Bénézit) tend to command stronger results. As with many Victorian-era British painters, attribution should be supported by provenance or expert review, as his pastoral genre subjects overlap with those of his contemporaries.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines verified identity research from the Tate, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, Getty ULAN, VIAF, and Wikidata with auction-house context, sale records, and comparable lot data when available. Biographical dates and RA membership milestones are drawn from multiple independent authority sources. Market observations reference published art-historical literature and documented exhibition history rather than speculative pricing.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12073079
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Frederick_Witherington
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500006173
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/69201725/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr91028611
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/william-frederick-witherington-608
- RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/85134