Benjamin Williams Leader
- Shere resident and celebrated painter

1831-1923

Benjamin was born with the name of Benjamin Leader Williams but as he became more well known as a landscape painter, he found that there was another painter with the name of Benjamin Williams, who also exhibited at the Royal Academy, so he changed his name to Benjamin Williams Leader in 1857.

One of England's most outstanding late Victorian
landscape and coastal painters. His father was a keen amateur artist, and a friend of John Constable, and he would take Benjamin with him on sketching trips along the banks of the River Severn. He achieved notable success with his painting, "February Fill Dyke" exhibited in 1881. It remains one of the most famous Victorian paintings, and is a tribute to his artistic talents. The Royal Academy elected him an associate in 1883, and academician in 1898. He also exhibited abroad, winning the gold medal and the legion of honour in Paris in 1889. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Worcester, and was studying art in the evenings at the Worcester School of Design. His paintings are currently exhibited publicly at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Tate Gallery in London.

In August 1876, Leader married fellow artist Mary Eastlake (born c. 1852) and they went on to have 6 children – the first, Benjamin Eastlake Leader (1877–1916), also an artist, was killed in action during World War I.

The family moved to 'Burrows Cross', Shere, Surrey In 1889 to a large mansion designed by Norman Shaw RA. This is where he lived for 34 years until his death.

Buried in Shere St. James' Churchyard, where he often sat and painted. He died on 22nd March 1923, a few days after a stroke. He was buried in Shere churchyard in the family grave where his youngest daughter, Margaret Isabel Leader, was laid to rest thirteen years (1910) previously. She was only fourteen when she died.

His wife Mary Eastlake Leader (1852-1938) was also buried in the family grave. Their other children, Beatrice Leader (1879-1975) was also buried in the family grave and you can see her name very clearly at the bottom of the tomb stone in the above photo.

Leader also painted in other parts of Britain including the counties of Devon and Surrey as abroad in France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.

Obituary: The Worcester Herald, Saturday, March 24, 1923
"We regret to announce the death, which took place at Burrows Cross, Gomshall, Surrey, on Thursday of Mr. Benjamin Williams Leader, RA, who celebrated his 92nd birrthday on the 12th of March.
Mr. Leader was a painter of great repute, his landscapes, which had a peculiar beauty of their own, being great favorites with collectors. He had sent paintings to the Royal Academy for 70 years, and among his best works were charming Worcestershire scenes. The dead artist was the son of Mr. E. Leader Willams, and his education was received at the Royal Grammar School Worcester, the Worcester School of Design, and the Royal Academy Schools. He was a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. The Freedom of the City of Worcester was conferred on him in 1914."
SOURCE

 

 

 

Benjamin Williams Leader

Benjamin Williams Leader, RA (1831-1923): An Introduction to His Life and Work

Jacqueline Banerjee, Associate Editor, the Victorian Web

Detailed information can be read HERE

1908 - London Olympic high jump and hurdles

Edward Eastlake Leader was the son of celebrated artist
Benjamin Williams Leader and brother to Capt. Benjamin Eastlake Leader - both Benjemin's details/artwork can be found on the PAINTINGS PAGE but it was Edward Eastlake Leader who represented Great Britain in the 1908 London Olympic games.

Born. 28 Aug 1882 in  Whittington, Lodge, Whittington, Worcestershire ,
Edward represented Great Britain - Olympic Games 1908 - High Jump and Hurdles. The United Kingdom was the host nation of the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, 104 years before we were to host again at the 2012 London Olympics. In 1908, the UK was ranked first with a total of 146 medals: 56 Gold, 51 Silver and 39 Bronze medals

After winning the high jump for Cambridge vs. Oxford in 1904, Edward Leader shared second place in the Oxbridge vs. Harvard/Yale match. The following year, he finished second at both the Oxbridge Sports and at the AAAs. Although he did not win a blue as a hurdler, he was chosen to represent Britain in the 110 hurdles at the 1908 Olympics. He was Called to the Bar in 1908 and practiced as a barrister - source

REPORT: Athletics at the 1908 London Summer Games
Men's High Jump - Venue: White City Stadium, London
Date Started: July 21, 1908 - Date Finished: July 21, 1908

Edward Leader finished 10th position with a height of 1.77m
Con Leahy for Great Britain won a silver at this event BUT not after some controversey: The Official Report makes no mention of qualifying conditions but there were eight scheduled qualifying sections, which were consolidated into four pools. After Pool One had been completed at the South End of the Stadium, the officials decided that the slippery conditions were unsuitable and moved the remaining three pools to another jumping area at the North End of the Stadium. [Herbert Gidney] (USA), who had not qualified in the first pool, then lodged a protest, claiming that the original results of the first pool should be declared void and the competition held again under more favorable conditions at the North End. Despite the fact that all the competitors had been equally affected by the original adverse conditions, the judges, rather surprisingly, upheld Gidney's protest.

Otto Monsen (NOR) and Edward Leader (GBR) had shared first place in the original competition, but Monsen refused to take part in the re-scheduled event, while Leader failed to match the height he had achieved in the less favorable conditions. The only beneficiary of the protest was Gidney himself - Source

Men's 100m Hurdles - Venue: White City Stadium, London
Date Started: July 21, 1908 - Date Finished: July 25, 1908
Edward Leader just lost out in his heat by 0.3 second to progress to the semi finals with a time of 16.1 seconds.
In the FINAL, it's interesing to note fourth place time as being 16.0 seconds. Who knows how close to a medal Edward woud have come and unfortunately as Edward didn't progress past his heat, his final position was ranked 21st, a position that clearly was not representational. A World Record was set for first position:

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Forrest Smithson	United States	15.0 seconds WR
2	John Garrels	United States	(15.7 seconds)
3	Arthur Shaw	United States	(15.8 seconds)
4	William Rand	United States	(16.0 seconds)

© source - Fair Dealing

World War 1 - 1914/18

Shere village war memorial consists on a 'nameless' stone cross to the west of the St James's Church, and a bronze plaque bearing the names of the fallen on the inner northern wall of the church.

 

One name to be found was Benjamins son, Capt. Benjamin Eastlake Leader, who sadly lost his life along 32 other brave men from the village.

1914-1918 Above is the bronze plaque bearing the names of thirty three brave men from our Parish (Shere, Gomshall and Peaslake). The plaque can be viewed on the inner northern wall of St. James' church in Shere. The Shere Parish Magazine, click image to view March 1921, reported that at a SHERE MEMORIAL COMMITTEE meeting that Dr. Cory presented plans and drawings for a memorial window to commemorate the fallen. click image to view The stained Glass Window depicting St. George along with the dedicatory inscription within the glass at base reads: To the glory of God and to the honour of the men of this parish who fell in the Great War.

Joseph T. ATKINS Fredk. C. BATCHELOR Walter BATCOCK Frank COLLIS Leonard CUMPER Frederick EDE George EGERTON Frederick H. FOORD George H. GROVER George INWOOD Charles JACK Walter KILLICK Horace KILLICK Thomas LANGRISH Benjamin E. LEADER R.B. MARRIOTT-WATSON George A. MURRAY Jack MASON Oliver V. POULTON George W. PIZZEY Ernest RAGGETT George W. REYNOLDS Douglas REYNOLDS George W. SWEET Algernon R. TAYLOR George TARRANT Albert J. TOREVELL Hubert H. VINCENT James T. VINCENT Geoffrey L. WATSON Cyril J. WHITTY James WORSFOLD Wallace WORSFOLD THEY GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY

12th October 1916

photo©BNPS Fair Standard

Sadly news comes of Capt. Benjamin William Leaders eldest son, also a celebrated artist and known as exhibitor at the Royal Academy.

Source

Details: Capt Benjamin Eastlake Leader - Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) - 3rd Battalion
Burial: Thiepval Memorial  Thiepval Departement de la Somme Picardie, France. Plot: Pier and Face 5 D and 6 D.

The above painting titled "An English Hayfield" was by his father in Benjamin Williams Leader in 1879 and in the artist notes he figures were posed for by his wife, their young son Benjy (Benjamin Eastlake Leader) who was two years old at the time and their baby daughter Ethel. The scene depicts a hayfield at Whittington, the village in Worcestershire where Leader resided between 1862 and 1889 before moving to Burrows Cross, Shere.

Benjamin Eastlake Leader's son, also named Benjamin, 116403 Pilot Officer Benjamin John Leader, served in the RAF (Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve) in the Second World War and lost his life on the 4th August 1942 aged 28. READ MORE under the 1942 section below.

Benjamin Eastlake Leader Siblings:
His sister, Ethel Leader born 23 Jul 1878 in Whittington Lodge, Whittington, Worcestershire - Died 1 Dec 1974 in North Walsham, Norfolk. Married Roland James the year before her brother died on May 8 June 1915 in St. James' Church, Shere.

Sister Margaret Isabella Leader born March 1896 in Guildford, Surrey England died 12 Oct 1910 and buried in family grave in the Shere churchyard.

Sister Mary Eastlake Leader born 19 Nov 1880 in Whittington, Pershore, Worcestershire.
Married  Archibald Montgomery Tringham 17 February 1906 at St. James' Church, Shere.
Mary died 13 May 1977.

Sister Beatrice Leader (unmarried) - Born 28 Nov 1879 in Whittington, Lodge, Whittington, Worcestershire.
Death 16 Sept 1975 in Surrey, aged 95 years, also buried in the family grave at St. James' Church in Shere.

WE HAVE AN OLYMPIAN connection
Brother Edward Eastlake Leader
born. 28 Aug 1882 in  Whittington, Lodge, Whittington, Worcestershire  died 22 April 1959.

1908 - London Olympic high jump and hurdles

Edward represented Great Britain - Olympic Games 1908 - High Jump and Hurdles. The United Kingdom was the host nation of the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, 104 years before we were to host again at the 2012 London Olympics. In 1908, the UK was ranked first with a total of 146 medals: 56 Gold, 51 Silver and 39 Bronze medals

After winning the high jump for Cambridge vs. Oxford in 1904, Edward Leader shared second place in the Oxbridge vs. Harvard/Yale match. The following year, he finished second at both the Oxbridge Sports and at the AAAs. Although he did not win a blue as a hurdler, he was chosen to represent Britain in the 110 hurdles at the 1908 Olympics. He was Called to the Bar in 1908 and practiced as a barrister - source

For the Full Olympic Report and how Edward Eastlake Leader got on representing Great Britain, scroll up to the 1908 - London Olympics.

The London Gazette shows Edward's rank in the first World war, sadly ten months before his brother, Benjamin Eastlake Leader, is killed - see above.

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Source

Both Benjamin Eastlake Leader and Edward Eastlake Leader are mentioned on the Charterhouse school website:

Benjamin: Captain / The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment),3rd Bn. attd. 2nd Bn. Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment), Infantry - Died on 12 October 1916

Edward: His younger brother Edward Eastlake Leader, was in Pageites 1896-1900; he competed at the Olympics in 1908 in high jump and hurdles. He became a barrister, survived service in the RNVR and died in 1959.  Charterhouse Roll of Honour, a website commemorating all those Old Carthusians and members of staff who perished in the First World War © 2017 Charterhouse

Charterhouse school is an independent day and boarding school in Godalming, Surrey. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charterhouse Square, Smithfield, London

 

Benjemin Williams Leader - 1923

Benjemin Williams Leader died at his home "Burrows Cross House" on the 22nd March 1923. "Burrows Cross House was designed by Richard Norman Shaw in 1885 for Frank Roll and extended in 1889 by him for B.W. Leader. - © photo above of Benjemin and his wife, Mary Eastlake

Benjamin Leader was commercially successful during his lifetime, and had exhibited approximately 216 paintings at the Royal Academy over 69 years from 1854 to 1923.  In addition to other London venues, Leader exhibited his works in exhibitions held in Worcester, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow (UK) as well as in international exhibitions in Paris (France), Canada and the United States.

"Benjamin William Leader was to become one of the most acclaimed Victorian landscape painters during his lifetime. He was born in Worcester in 1831 and he was the eldest of eleven children. His father, Edward Leader Williams was a civil engineer and staunch non-conformist whilst his mother Sarah Whiting was a Quaker.  However after the two of them married in an Anglican church the Quaker establishment disowned them.  Benjamin was actually born as Benjamin Williams but in 1857 he added the surname, Leader, which was his father’s middle name, to distinguish himself from the rest of the Williams clan. His father Edward was a keen amateur artist and was on friendly terms with John Constable.  Benjamin would often accompany his father on his painting expeditions along the Severn valley and soon he developed a love of art.  He attended the Royal Grammar School in Worcester and when he completed his schooling in 1845 was apprenticed as a draughtsman in his father’s engineering office.  However Benjamin never gave up his fondness for apinting and drawing and after many discussions with his father he was allowed to leave the world of engineering and follow his love of art.  His father gave his son one year to prove himself artistically.  Benjamin enrolled at the Worcester School of Design and one year later had achieved the position of “probationer” at the Royal Academy Schools.  A year on, and quite exceptionally for a first year student, he exhibited his first painting, Cottage Children Blowing Bubbles, which was bought by an American.  From then on he exhibited in every Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy up until 1922 when he had reached the fine old age of 91.

Leader married fellow artist Mary Eastlake in 1876.  She was an artist whose subject speciality was flowers.  She came from an artistic background being the grand-niece of Sir Charles Locke Eastlake who was President of the Royal Academy between 1850 until his death in 1865.  The marriage of the couple did not find favour with her family as Benjamin Leader was twenty-two years older than their daughter and whereas the Eastlake family came from a long line of Plymouth gentry, Benjamin’s family where  mere “trades people”.  However as is often the case, the noble Eastlake family had seen better financial days whereas Benjamin Leader, with the sale of his many paintings,  was financially sound.  They did marry and went on to have six children, one of whom Benjamin Eastlake Leader, became an artist but was sadly killed in action during the First World War." - source, My daily art display - continue READING

His son represented Great Britain at the 1908 London Olympics - See 1908 entry above.

1942 - Benjamin John Leader (a- 1942)

MORE DETAIL from October 1916 entry above

Benjamin Eastlake Leader's son, also named Benjamin,

Benjamin John Leader's grave stone - Location of Benjamin John's grave - Bude Haven (St. Michael) Churchyard

was 116403 Pilot Officer Benjamin John Leader, serving in the RAF (Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve) in the Second World War until he lost his life on the 4th August 1942 aged 28.. Benjamin John was only two years old when his father, Benjamin Eastlake Leader, lost his life seving our country in the First World War.

 

Benjamin Williams Leader
- Celebrated painter

All paintings in chronologic date order, relating to Shere or the surrounding villages

1863 - Benjamin Williams Leader

By Mead or Stream - 1863

Painter: B.W. Leader

Description
The painting "By Mead and Stream" of 1893 (Towneley Hall Art Gallery and Museum, Burley) also depicts the Tillingbourne at Gomshall Marshes, looking towards the village of Abinger Hammer. Sotheby's

1866 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Evening Return to the Homestead - 1866

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader
signed and dated 'B.W.Leader.1866' (lower left), signed, inscribed and dated on the reverse

oil on canvas - 76 x 132cm (29 15/16 x 51 15/16in).

Description
I would love to find this location, can anyone help. If so lease e-mail me

UPDATE - 26th February 2017

Returning Home - 1897
Painter: B.W. Leader

This is without doubt the same property as the one Benjamin William Leader painted 31 years prior

1866 painting - Evening Return to the Homestead	1897 painting: Returning Home

(click on the above photos to view larger image)

 

1874 - Benjamin Williams Leader

On a Surrey Heath - 1874

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader
signed lower left and dated 1874

oil on canvas 38.5cm by 59cm

1879 - Benjamin Williams Leader
- Wife and Son

An English Hayfield - 1879

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

Benjamin Williams Leader's artist notes from 1879 tell us that the figures were posed by his wife, their young son Benjy (Benjamin Eastlake Leader) who was two years old at the time and their baby daughter Ethel. The scene depicts a hayfield at Whittington, the village in Worcestershire where Leader resided between 1862 and 1889 before moving to Burrows Cross House, Shere.

Sadly Benjamin Eastlake Leader was killed in France during the First Word War in 1916 - further details can be found on the HISTORY page of this website.

 

Benjamin Williams Leader
- Family moved to Shere in 1889

Benjamin Williams Leader

Shere Church, Surrey

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

Medium: Oil on canvas - 24 x 20 inches (61 x 51cm)

© National Museums Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery

 

WEBSITE

An example of the value of Benjamin Williams Leader art:

In 2003, "A Summer's Day" (1888) sold at auction for £168,000 at Sotheby's. - This could well be a local scene around Shere as it was painted the same year that Benjamin Williams moved to Burrows Cross.

Benjemin Williams Leader at his easel

source

1890 - Benjamin Williams Leader

A Surrey Sandpit - 1890

Painter: Benjamin W. Leader

Medium: Oil on Canvas - 41.2cm x 1.6cm

1890 painting - A Surrey Sandpit	1898 painting: The Sandpit, Burrow's Cross

This was the first of two paintings that Benjamin Leader painted of the Burrow's Cross Sandpit, Shere.
See the other similar painting further down this webpage, painted in 1898 which is titled 'The Sandpit, Burrow's Cross'

© All rights reserved - Photo credit: Perth & Kinross Council

1892 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Shere Church, Surrey - 1892

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

Medium: Oil on canvas 76.2cm x 162.6cm

Location: Bridge by the 'Now Swimming Pool'

Held at Manchester Art Galery

1892 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Evening on the Surrey Wolds - 1892

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

signed and dated 'B.W.LEADER 1892' (lower left) and further signed and inscribed 'Evening on the Surrey Wolds B.W.Leader' (on the reverse)

oil on canvas 30¼ x 48 in. (76.8 x 122 cm.)

Leader depicts Burrows Cross, a crossroads outside Gomshall in Surrey. The artist had moved to Gomshall in 1889 from his birth county of Worcestershire. The Scots pine trees are a dominant feature of Leader's Surrey landscapes; the remain characteristic of the landscape today.

A small preparatory sketch for the present lot exists, however it is dated 1893; a common error for Leader who would annotate material retrospectively when preparing it for exhibition or sale. source

1893 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Title: At Felstead Surrey - 1898

Painter: Benjamin W. Leader
signed and dated 1893 lower left, title and artist's name inscribed to verso.

oil on canvas, Canvas 15-3/4''h, 24''w

1893 - Abinger, Surrey

Abinger, Surrey - 1893

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

signed and dated 'B.W. LEADER. 1893.' (lower left)
oil on canvas
36 x 61 in. (91.3 x 154.9 cm.)

1893 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Title: An Old Country Churchyard 'With Ivy Clad'

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

Oil on Canvas 55cm x 86cm

Location: The Old Parish Church of Albury

1894 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader
signed and dated l.l.: B. W. LEADER - 1894

Dimensions: 76 by 122 cm. ; 30 by 48 in.

Leader conducted a deep-felt love affair with the Surrey landscape, which lasted for virtually his whole career from the late 1850s onwards. Over thirty years after he first painted in the area around Abinger, Leader took up residence at Burrows Cross, close to the village of Shere. In the surrounding area he found many vistas which gave him intense inspiration and the church of Shere is to be found in several of his paintings of the mid-1890s, including Shere Church of 1892 and The Village Church of 1894. It is likely that the present view of woodcutters resting during their labours was also painted close to Burrows Cross.

Provenance: W. H. Patterson, London;
Private collection

Exhibited: Royal Academy, 1894, no. 317

Literature: Frank Lewis, Benjamin Williams Leader R.A. 1831-1923, 1971, pg. 44 (cat no. 355 and 352 which appear to be the same subject), repr. fig. 60;
Ruth Wood, Benjamin Williams Leader RA 1831-1923; His Life and Paintings, 1998, pg. 130

source

1895 Parish Magazine

The cover image that first appears on the January 1895 Shere Parish Magazine* has been identified as a painting by celebrated Victorian artist Benjamin Williams Leader. In 1889, Leader purchased Burrows Cross House, Shere where he lived until his death in 1926. The house was designed and built by the architect Richard Norman Shaw RA in 1885, for the portrait painter, Frank Holl (see below), as a country retreat and it had only just been completed when Holl died suddenly.

Title: Her First Born 1876 by Frank Holl - View from the Vestry door at St. James', looking towards 'The Square' ( pre-lychgate).

*Parish Magazine: The painting appears on all covers up to and including 1906 (Issues 1907 to 1917 are missing, we cannot speculate as to how many more issues the BW Leader painting was used on the cover.

1895 - Benjamin Williams Leader

 

MISSING IMAGE

Can you help, please e-mail me

 

Title: Peaslake Village, Surrey

Benjamin Williams Leader, R.A. (1831-1923) peaslake village, surrey

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

signed and dated B W LEADER/1895 l.l., bears title on reverse

Oil on board 32.5 by 43.5cm.; 123/4 by 17in

abt 1895 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Harvest Time

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader
signed 'B.W.LEADER.' (lower left) and with inscription 'Harvest Time/B.W.Leader.' (on the reverse)

oil on canvas - 24 x 40 in. (62.2 x 103 cm)

PROVENANCE Anon. sale, Christie's London, 21 July 1961, lot 95. Anon. sale, Christie's London, 4 November 1988, lot 17 (3,400).

Location: St. James' Church, Shere.
Leader lived in Burrows Cross House, Shere and is buried in St. James' churchyard.

A painting of the same view, without figures, and signed and dated 1895, was offered at Sotheby's London, 5 November 1974, lot 114. source

1896 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader - 1896

Description: A Mother and child with their dog, picknicking on the edge of the Heath

oil on board 51 x 76cm

1896 - Benjamin Williams Leader

 

MISSING IMAGE

Can you help, please e-mail me

 

Title: Near Burrows Cross

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

Description: Near Burrows Cross, Guildford; and Kempsey Church on the Severn signed 'B.W. Leader. 1896.' (lower left) oil on canvas 91/4 x 141/2 in. (23.5 x 36.8 cm.) Painted in 1896 a pair (2)

NOTES Near Burrows Cross, Guildford was painted in the environs of Leader's home, Burrows Cross House near Shere in Surrey, where he had taken up residence in 1889. The view is southward, depicting the Scot pines characteristic of the area. Ruth Wood

Ruth Wood's publication,
Benjamin Williams Leader, R.A., 1998

1897 - Benjamin Williams Leader

UPDATE - 26th February 2017

Returning Home - 1897
Painter: B.W. Leader

oil on canvas 53 by 81 cm., 21 by 32 in

This is without doubt the same property as the one Benjamin William Leader painted 31 years prior in 1866.

Check out the meaning of this: This is a version of the 1897 painting, The Day's Toil is Ended, which was purchased by Thomas Virtue & Co for engraving in 1898.

1866 painting: Evening Return to the Homestead	1897 painting: Returning Home

(click on the above photos to view larger image)

1897 - Benjamin Williams Leader

An Old Surrey Home - 1897
Painter: Benjamin William Leader

signed and dated 'B.W. LEADER.1897' (lower left) and indistinctly inscribed (on stretcher) oil on canvas 30 x 50 in. (76 x 127 cm.)

PROVENANCE with Arthur Tooth, 1897, from whom acquired from the artist for 200. LITERATURE Country Life, 24 February 1966, p. 418. NOTES This picture is a smaller version of

A Relic of the Past

illustrated in Ruth Wood's publication,
Benjamin Williams Leader, R.A., 1998, pl. 48,

and sold at Christie's London, 29 March 1996, lot 124 (21,000). Executed, like lot 150, in 1897, it depicts the Old Malt House (now Malt House Cottages) in Gomshall, Surrey, a short distance from Burrow's Cross House, where Leader had moved in 1889. The larger painting passed directly into private ownership, and was not exhibited, thereby escaping critical appraisal. It remains an impressive example by Leader who, with the sale of In the evening there shall be light at Christie's for 1,205 in 1897, achieved the record price for a work by any living artist.

Old Surrey Home painting	A Relic of the Past painting

(click on the above photos to view larger image)

'Old Surrey Home' and 'A Relic of the Past' is taken from the same view point as shown above. Note, in the 'Old Surrey Home' painting the view extends further to the right.

NOTES Leader bought Burrows Cross House, Shere on a ridge just south of the village of Gomshall in Surrey, in 1889. It had been built by the architect Richard Norman Shaw RA, for the portrait painter, Frank Holl, as a country retreat and it had only just been completed when Holl died suddenly. The house was first depicted in The Silent Evening Hour, the artist's Royal Academy painting of 1890, no. 672, and it featured in many of his works until his death in 1923. Ruth Wood

1897 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Relic of the Past - 1897
Painter: Benjamin William Leader

oil on canvas 36 1/4 x 57 3/4 in. (92 x 146.6 cm.)

Location: Malthouse Cottages

The picture shows an old sixteenth-century house on the edge of the village of Gomshall in Surrey, a short distance away from Burrows Cross where Leader lived from 1889 until his death in 1923. The house, known as Malthouse Cottages, still stands, and its ornate timber framing is little changed today. source

NOTES Leader bought Burrows Cross House, on a ridge just south of the village of Gomshall, near Shere in Surrey, in 1889. It had been built by the architect Richard Norman Shaw RA, for the portrait painter, Frank Holl, as a country retreat and it had only just been completed when Holl died suddenly. The house was first depicted in The Silent Evening Hour, the artist's Royal Academy painting of 1890, no. 672, and it featured in many of his works until his death in 1923. Ruth Wood

Ruth Wood's publication,
Benjamin Williams Leader, R.A., 1998

1897 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Burrows Cross, Shere, Surrey - 1897
Painter: Benjamin William Leader

signed and dated 'B.W. LEADER. 1897.' (lower left)

oil on canvas 11 7/8 x 173/4 in. (30.2 x 45.1 cm.)

Burrows Cross, Shere, Surrey signed and dated 'B.W. LEADER. 1897.' (lower left) oil on canvas 11 7/8 x 173/4 in. (30.2 x 45.1 cm.)

PROVENANCE Sold by the artist either to A. Mason, June 1897 for £30 or to Arthur Tooth, August 1897 for £37. Anon. sale [Mrs S.E. Taylor]; Christie's, London, 25 April 1975, lot 65 (£997). with MacConnal Mason, London. with Frost & Reed, London. LITERATURE Artist's Records of Paintings Sold, 1897.

NOTES Leader bought Burrows Cross House, on a ridge just south of the village of Gomshall, near Shere in Surrey, in 1889. It had been built by the architect Richard Norman Shaw RA, for the portrait painter, Frank Holl, as a country retreat and it had only just been completed when Holl died suddenly. The house was first depicted in The Silent Evening Hour, the artist's Royal Academy painting of 1890, no. 672, and it featured in many of his works until his death in 1923. Ruth Wood

Ruth Wood's publication,
Benjamin Williams Leader, R.A., 1998

1897 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Title: View of Burrows Cross, at sunset - 1897
Painter: Benjamin William Leader
signed and dated lower left "B W Leader 1897"

oil on artist''s millboard - h:29 w:44 cm

1897 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Title: Path Across the Common

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader, British, 1831-1923
signed, dated lower left on canvas B.W. Leader 1897

1898 - Benjamin Williams Leader

The Sandpit, Burrow's Cross - 1898

Painter: Benjamin W. Leader

© All rights reserved - Photo credit: Royal Academy of Arts

1890 painting - A Surrey Sandpit	1898 painting: The Sandpit, Burrow's Cross

(click on the above photos to view larger image)

1898 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Evening in a Surrey Pinewood - 1898

Painter: Benjamin W. Leader

18 years later, Benjamin William Leader paints the same view, clearly the same tree configuration.

1916 painting: Quiet Evening, Surrey Pines	1898 painting - Evening in a Surrey Pinewood

(click on the above photos to view larger image)

1898 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Surrey Sunset - 1898

Painter: Benjamin W. Leader

Dimensions: 31 by 46cm., 12¼ by 18in

1898 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Surrey Pines - 1898

Painter: Benjamin W. Leader

oil on canvas 50 x 75cm. Exhibited: possibly London, The Royal Academy, 1898, no.952 (as "Surrey sheep pastures")

date unknown - Benjamin Williams Leader

The village church, Shere

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

Medium: Oil on canvas

WEBSITE

Location: St. James' Church

Benjamin Williams Leader
- Pencil drawings

There has been a lot of paintings, illustrations and sketches going to auction of late and here is another amazing find. This time by one of England's most outstanding late Victorian landscape and coastal painters. Famous for his paintings of St. James' Church, Benjamin is buried in the churchyard, along with his family.

Going under the hammer at Gerrards Auction Rooms on
May 3rd 2018 - Medium: Pencil - Size: 5.5 x 8.3/4 Inches

LIVE BIDDING | View Detail

22nd April 2018

Benjamin Williams Leader - 1900

The Village Church - 1900

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader (1831-1923)

Medium: Oil on canvas, 48" x 72"

Location: St. James' Church, Shere

Leader first painted St James' Church in 1892, but this particular view was begun in 1894. Later he made the trees more bushy, added some central figures and a flock of birds in the top right hand corner before
signing and dating it 1900.

Shere Church, Surrey
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated 1900 lower left
76 x 61 cm (30 x 24 in)

St James's church in Shere was a popular subject with artists of the time and Leader himself returned to it several times in his career. The earliest rendering of 1892, his first known attempt, depicts St James's from a more distant perspective. Here, the landscape dominates and it was not until his next representation - the present work - 'The village church', in 1894, that the actual building became prominent. The revised view point seems more successful, and the picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy (no.484) before finding its way onto the front cover of the Shere Parish Magazine. Indeed, Leader acknowledged this improvement himself, writing "...have taken up my church picture again painted the tower and spire and have done it well".

The artist executed this work whilst grieving for his recently deceased and much beloved sister Patty. Years later and with lifted spirits, he was to add the figures we see in the foreground and date it '1900', a gesture symbolising the conclusion of his mourning period. Ruth Wood

Ruth Wood's publication,
Benjamin Williams Leader, R.A., 1998

 

The Village Church, has now been acquired by Great Grooms antiques centre in West Street, Dorking.

£45,000 (February 2007)

READ FULL ARTICLE

 

Other St. James' paintings by Benjamin Williams Leader - 1902

In November 2020, this painting came up for auction:

SHERE CHURCH, AN OIL BY BENJAMIN WILLIAMS LEADER
with an estimate of £500-£800

Lot 47 (The British & International Pictures Auction,
18th November 2020)

BENJAMIN WILLIAMS LEADER RA (ENGLISH 1831 - 1923),
SHERE CHURCH
Oil on canvas, signed and dated 1902
75cm x 59cm
Framed

Estimate £500-£800

SOLD - 18th November 2020

Previously SOLD on 15th Feb 2012

McTear's Auctioneers
31 Meiklewood Road
Glasgow
G51 4GB

 

Benjamin Williams Leader - 1900

A Bye Path, Burrows Cross - 1900

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

Medium: Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left B. W. Leader 1900, 53 x 42 cm

Benjamin Williams Leader - 1901

Title: On the Banks of the Tillingbourne, Surrey - 1901

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

Note: I have also seen this painting with an alternative title:
The Tillingbourne Stream

Oil on Canvas 20 x 30"

Description: The buildings depicted in On the Banks of the Tillingbourne are probably the various cottages bordering the stream on the edge of Shere close to the Church of St James'.

Benjamin Williams Leader - 1901

Title: The Weald of Surrey - 1901

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader
signed and dated 'B.W.LEADER.1901.' (lower left)

oil on canvas : 59 x 47 in. (149.8 x 119.3 cm.)

Benjamin Williams Leader - 1901

Title: View from Burrows Cross - 1901

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

Size: 40cm x 60cm

Benjamin Williams Leader - 1903

Title: Surrey Pastures - 1903

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader
signed and dated 'B.W. Leader 1903' (lower left)

oil on canvas 20 x 30 in. (50.8 x 76.2 cm.)

Benjamin Williams Leader - 1905

Title: Morning - 1905

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader
signed and dated 'B.W.LEADER.1905.' (lower left)

oil on panel - 18 x 14 in. (45.8 x 35.5 cm.)

Notes: This plein air oil sketch was originally one of a pair with Evening. Of identical measurements, they were offered together at Christie's in May 1919. The landscape suggests that it is a view of the rural countryside near Burrow's Cross, at Gomshall in Surrey, where Leader had relocated from Worcestershire in 1889 - Ruth Wood

 

1909 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader
signed B. W. Leader and dated 1909 in the lower left corner

gouache on paper, 48 by 72 cm.

Pine trees, and with a boy and girl, border collie, and sheep in the foreground

1910 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Title: 'A Surrey Woodland', with figures on track - 1910

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

Oil on Canvas, Signed and Dated 1910, 16" x 24".

1913 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Title: Surrey Common - 1913

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

A Surrey Common (Near Gomshall)
signed and dated 'B.W.Leader 1913' (lower left) and signed and inscribed 'A Surrey Common/B.W. Leader' (on the stretcher)
oil on canvas
20 x 30 in. (50.8 x 76.2 cm.)

1915 - Benjamin William Leader
Sat March 13th 1915

Surrey Ad - © The BNPA

Benjamin William Leader's paintings are currently exhibited publicly at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Tate Gallery in London, and in Worcester (the largest collection of his works in Britain by far), Manchester, Birmingham and other regions in Britain. The Cambridge gallery in Santa Monica, USA, also has several of his works. Many, in addition, are held by private collectors. In 2003, "A Summer's Day (1888) sold at aution for £168,000 at Sotheby's.

Hi s eldest son Benjamin Eastlake Leader was sadly kiled in the First World War in October 1916 - Visit the the HISTORY page to read more.

His son Edward Eastlake Leader born. 28 Aug 1882 represented Great Britain in the 1908 London Olympics - again visit the the HISTORY page to read more.

1915 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Title: Surrey Corn Fields

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

signed and dated 'B.W. LEADER. 1915.' (lower left) and signed and indistinctly inscribed 'Surrey Corn Fields. B.W. Leader.' (on the stretcher) oil on canvas 12 x 18 in. (34 x 49 cm.)

PROVENANCE Gooden Fox, on behalf of the Sir Harry Veitch Trust; Christie's, 22 October 1954, lot 83 (63 gns. to Leggatt). Anon sale, Sotheby's London, 14 June 1967, lot 197. with Gooden & Fox, London.

EXHIBITION Exeter, The Royal Albert Memorial Museum.

1916 - Benjamin Williams Leader

Quiet Evening Surrey Pines - 1916

Painter: Benjamin Williams Leader

oil on canvas 221/4 x 16 in. (56.6 x 38.2 cm.)

18 years earlier, Benjamin William Leader painted the same view, clearly the same tree configuration.

1898 painting - Evening in a Surrey Pinewood	1916 painting: Quiet Evening, Surrey Pines

(click on the above photos to view larger image)

Quick Links to Years:

1800 - 1899

1900 - 1949

1950 - 1999

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