William Mulready was born in Ireland in County Clare. When he was six years old, his family moved to London. The young Mulready showed interest in painting as a child and was accepted at the Royal Academy School when he was 14 years old. His early paintings mainly showed landscapes, later he preferred to paint scenes from village life and made a name for himself as a genre painter. Very popular in his first creative phase were lyrical paintings like titles like "The Choice of the Wedding Dress" or "Butterfly and Grasshopper", "Wolf and Lamb" and "First Love". At the age of less than 30, Mulready became a member of the Royal Academy and was honoured with the French order "Legion d' Honneur".
The artist married very young. His wife Elizabeth, whom he met at art school, came from the well-known English artist family Varley and was also a landscape painter. Her brothers John Varley, Cornelius Varley and William Varley were also well-known painters. The couple had three sons, Paul, William jun. and Michael. All three also became painters, as did the grandson Augustus Edwin Mulready. The family life of the Mulreadys was not so successful. There were fierce arguments between the couple, culminating in Elizabeth publicly accusing her husband of infidelity and mental cruelty. But because both were strict Catholics, a divorce was out of the question. However, the couple lived apart for many years.
In order to keep himself financially afloat, William Mulready took on various jobs. He illustrated books and also designed illustrations for a stationery that later became very well known as "Mulready stationery". But mainly he continued to paint his pictures like the very famous portrait of the African-American actor Ira Aldridge, who was celebrated in Europe for his portrayal of Othello and Macbeth. In his later years William Mulready was also interested in nude painting. Today, several of his works hang in the Victoria and Albert Museum London and in the Thate Gallery. The painting "The Lion and the Lamb" is privately owned by Queen Elizabeth. William Mulready died at the age of 77 years in Bayswater/London and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery. His grave is decorated with a monument designed by Godfrey Seykes.
William Mulready was born in Ireland in County Clare. When he was six years old, his family moved to London. The young Mulready showed interest in painting as a child and was accepted at the Royal Academy School when he was 14 years old. His early paintings mainly showed landscapes, later he preferred to paint scenes from village life and made a name for himself as a genre painter. Very popular in his first creative phase were lyrical paintings like titles like "The Choice of the Wedding Dress" or "Butterfly and Grasshopper", "Wolf and Lamb" and "First Love". At the age of less than 30, Mulready became a member of the Royal Academy and was honoured with the French order "Legion d' Honneur".
The artist married very young. His wife Elizabeth, whom he met at art school, came from the well-known English artist family Varley and was also a landscape painter. Her brothers John Varley, Cornelius Varley and William Varley were also well-known painters. The couple had three sons, Paul, William jun. and Michael. All three also became painters, as did the grandson Augustus Edwin Mulready. The family life of the Mulreadys was not so successful. There were fierce arguments between the couple, culminating in Elizabeth publicly accusing her husband of infidelity and mental cruelty. But because both were strict Catholics, a divorce was out of the question. However, the couple lived apart for many years.
In order to keep himself financially afloat, William Mulready took on various jobs. He illustrated books and also designed illustrations for a stationery that later became very well known as "Mulready stationery". But mainly he continued to paint his pictures like the very famous portrait of the African-American actor Ira Aldridge, who was celebrated in Europe for his portrayal of Othello and Macbeth. In his later years William Mulready was also interested in nude painting. Today, several of his works hang in the Victoria and Albert Museum London and in the Thate Gallery. The painting "The Lion and the Lamb" is privately owned by Queen Elizabeth. William Mulready died at the age of 77 years in Bayswater/London and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery. His grave is decorated with a monument designed by Godfrey Seykes.
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