William Gosling RBA was a well-regarded British painter of landscapes.

A pressing question, often foremost in the mind of any young aspiring landscape artist, is how far one should accurately reflect nature as it sprawls out before them in all its unerring complexity. For centuries, the old masters were expected to ‘idealise’ - study the elements, yet arrange them in a manner befitting the divine, essentially as God intended. While in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Romantics tried to allude to the sensation of being among nature, whipping up its melodrama for emotional effect.

But during the mid-19th century, the emphasis switched to something entirely different - painting the truth. Every craggy rock, mossy hillside, rutted path, and sullen cloud. Hordes of British painters gathered up their kit and headed for the countryside, painting from life as faithfully as possible. A discerning William Gosling was among them.

Born near Wokingham, Berkshire, Gosling's early years were spent working as a schoolmaster. The son of a landed proprietor, he was perhaps initially urged by his family to gain a ‘proper job’. However, a few years after his marriage in 1847 to Emma Lunn, a farmer’s daughter, he picked up his brushes and took the first step towards becoming an important proponent of British naturalism.

His bold decision brought immediate success in the form of debuts at both the Royal Academy and the British Institute - and a year later with his election as a member of the Royal Society of British Artists. Evidently, his elder peers were enamoured with the young man’s potential.

Living predominantly in the picturesque historic village of Wargrave, Gosling had ample access to the leafy delights of the home counties. He’s noted for his resplendent views of the silvery Thames and in this respect his oeuvre reminds us of the eminent George Vicat Cole RA (1833-1893).

In his ‘River Scene with Men in a Punt’, which is currently in the collection at the V&A Museum, two figures navigate an algae-covered waterway under a resplendent tinted sky. Reflections of sprawling foliage gather among the ripples - it’s a tonal masterclass.

While in this dexterous piece from around 1870, he’s captured the subtle variations of light as it tip-toes through a dense wood. The sense of depth is quite astonishing as we glance between the parallel lines of shaded beech trees - with the foremost oak forked to reveal its fantastical gnarls. In 1868, Gosling exhibited ‘Where'er the Rude and Moss-Grown Beech’ at the Royal Academy and it’s conceivably the same piece.

William Gosling RBA, An Oak Tree In A Sunlit Glade (c. 1870)

He’s represented in numerous public collections including at Reading Museum and the V&A.

Exhibited

Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Artists, British Institute, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists.

Public Collections

Reading Museum, V&A Museum.

Timeline

1824

Born near Wokingham, Berkshire, to Thomas Gosling, a gentleman and ‘landed proprietor’, and Dinah Elizabeth Gosling.

1847

Married Emma Lunn, a farmer’s daughter, in Paddington, London. Occupation recorded as ‘Schoolmaster’.

1851

Lived in Camden Town, London, with his wife and daughter. Occupation recorded as ‘Landscape Painter’.
Debuted at the Royal Academy with ‘Grandad. A Rustic Incident’. He continued to exhibit until 1883.
Debuted at the British Institute with ‘The Plough Team’ and ‘On the Thames near Medmenham’. He continued to exhibit until 1883.  

1852/1854

Elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists.

1861

Lived in Wargrave, Berkshire, with his wife and daughter. Occupation recorded as ‘Artist’.  

1871

Lived in Wargrave, Berkshire, with his wife, son, daughter and servant. Occupation recorded as ‘Artist. Member of the Society of British Artists’.  

1881

Lived in Wargrave, Berkshire, with his wife, son and daughter. Occupation recorded as ‘Artist (Animal and Landscape Painter)’. 

1883

Died in Wargrave, Berkshire.

Obituaries

Reading Mercury

“The Late Mr W Gosling - The Academy, referring to the late Mr. William Gosling, a landscape and figure painter in both oil and watercolour, says:- ‘Mr. Gosling was born in 1824 near Wokingham, and did not begin to paint as a profession till he was 26. He was elected a member of the Society of British Artists in 1852, and has exhibited there and at the Royal Academy, and at the chief provincial exhibitions since that time. He was at one time best known by his wood scenes, but latterly by his cornfields and trees. He had been suffering for some time from a complication of disorders, and was attacked with angina pectoris on Sept. 22nd, since which date he has been under constant medical treatment. He died on Dec. 6th quite suddenly, through rupturing an artery of the heart at Wargrave, where he had lived for 28 years.'"