William Freeman 1853-1935 From World of an Artist-The Life of William Freeman by Gwendolen Freeman

William Freeman

William Freeman wasn't just another Victorian watercolour painter. Influenced by his voracious appetite for Romantic Literature, especially Blake and Shelley, Freeman’s work is often inhabited by wraith-like figures alone and gazing out to sea or across dark, dramatic landscapes; there is a constant sense of searching for another world. His haunting watercolours are distinguished by fine technique, breathtaking originality and awesome imagination. He became an eccentric figure with long hair, his trousers tied up with bootlace whilst riding about on an old tricycle in a rather wild manner. His behavior and shyness prevented him from achieving the publicity or popularity that his talent deserved. In later years he almost entirely confined himself to painting with watercolours.