John James Wilson was the son of John Wilson who was a Scottish landscape and marine painter. The son exhibited similar works to his father's and from the same London address until 1847. Most were landscapes until 1849 and marines thereafter. He moved to Folkestone with his father in 1853. John James Wilson was a prolific artist, exhibiting in excess of six hundred paintings during his working life.
Life and family
He was born in Lambeth, London around 1818, where he was also baptised in 1833. John James married Elizabeth Parker in 1845 and started his family with the birth of Elizabeth Parker Wilson in the same year. In the 1851 census, she is listed along with Charles and the wife's sister Josephine Parker. The address is recorded as 13 Park Place, Milton, near Gravesend, Kent. At this time John James' wife is recorded as visiting, with 3-year-old daughter Mary, the home of Charles Davidson, his wife Ann and family, By the 1861 census, the family was living at 3 West Terrace Folkestone, Kent, and circumstances had significantly moved on. John James' children are listed as Mary B, Charles J, Robert B, John M, William, Frank, Amy , Vernon. There is no mention of the 15-year-old daughter Elizabeth. Josephine Parker is recorded as 'Sister in law' and 'Fundholder'. By the 1871 census, Sidney, Ada and Minnie had also been born. John and Vernon were no longer listed. The latter having died later in 1861. Josephine Parker, the unmarried sister-in-law, is still mentioned as living with the family. The address at the time is given as Belle Vue House, Folkestone
Career
John James Wilson exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, the British Institution, Royal Society of British Artists, the Royal Scottish AcademyRoyal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, and the Royal Hibernian Academy. He exhibited his first painting at the British Institution in 1834. In 1875, the year of his death, three paintings were exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists priced at £35, £30 and £50 respectively. These paintings were submitted by his widow. At the age of around 28, the quality of John James Wilson's work was recognised when he was elected a member of the RBA in 1845. Many of his seascapes featured locations around the English Channel. These and his other paintings are still popular and are sold at auction rooms around the UK and elsewhere. Examples of the prices for some of his larger marine paintings are as follows. 'Fishing Vessels off the Isle of Wight', £7200, 24x43in ; 'Watching for the return of the fishing fleet, Calais', £3000, 24x36in. And the speculatively titled 'The approaching storm, South Coast possibly off Folkestone', £5434, 24x37in ;The correct location for this latter painting was given when it was sold at Sotheby's Belgravia on 8 April,1975 for a hammer price of £750. The illustrated lot on page 15 of the catalogue was titled 'Fecamp Head, Normandy'. Further information on the provenance of the painting can be found in the records compiled by the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Death
John James Wilson died aged 57 on 30 January 1875. Initially, it seems unclear where he died. The Free BMD records seem to indicate that his father, John James, as well as his son Vernon all died in the small village of Elham, Kent. Elham is approximately 5 miles north east of Folkestone and 9 miles south of Canterbury. The anomaly is resolved, however, as Elham was named as the registration district that historically included other parishes such as Folkestone. More specifically, the burial record indicates that John James died in 'Bayle Folkestone'. 'The Bayle' is an area of central Folkestone. He was buried at Cheriton Road Cemetery, Folkestone on 6 February 1875. The death certificate gives further information. It shows that John James Wilson died at home in Belle Vue House and that the cause of death was given as 'Diseased Liver '. When John James's wife Elizabeth died aged 73 in 1901, she was buried along with her husband and their son Vernon, and her name included on the gravestone. Under John James Wilson's name there is the following inscription, 'FOR 30 YEARS A MEMBER OF THE INCORPORATED SOCIETY OF BRITISH ARTISTS'. The gravestone was located by the Friends of the old Folkestone cemetery.
