Warwickshire views

Description

Six Warwickshire Views, c.1898

Sepia engravings

Wilfrid Ball (1853-1917)

Six late 19th/early 20th century sepia engravings of Warwickshire landmarks, possibly produced 1880s or 1890s. From left to right they are:

Top row: Shakespeare's Birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon; Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon; Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Shottery.
Bottom row: Warwick Castle; the Old Lock at Stratford-upon-Avon; Kenilworth Castle.

Ball was born in London in 1853 and began his career as an accountant whilst taking evening classes at the Heatherley School of Fine Art in Chelsea. He contributed plates to 'The Etcher' from 1880 to 1883 and exhibited paintings and etchings at the Royal Academy from 1877 to 1903. He achieved great success as a painter in watercolours of rural landscapes and marine subjects. He served as President of the Society of British Artists in 1886 and made his first trip abroad the following year. He painted in Venice and made sketching and painting trips to Holland, Germany, and Egypt. During World War I, Ball served as an administrator for the British Army in northern Africa. He died of 'heat apoplexy' (heat stroke) in Khartoum, Sudan, on 14th February 1917.