Worship Of Devi At Kothi In Himachal - William Simpson - c1860 Vintage Orientalist Sikh Painting Of India - Framed Prints by William Simpson | Buy Posters, Frames, Canvas & Digital Art

 

WILLIAM SIMPSON

British, 1823–1899

BIOGRAPHY
William Simpson was initially an apprentice lithographic printer and then an apprentice draughtsman. In 1851 he moved to London and was employed to execute views of the Universal Exhibition. In 1854 Simpson went to Crimea where he executed drawings for the Colmagny company, who used them to publish 80 color lithographs. Queen Victoria commissioned him to execute a painting of the Battle of Balaclava, and subsequently to paint a considerable number of watercolors depicting the important events of her reign. In 1859 he went to India and brought back 250 watercolors on the subject of the great uprising, though only 50 of these were reproduced in the album India Ancient and Modern (1867). In 1866 Simpson was employed to execute illustrations for the Illustrated London News. Simpson visited Moscow with the Princess and Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII), and in 1868 he accompanied the expedition to Abyssinia. He followed operations during the war of 1870-1871 and spent the period of the Paris Commune in Paris itself. Simpson also followed the Afghanistan war of 1878. Simpson was elected a Member of the Royal Institute in 1874 and frequently took part in its exhibitions. He left a considerable oeuvre.