William Arthur Breakspeare artwork • painting • for sale The painter's dog

William Breakspeare was educated at the Birmingham School of Art and eventually made a furore in London from the 1970s as a painter. In keeping up with the fashion of the time, he painted genre pieces inspired by literature and poetry – by Sir Walter Scott, among others – and gallant, historical genre scenes. His style initially shows influence from the Antwerp painter Charles Verlat, with whom he was apprenticed for some time. From 1891, Breakspeare took part in the exhibitions of the Royal Academy in London as a much-loved and established artist. He also worked as an illustrator.