GEORGE WILLIAM JOY DRAWINGS FOR SALE & BIOGRAPHY
GEORGE WILLIAM JOY
Irish 1844–1925
BIOGRAPHY
George William Joy was the son of William Joy and the brother of the sculptor Albert Bruce Joy. He received instruction from John Everett Millais (1829–1896) and George Frederick Watts (1817–1904) and became acquainted with other Pre-Raphaelite and British Academic artists in his master’s artistic and social circles. He studied at the South Kensington Royal Academy Schools in London and continued his education in Paris for two years under Jean Jalabert (1815–1900) before returning to his home country.
His painting The Danaides was shown at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1892, winning a bronze medal. He also obtained a jury commendation at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900, and was awarded a medal in Munich in 1896. His painting Joan of Arc, exhibited in 1896, was bought by the French state and is now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rouen.
In 1872, he exhibited at the Royal Academy for the first time, with some success. Today, he is best known for his 1895 painting The Bayswater Omnibus, a genre painting for which he completed numerous sketches and included his wife and child among the subjects; this notable work shows an attempt at social realism in the way the different social types of passenger are contrasted on the bus. Nevertheless, Joy’s choice of subject matter extended from military and patriotic subjects to the nude, including dramatic historical subjects as well.
Museum Collections:
Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, Bristol
Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch
Leeds City Art Gallery, Leeds
Museum of London, London
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rouen
