William Lawton

A handsome pair of watercolour over pencil portraits of two brothers: William & Mark Anthony Lawton. Both are depicted wearing black coats over patterned shawl-collared waistcoats and black knotted stocks.

William and Mark Anthony were the sons of George Lawton, a York solicitor, proctor in the ecclesiastical courts and a noted antiquary. William was born in 1818 and went on become a Captain in the Yorkshire West Riding Rifle Volunteer Corps. Like his father, he was appointed an Ecclesiastical Proctor and was made a Freeman of the City of York. He died unmarried in 1902.

The second of four sons, Mark Anthony was born in 1816 and, following a classical education at Cambridge University, became a vicar in his native Yorkshire. He died on Christmas Day 1900 and was survived by his wife, Elizabeth Mary, and three of their seven children.

The portraits are both signed and dated ‘Wm Moore 1834’ and are housed in attractive gilt wood frames with decorative corner rosettes. The portraits have slight age darkening to the unpainted area but are otherwise in good condition.

William Moore (1790-1851) settled in York where he was a successful portrait artist working in oil, watercolours and pastels. He was married twice and had one daughter and thirteen sons, several of whom also became successful artists. He died of lead and vermillion poisoning contracted from the pastel pigment.