Lot 5: William James (British, (active 1754 - 1771)

The Bacino di San Marco oil on canvas 92 x 150cm (36 x 59ins)

William James remains one of the most elusive figures in 18th Century English painting, and apart from having exhibited at the Society of Artists between 1761 and 1768 and at the Royal Academy from 1769 to 1771, little is known of his life or career. It was claimed by Edward Edwards (1738-1806) in his Anecdotes of Painters that James was an assistant and pupil in Canaletto's London studio, although there is no evidence to substatiate that claim. The popularity and success that Canaletto enjoyed, with his works being widely collected and admired by the English gentry, inspired many painters such as William Marlow, Samuel Scott and William James to emulate the Venetian master's style and thus reinvigorate British topographical painting.