| Years active | 1860–1906 |
|---|---|
| Location | England |
| Major figures | John Joseph Willson Emilie Dorothy Hilliard Willson Michael Anthony Hilliard Willson Margaret Willson Emilie Dorothy Willson Mary A. Hilliard Willson |
| Influences | English art |
| Influenced | Instrumental to the foundation of Leeds Art Gallery |
The Willson Group of artists (active c. 1860–1906) was an English Quaker family of about seven landscape, portrait and caricature painters. Members included John Joseph Willson, his sister Hannah Willson, his wife Emilie Dorothy Hilliard, and their four children, Michael Anthony Hilliard Willson, twins Margaret Willson and E. Dorothy Willson, and Mary Hilliard Willson.
John Joseph, known as J.J. Willson, was senior partner in the firm of Willson, Walker & Co. which owned the Sheepscar tannery, at one time the largest in the country.[1] He was instrumental to the movement for the foundation of Leeds Art Gallery, working on a committee alongside John Atkinson Grimshaw and others,[2][3] and he was a vice president of the Yorkshire Union of Artists when John William Waterhouse was president.
J.J., Margaret and Dorothy exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition; on five occasions in Margaret's case. Michael and Mary achieved commissions including caricatures of prominent Leeds public figures such as Sir James Kitson and John Barran MP, and portraits in oils of Isaac and Ann Rickett and George Corson. The children and sister of J.J. never married.
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