William Bromley Biography

William Bromley (1816-1890) was a celebrated British painter of genre scenes.

Born in Byfleet, Surrey, Bromley was raised amid creative endeavour as both his father and grandfather were engravers. His father, John Charles Bromley (1795-1839), produced mezzotints after a host of well-known artists, including Joseph Mallord William Turner RA (1775-1851) and Thomas Girtin (1775-1802). While his grandfather, William Bromley (1769-1842), engraved two portraits after Sir Thomas Lawrence PRA FRS (1769-1830), depicting the Duke of Wellington and a young Napoleon.

Given this, one would’ve expected the young Bromley to follow suit by taking up the burin. However, perhaps due to the changing demands of patrons, he opted to become a figure painter. His earliest works date to the late 1830s and he debuted at the British Institution in 1843. Little is known about the formative stages of his career, but he was possibly living with the sculptor Robert J. Gale at St. George Hanover Square around this time. In 1844, he debuted at the Royal Academy with ‘Preaching of the Covenanters’ and continued to exhibit there until 1870.

His raison d'être was domestic scenes portraying the lighter side of family life - children playing gleefully, mothers cradling newborns, and siblings sharing gripping stories. These were the topics that patrons desired and he soon became highly sought after.

By 1861, his home in Paddington, London, was a hive of activity with a wife, seven children and staff. His sitting room would’ve resembled many of his paintings and he was never short of inspiration. It’s always interesting to consider how many of the children appearing in an artist’s work are, in fact, their own.

Three of his children became painters: Valentine Walter Bromley (1848-1877), William John Bromley (1858-1939) and John Mallard Bromley (1860-1917).

He’s represented in numerous public collections, including the Manchester Art Gallery, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, and the Wolverhampton Art Gallery.