James Walter Gozzard Biography

James Walter Gozzard (1861-1926), aka JW Gozzard, was a prolific British genre and figure painter. 

James was the son of James (b.1841), a wood-turner, and Elizabeth Gozzard (b.1844) and was born in Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire. He married Maud(e) Anthony (b.1871) in Hackney, London, in 1894. The couple were living in Luton, Bedfordshire in 1901 but by 1911 were living back in Hertfordshire, in Harpenden. They had no children.

By 1921, James was living in Kensington and was married to Lily, who was nearly 30 years his junior. We can find no death record for Maud between 1911 and 1921, or a record for his marriage to Lily. We have, however, found a death record for a Maud Gozzard in 1948. There may be a couple of explanations for this; possibly Maud's death and the subsequent marriage to Lily happened overseas, or it's possible that Maud and James separated and were living apart, and that Lily wasn't his wife at all, but declared as such for the census and propriety.

Regarding his work, Artnet stated that he is “best known for his charming depictions in watercolour and oils of quaint scenes of the English countryside and villages.” Invaluable, an online marketplace for fine art, antiques and collectibles, stated that Gozzard “also painted Italian scenes such as Evening Mists, Venice.” His paintings, especially A September Morning, A Misty Morning and Evening on the Canal, convey a feeling of tranquility. Gozzard favoured simple landscapes, often with depictions of people going about their daily routines.

His paintings were created with great attention to detail, therefore were well-suited for reprinting. The extra revenue he received from the sales of those prints allowed him the opportunity to paint as a full-time job. He was in a business relationship with the now-defunct Raphael Tuck & Sons company, a retail establishment that sold pictures, greeting cards, and eventually postcards.  Their business was one of the best known in the "postcard boom" of the late 1890s and early 1900s. During the Blitz, the company headquarters was destroyed, including the originals for most of their series. The company never fully recovered. After the retirement of the grandson of the founder, it merged with two other companies; the combined publisher survived until 1991.

James died on 15th February 1926 in Kensington, London.

The dates (1888-1950) often appear for artist James Gozzard, however we believe this is incorrect; these dates appear to refer to another person of the same name who lived in Nottinghamshire, who was a 'colliery shoe worker' and not an artist.