Spaniels retrieving a Woodcock
William Jones was a sporting artist who worked during the early to mid 19th century.
Unfortunately, little is known about his life, aside from his production of shooting and angling artworks.
Jones would have found a ready market amongst landowners and wealthy patrons. Some of his shooting and angling subjects were reproduced as engravings. His scenes appear similar to that of Samuel John Egbert Jones (1797-1861) and it is widely believed they were related.
Whilst he did not exhibit during his own lifetime, his paintings have gone on to gain popularity and were exhibited throughout the 20th century, and to this day. A number of his angling paintings were housed in the Arthur N. Gilbey Collection sold by Christie's in 1940. His works are also described and illustrated in Angling in British Art by Walter Shaw Sparrow. Some of his works were found in the Paul Mellon Collection and were also sold by Frost and Reed during the late 1960s.