(1858 - 1941)
William (Samuel Henry William) Llewellyn was born in Cirencester, the son of a bread moulder. His parents did not support his decision to become an artist. He studied at South Kensington under portraitist Sir Edward Poynter, but later moved to Paris to study in the studios of Fernand Cormon, Jules Lefebvre and Gabriel Ferrier. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1884 and was commissioned to paint several state portraits. He was a Trustee of the National Gallery (1933-40) and President of the Royal Academy (1928-38). From 1940 his health deteriorated rapidly. He died at his home, Little Blundell House, in Campden Hill, London, in January 1941. After a funeral service at Westminster Abbey his ashes were buried in the crypt of St Paul’s.
