(1788 - 1879)
William Shayer was born in Southampton, where he began his career as a painter of furniture. He later established himself as a coach painter in Guildford, Surrey. He became known for skilfully painting coats of arms and painted the funeral escutcheon for the fourth Earl of Richmond. After returning to Southampton to visit his family, he received some instruction from landscapist John (Jock) Wilson. Shayer then moved to Bladon Lodge, Shirley, near Southampton, to establish himself as a landscape artist. He became a member of the Society of British Artists in 1862 and also exhibited at the Royal Academy and the British Institution in London. He died aged 92, at his home in Shirley. The artist William Joseph Shayer (1811-1892) was his son.
