William Williams (1727–1791) was a British-born painter and writer who worked for many years in colonial America. Born in Bristol, he travelled to the Americas as a young man and established himself as a versatile artist in Philadelphia and New York, painting portraits, landscapes and theatrical scenery. He also taught drawing and music and worked as a restorer and decorative painter.
His Deborah Hall (1766) is a portrait of the young Deborah Hall, painted in Philadelphia and now held by the Brooklyn Museum. The sitter stands in a garden surrounded by carefully described flowers and a squirrel, reflecting the taste for elaborate settings in colonial portraits.
Williams's literary interests extended to fiction and commentary on art. He wrote The Journal of Llewellin Penrose, Seaman, a narrative informed by seafaring experiences. He returned to England in 1776 and died in Bristol in 1791. His pictures reflect the exchange of artistic fashions between Britain and North America before American independence.
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Williams, William (1727-1791) - Deborah Hall 1766
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