The Life and Career of George Wallis
George Wallis was an English artist, art educator, and museum curator. Born in Wolverhampton, he received initial training in japanned ware painting and later practiced as an artist and educator in Wolverhampton and Manchester. His professional journey included serving as the Headmaster of the Spitalfields School of Design, the Manchester School of Design, and the Birmingham School of Design. He was also a significant figure in the development of industrial art education in Britain, having delivered lectures on the principles of decorative art and helped draw up charts for artistic and scientific instruction as applied to industrial art.
Wallis held the prestigious position of Senior Keeper of the Art collection at the South Kensington Museum, a post he maintained for three decades. His influence extended to international exhibitions, including serving as a deputy commissioner for the Great Exhibition of 1851 and a special superintendent for the International Exhibition in Paris. He was also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
Artistic Works and Legacy
While Wallis moved toward roles in curation and education, he continued to practice drawing, painting, and etching as a hobby. His artworks are held in various collections, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, the Wolverhampton Art Gallery, and the Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery. Notable works in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery include:
His family was also deeply connected to the arts; his son Whitworth became the First Director of the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, and his daughter Rosa became a well-established painter of flowers and landscapes, an etcher, and an enameller.
