1. Sir Wyke Bayliss was a British painter, author, and poet.
15 Facts About Wyke Bayliss
1. 2.
Wyke Bayliss succeeded James McNeill Whistler as president of the Royal Society of British Artists in June 1888 when Whistler and his followers split from the society, holding the post until his death.
3.
Wyke Bayliss owned a portrait of Turner by Sir Joshua Reynolds as well as a number of further family portraits by Lemuel Francis Abbott.
4.
Wyke Bayliss's father, Rev John Cox Bayliss was a railway engineer who taught military and mathematical drawing, and was an artist known for his work Views of Shropshire published in 1839.
5.
Wyke Bayliss gave his younger son training after he showed drawing aptitude at an early age.
6.
Wyke Bayliss's childhood is recorded in his father's diary, transcribed and published as "Wheels of Providence".
7.
Wyke Bayliss' paintings are held in many smaller UK and European collections, including the Atkinson Art Gallery in Southport and the Welsh national collection.
8.
Wyke Bayliss was an author, publishing a number of books of art critique, accounts of changing depictions of Jesus through the ages, and a volume of poems.
9.
Wyke Bayliss initially supported Whistler's nomination to the committee, but soon led the majority who disagreed with the latter's radical plans, and as president restored its running to traditional lines.
10.
Wyke Bayliss was nevertheless notably supportive of some innovations, such as defending the status of women as professional artists and advocating the inclusion of the "new and strange" in RBA exhibitions.
11.
Wyke Bayliss held the post until his death in 1906.
12.
Wyke Bayliss was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1870, to the Royal West of England Academy in 1904, and received a knighthood in 1897.
13.
Wyke Bayliss won the Challenge Cup of the Surrey County Chess Association in 1886.
14.
Wyke Bayliss married Elise Letitia Broad in 1858, but never had children.
15.
Wyke Bayliss was buried at Streatham Cemetery and his funeral was attended by many artists including his successor as President of the RBA Alfred East and wreaths sent by, among others, Lawrence Alma-Tadema.