William Stott of Oldham, 1857-19002003

"William Stott, son of an Oldham mill owner, left for Paris in 1878, at the age of twenty, to train with the classical French painter Jean-Leon Gerome. Adopting a Realist style of painting, he achieved rapid success, being medalled at the Paris Salon in 1882 for his painting The Bathing Place (Munich). He quickly became a hero figure among the British and American artists in Paris and was an influential member of the international colony of artists at Grez-sur-Loing, near Paris. In 1889 he had a one-man exhibition at Durand-Ruel's gallery in Paris. On returning to England he became a follower and close friend of James McNeill Whistler, until his painting of Whistler's mistress, Maud Franklin, depicted naked as Venus born of the Sea Foam (Oldham Art Gallery), caused a rift between them. In...