William Blundell Spence

William Blundell Spence (13 January 1814 – 23 January 1900) was an English painter and art dealer.

Portrait by Alfred Stevens, 1851

Born in Drypool, Yorkshire, to noted entomologist William Spence and his wife Elizabeth Blundell, he spent the years 1826-1832 travelling abroad with his parents. In 1836 he settled in Florence, Italy, where he spent the rest of his life.[1]

As a painter, he specialized, mainly painting Alpine landscapes. At the 1870 Exhibition of Fine Arts in Parma, he exhibited an oil: Bagni of Lucca. Among other works are Dallo Porte Sante and La pensierosa. At Florence, in 1882: Veduta della Marina. In 1885, in the same city: Veduta del Chalet Plauta.[2]

Though not himself an entomologist, he joined the Entomological Society of London at its founding in 1833, and was noted as its longest-surviving original member.[3]

References
  1. Fleming, John (1979). "Art Dealing in the Risorgimento II". The Burlington Magazine. Vol. 121, no. 917. pp. 492–494, 497–500, 502–508. JSTOR 197908.
  2. ‘‘Dizionario degli Artisti Italiani Viventi: pittori, scultori, e Architetti.’’, by Angelo de Gubernatis. . Tipe dei Successori Le Monnier, 1889, page 491.
  3. Verrall, G. H. (1900). "The President's address: Obituary". Transactions of the Entomological Society of London: xlii.


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