William Kidd (painter)

(c.1796 – 24 December 1863)[1] was a prolific Scottish artist known for his comic depictions of cosy domestic scenes in romantic-era Scotland and England.

His clever humour and dramatic figure painting brought considerable praise and attracted the attention of many period authors and artists of note.

His works of this period, 1820–1835, were compared to contemporary Sir David Wilkie, and many of his pieces were being turned into engravings for publications in books.

Kidd was clearly influenced by the likes of Wilkie, William Allan and Alexander Carse; earlier proponents of the Scots genre painting.

"[6] His use of vibrant colours combined with a distracting use of cluttered detail brings a certain familiarity to his works so that the viewer has the distinct impression that they have seen the piece previously.

William D. McKay expressed it best when he wrote "most of Kidd's work, verging on vulgarity, shows much excellent painting in the central group.

This was a common theme amongst period artists, their "bread and butter" for income, and has been referred to as "the great age of Scott painting.

Later critics write: "William Kidd…gave more promise in his youth than was fulfilled in after-years, on account of neglecting his own interest"[1] which suggests that he spent much of his time drinking and carousing.

The sons of artist Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786–1846) provide further insight into this mysterious illness, "Kidd went mad shortly after my father's death from horror and Fred saw him in Hanwell Asylum in '47-8.

Upon hearing of Kidd's death, David Roberts, R.A., in his diary writes: "Poor fellow, he was one of those sons of genius quite incapable of managing his worldly affairs, and had lived from hand to mouth, as the saying is, all his days.

Roberts states: "By far the best artist among them was my late friend William Kidd, who afterwards painted many excellent pictures, embodying the humour and pathos of Scottish life in a most delightful manner.

Walter Armstrong in his book, Scottish Painters: a critical study, harshly but correctly states "Kidd's pictures are almost, if not quite, unknown in galleries.