W. Watts (Born 1800) was a landscape painter who lived in Hampstead at the same time as Constable, the artist who had great influence in his work. He mainly exhibited at the British Institute from 1823 and 1862, and from 1821 to 1860, he exhibited at New Watercolor Society, Suffolk Street and the Royal Academy. Although Watts closely imitated many of the elements that were found in Constable’s style, he preserved his own unique style and coloring. After his death and even during his own lifetime, his reputation was shadowed by that of Constable, but his work is now enjoying a well-merited revival. For many years, the artist was a neighbor of Constable in Hampstead and he attended the lectures he held in the Assembly Rooms between 1833 and 1836. Nevertheless, it is not known whether the two artists met socially and many have suggested that Constable was not leaning well towards his fellow landscape artists.
Watts sent his first works through Hampstead for exhibition at the Royal Academy. Indeed, these were the first serious work by Watts and they were among the 76 paintings Watts exhibited at the Royal Academy, which, together with the 108 that were exhibited at the British Institute and the 65 he exhibited in Suffolk Street indicate that Watts was a very creative artist indeed. Much of his life Watts lived in Hampstead, and he painted landscapes, (en plein air) all over Britain, having a liking for river scenes. The year of his death is not known, with some saying he died in 1860 while others put it in 1870.
