Eli Marsden Wilson

Eli Marsden Wilson, A.R.E., A.R.C.E. (24 June 1877 – 13 November 1965) was an English artist whose best known works are in etching and mezzotint, covering a wide range of subjects. He had works exhibited at the Royal Academy.

Biography

Eli Marsden Wilson was born on 24 June 1877 at Ossett, Yorkshire, the only son of Alfred Wilson, a foreman beamer in the textile industry, and Emma (née Marsden). Eli and his five sisters were encouraged in the arts and each played a musical instrument. Wilson received his initial formal artistic education at the Wakefield College of Art before moving to the Royal College of Art in London where he became a pupil of the master etcher Sir Frank Short.

In mid-year 1905 Eli Wilson and Hilda Mary Pemberton were married in London. Hilda was an artist with an interest in etching, the daughter of civil engineer Frederick Blake Pemberton and his wife Lucy. She was six years older than her husband and the couple had no children. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers (A.R.E.) in 1907. Wilson exhibited at the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers, as well as the Paris Salon and exhibitions and galleries in other European countries and America. In London he lived in Chelsea and later relocated to Acton.

After being released from prison Wilson began to rebuild his career. In September 1922 he was commissioned by Princess Marie Louise to produce miniature etchings for Queen Mary's Dolls' House, at Windsor Castle. During the Great Depression the market for etchings declined and Wilson turned to easel painting.

Wilson served as Chairman of the Ealing Art Group from 1935 to 1947.

Wilson and his wife moved to a cottage in Blewbury, Berkshire (now in Oxfordshire).