The painter and sculptor, Alfred Joseph Woolmer, was best known for his distinctive genre subjects, and especially ‘elegant courtship scenes in light dappled gardens and shady bowers’ and ‘sensuous, mildly erotic images of ladies at their toilette’ (Asleson, 2018). While he sometimes illustrated specific episodes from literature, he focussed more often on the evocation of a poetic atmosphere through the fluid handling of a rich palette. Initially emulating ‘the romantic historical costume pieces’ (Asleson, op cit) that were popular in the 1820s and 30s, he gradually developed a personal approach through the assimilation of an eclectic range of influences that most notably included Watteau.
Alfred Joseph Woolmer was born in Chelsea, London, on 20 December 1805, the fifth of six children of the picture dealer, William Ferrers Woolmer, of Hamilton Street, Piccadilly, and his wife, Jane (née Stringer).
Tradition has recorded that Woolmer studied art in Italy, and, though it is uncertain how formal a training this was, it is known that he undertook a number of sketching tours on the Continent during his career. While living at 50 Earl Street, Paddington, in 1827, he began to show work in London, contributing to the exhibitions of the Royal Academy of Arts, the British Institution and especially the Society of British Artists. He was elected to the membership of the latter in 1841, and for the following decade would contribute between 10 and 16 paintings a year to its annual exhibitions.
Having lived at several different addresses early in his career, Woolmer settled at Fortis Green, in Finchley, in 1849.
Four years later, he married Mary Anne Tuffield, daughter of Edward Tuffield, a painter and glazier. From that time, he halved the number of his submissions to the Society of British Artists. He and his wife would have at least three sons and a daughter called Marion, who also became an artist. The family lived at two different addresses in Upper Holloway during the mid 1860s, before moving to 9 Chester Road, New Highgate, in 1868.
From 1875, Woolmer lived at The Limes, 34 Dartmouth Park Avenue, Kentish Town. While further reducing his output from this date, he continued to exhibit regularly at the Society of British Artists until 1887 (the year in which the society received its royal charter). During a career of six decades, he exhibited over 350 works.
Alfred Joseph Woolmer died in London on 19 April 1892.
His work is represented in numerous public collections, including the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum (Bournemouth).
Further reading: Robyn Asleson, ‘Woolmer, Alfred Joseph (1805–1892)’, H C G Matthew and Brian Harrison (eds), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2018, https://doi.org /10.1093/ref:odnb/64286
