William Ernest Reynolds-Stephens [commonly known as William Reynolds-Stephens, and as Sir William Reynolds-Stephens; also known as William Reynolds Williams] was born William Ernest Reynolds Stephens to English parents in Detroit, Michigan on 8 August 1862. [He hyphenated his last two names in 1890]. As a child he moved to London, England with his parents and, after training as an engineer, studied art at the Royal Academy Schools in London from 1884 to 1887. A versatile artist, his oeuvre encompassed painting, sculptor, decorative art and the design of furniture, textiles, light fittings, stained glass, fireplaces and medals. Reynolds-Stephens was a frequent exhibitor at the Royal Academy in London from 1885 to 1942. He also exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists, Grosvenor Gallery, Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, New Gallery, and Royal Institute of Oil Painters in London; Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh; Leeds City Art Gallery; Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts; the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool; and at the Salon of the Société des Artistes Français in Paris.
He was elected a member of the Art Workers Guild in 1888; a member of the Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society in 1894; and a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1904. He served as President of the Royal Society of British Sculptors from 1921 to 1933. He was awarded the Royal Society of British Sculptors' Gold Medal in 1928 and a knighthood for his services to art in 1931.
Notable among his works were 'Summer' (1890), a mural painted for the refreshment room of the Royal Academy; interior of St Mary the Virgin, Great Warley, Essex (1902–04), a decorative scheme for 185 Queen's Gate, South Kensington (1903, destroyed during World War Two); and 'A Royal Game', (1906-11), a life-sized sculpture, depicting an imaginary chess game between Elizabeth I and Philip II of Spain.
For most of his career as an artist Reynolds-Stephens lived in London. He died in the Vale Road Hotel, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, on 23 February 1943.
Text source: Arts + Architecture Profiles from Art History Research net (AHRnet) https://www.arthistoryresearch.net/
