William Charles Penn

William Charles Penn (British, 1877 - 1968).  William Charles Penn was a painter and influential teacher at Liverpool School of Art, from 1911 to after World War II. He was born in London and studied at Lambeth and City and Guilds Schools of Art from 1895, winning medals and a scholarship to Royal Academy Schools from 1900-1905. 

He subsequently studied at the Académie Julian in Paris in 1908 and the following year in the Netherlands and Belgium. As well as being a member of Sandon Studios Society and Liverpool Academy, he belonged to the Royal Society of Oil Painters from 1908 and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters from 1952. He showed works at the Royal Academy, the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, and in the Liverpool Autumn Exhibitions for many years. 

Penn’s work is found in many collections of British art. The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool holds several examples. He lived in Birkenhead for many years but died in Brampton, Cumberland. As an artist in oil Penn was noted for his sparkling, luscious technique.