Hello, I'm William O.

As a passionate artist driven by traditional ideas of how beauty should be represented​,​ I formed the intellectual basis to my work under the tutelage of Professor Regius Peter Davidson of Oxford University. Prior to university I spent two years 'out' working on my paintings​,​ but also wanted to study English Literature and the connection of poetry and prose to art. After graduating with High Honours​,​ I was immediately offered a place at the Prince of Wales' Institute of Architecture. However I was advised by them to grab the opportunity as role of assistant to Alec Cobbe​,​ artist​,​ restorer and collector. Living in at Hatchlands Park​,​ Surrey where The Cobbe Collection is based​,​ I was to assist in various projects including an exhibition for the Queens Gallery​,​ Buckingham Palace and large-scale designs for interiors in historic houses such as Goodwood House​,​ Petworth House and Hatchlands Park. I lived at the latter back in 1996​,​ working with Alec. I then went solo​,​ working on private Country House period decoration and also exhibition design. These included Christie’s London and the Building of Bath Museum​,​ also known as The Museum of Bath Architecture. Over the past 30 or so years​,​ I have undertaken regular portrait commissions for private clients and now concentrate on producing artworks shown in exhibitions and bought by collectors across the world. Professor Sir Roger Scruton​,​ (1944-2020) a renowned writer and philosopher who also made a television documentary in 2009 entitled Why Beauty Matters​,​ said: “William Oxer is not merely a painter; he is a distinctive sensibility​,​ with a poetic vision he explores in many media. His art is affirmative​,​ evocative and forgiving and offers us​,​ in short​,​ a return to the true and serious tradition.” In 2017 I was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)​,​ an award granted to individuals that the RSA judges to have made outstanding achievements related to the Arts​,​ Manufactures​,​ and Commerce.