WEEKES, Percy
Percy Weekes, was born at Burstow, Surrey on 1 August 1859 and baptised on 15 April 1860, youngest son of sculptor Henry Weekes (14 January 1807-28 May 1877) and his second wife Eliza Alice née Burrows (sometimes Burroughs) (1823-8 July 1883), only daughter of Charles Burrows of Kennington, who married at St Mary's Church, Lambeth, London on 23 June 1849, he was the brother of Alice Eliza Weekes. Henry's first wife's name was Susan and Percy's stepbrothers were artists Henry Weekes (27 March 1832-30 November 1902) and Herbert William Weekes (8 May 1841-21 November 1914). Percy studied art and in 1871, an 11-year-old, living at 96 Buckingham Palace Road, London with his parents 64-year-old Henry and 47-year-old Eliza, with siblings John 18, a bank clerk, and Alice 16 with a visitor 27 year old artist Agnes Loveridge Tracy. On the death of his father at 96 Buckingham Palace Road, London on 28 May 1877, Percy and his sister Alice, came to live in Ipswich where his artist friend Agnes Tracy was living in Christchurch Street, and he became a member of the Ipswich Fine Art Club 1878-1879, exhibiting in 1879 two paintings, 'Unwilling Information' and 'Off Duty'. At the Art Club he met his future wife, Miriam Kerns and they married at Walton-cum-Felixstowe, Suffolk on 16 August 1880. In 1881, Percy was a 26-year-old artist, living at 9 Kensington Crest, Kensington, London with his 26-year-old wife Miriam, also an artist. The couple's first child, Elma was born in 1882 and the following year they emigrated to California and in 1883 they purchased a 37-acre ranch in Sonoma County near Sebastopol, where their second child Vivienne was born in 1886 but, not being farmers, they sold the farm in 1894 but during the time, Percy and Miriam continued to work part-time as landscape painters and illustrators. After going to Alameda for about two years they moved to Fruitvale and then Elmhurst, Oakland, all in California, and Percy became a full-time artist in landscapes and animal paintings, exhibiting at the Mechanics' Institute of San Francisco in 1888. Percy continued to live and work in the Oakland area until his death at 1637 Grand Avenue, Fruitvale, California on 31 December 1934.
Works by This Artist
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Watercolour |