William Clarke Wontner (17 January 1857 – 23 September 1930) was an English portrait painter steeped in Academic Classicism and Romanticism.
Life and career
Wontner was born in Stockwell, Surrey, the son of the architect, designer and renderer William Hoff Wontner (1814–1881) and Catherine Smith.
Wontner received his earliest art education from his father. Under his father's direction, he worked with John William Godward (1861–1922), a noted exponent of what became known as Greco-Roman style, who was an acquaintance of the Wontner family. Godward was five years older than Wontner, and the pair became great friends.
