John Varley was a successful watercolour painter and author. He was born in London as the eldest of four children, who later all became artists as well. The children all came from the second marriage of his father, who moved from Yorkshire to London after the death of his first wife. Although Varley was interested in art as a child, his parents apparently did not believe that he could be successful. So they sent him to apprentice with a silversmith. Varley accepted his parents' decision as long as they lived. After their death, when he was about 15 years old, he was apprenticed for a short time to a local portrait painter. Shortly afterwards he attended Charles Barrow's evening drawing classes twice a week.
Barrow was a crucial figure in Varley's artistic development. They regularly went on field trips to make drawings on location. It was during one such excursion that Varley's first work was finally produced and accepted for the Royal Academy. His drawing of Peterborough Cathedral was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1798. Varley was then a regular exhibitor at the Academy until he co-founded the Od Watercolour Society in 1805. After that he exhibited almost exclusively there. Thereby, he was a very active painter, as for the exhibitions of the Old Watercolour Society alone, he delivered far more than 700 paintings. Varley's claim to his watercolor paintings was that they could easily compete with oil paintings. Therefore he began to produce larger and more complex paintings from 1805. His best and most beautiful works date from this time. He found his preferred motifs in the wild landscape of North Wales, which he visited several times during his life. While he liked to draw directly from nature in his initial works, Varley began to paint landscape compositions from memory in his studio more and more frequently as he grew older.
Varley was not only very successful as a painter. He also published several treatises and manuals on painting and drawing. He was extremely popular as a teacher and, considering the success of his many students, he was also extremely talented. Among his students were David, Cox, Copley Fielding, John Linnell, William Henry Hunt and William Mulready, who married Varley's sister Elizabeth. Despite his great success Varley always had to struggle with money problems. This was partly because he had a very large family, and partly because he was not a very good businessman. Nevertheless, he did not seem to worry much and was described by his contemporaries as a hopeless optimist.
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.jpg "Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland by John Varley")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-58467).jpg "Chiswick by John Varley")
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.jpg "Kidwelly Castle, South Wales by John Varley")
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.jpg "Vauxhall Bridge by John Varley")
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.jpg "A View along the Thames towards Chelsea Old Church by John Varley")
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.jpg "A View of Snowdon from Traeth Bach, Merioneth by John Varley")
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.jpg "Scotch Church and the remains of London Wall, 1818 by John Varley")
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.jpg "Byland Abbey, Yorkshire by John Varley")
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.jpg "Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, 1816 by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1481107).jpg "Glengary Loch by John Varley")
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.jpg "Westminster Abbey from Tothill Fields by John Varley")
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.jpg "Lilburn Tower, Dunstanburgh Castle by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1127175).jpg "A Cooper")
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.jpg "Buildings and Pollarded Trees on the Banks of the Thames, Millbank by John Varley")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-107143).jpg "The Plains of Marathon by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-588532).jpg "Chepstow Castle by John Varley")
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.jpg "A Welsh Valley, 1819 by John Varley")
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.jpg "View of Chepstow Castle, Monmouthshire, from Under the Bridge by John Varley")
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.jpg "Romantic Composition by John Varley")
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.jpg "Lake in Snowdonia by John Varley")
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.jpg "Nazeing, Essex by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-568755).jpg "View from Grange Bridge, Borrowdale by John Varley")
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.jpg "Figures Resting on a Hillside with a Church Spire Beyond by John Varley")
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.jpg "The Thames Near the Penitentiary, Millbank, London by John Varley")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-109166).jpg "Lake Scene by John Varley")
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.jpg "River Landscape with Figures by John Varley")
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.jpg "View from Polesden, Surrey by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1607614).jpg "Small Landscape by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1134000).jpg "Baddgelert Bridge by John Varley")
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.jpg "Berry Pomeroy Castle, Devon by John Varley")
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.jpg "Llanberis Lake, with Castle Dolbadern by John Varley")
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.jpg "Goodrich by John Varley")
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.jpg "Harlech Castle and Twgwyn Ferry by John Varley")
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.jpg "Eton from the Thames by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1111218).jpg "Vale of the River Mawddach, Wales by John Varley")
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.jpg "River Scene by John Varley")
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.jpg "Scenery from Millbank by John Varley")
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.jpg "Eton from Crown Corner by John Varley")
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.jpg "The Fisherman by John Varley")
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 1810 (graphite on paper) - (MeisterDrucke-91989).jpg "John Sell Cotman, 1810 by John Varley")
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.jpg "View of Rugged Coastline, Bamburgh, Northumberland by John Varley")
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.jpg "Old Battersea Bridge by John Varley")
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.jpg "Romantic Landscape with a Castle and a Tree on the Right by John Varley")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-87818).jpg "Vauxhall Bridge by John Varley")
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.jpg "View of the Mondego River, Spain, 1813 by John Varley")
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.jpg "River Landscape with Two Figures, Lake and Distant Mountains by John Varley")
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.jpg "The Thames at Windsor by John Varley")
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.jpg "View of New Street, near London Bridge by John Varley")
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.jpg "Sailboat on a Beach by John Varley")
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.jpg "View of Chester by John Varley")
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.jpg "View of Conwy Castle, North Wales by John Varley")
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.jpg "Moel Hebog: looking down the Vale from near Dinas Emrys by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1129046).jpg "A street with old houses, a windmill beyond by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1129047).jpg "A View in the Pass of Llanberis by John Varley")
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.jpg "Landscape Composition by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-591013).jpg "York Minster from near the Ship Builders by John Varley")
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.jpg "Looking down the High Street, Conway by John Varley")
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.jpg "A View of the Thames at Millbank by John Varley")
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.jpg "Looking under the Bridge by John Varley")
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.jpg "Children Swimming Under Ouse Bridge in York by John Varley")
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.jpg "Barnard Castle, County Durham by John Varley")
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.jpg "Snowdon, c.1820 by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1115872).jpg "Landscape with Castle and Mountain by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1112945).jpg "Frognal, Hampstead, c.1825 by John Varley")
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.jpg "View of York by John Varley")
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.jpg "Sunset at Harlech Castle by John Varley")
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.jpg "View of Holy Island Castle by John Varley")
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.jpg "Near Handborough, Oxon by John Varley")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-307173).jpg "Brecon Castle by John Varley")
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.jpg "High Street, Conway by John Varley")
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.jpg "Landscape with a Clump of Trees near a Road and a Stream by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1505820).jpg "Figures on the Road to Windsor by John Varley")
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.jpg "A View along the Thames towards Chelsea Old Church by John Varley")
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.jpg "Landscape with Harlech Castle by John Varley")
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.jpg "Hove Church by John Varley")
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.jpg "Two Figures on a Country Road by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1511777).jpg "Holland House, Kensington by John Varley")
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.jpg "Chepstow Castle by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1130599).jpg "Landscape with a Tower on a Hill by John Varley")
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.jpg "Dunstanborough Castle: The Lilburn Tower, c.1809 by John Varley")
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.jpg "Watermill with Distant Castle and Hills by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1128979).jpg "River Landscape by John Varley")
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.jpg "Harlech Castle and Snowdon by John Varley")
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)_-_(MeisterDrucke-187674).jpg "Holy Island by John Varley")
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.jpg "Landscape by John Varley")
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.jpg "A Distant View of Harlech Castle and Snowdon Beyond, North Wales by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1133833).jpg "Portrait of Matilda Lowry by John Varley")
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_(watercolour_over_pencil_on_white_pap_-_(MeisterDrucke-1450742).jpg "Sketch From Nature On The Thames (Chelsea) by John Varley")
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.jpg "Dunstanburgh Castle by John Varley")
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.jpg "Mountainous Landscape with Lake by John Varley")
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.jpg "Two Studies of a Figure Holding a Basket by John Varley")
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.jpg "Landscape by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1518786).jpg "Leyton, Essex, c.1800 by John Varley")
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.jpg "River, Trees and Distant Town by John Varley")
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.jpg "Pont Aberglaslyn by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-115077).jpg "An Arch at Holy Island, Northumberland, 1809 by John Varley")
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.jpg "View from Polsden near Bookham in Surrey by John Varley")
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.jpg "The Horse Ferry, Millbank by John Varley")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1172765).jpg "Beddgelert Bridge, North Wales by John Varley")
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.jpg "Romantic Landscape with Distant Mountains by John Varley")
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