Dixon, William Francis

William Francis Dixon, detail from the old west window, now over the refectory entrance (c.1880), Sheffield Cathedral
Photo: Peter Hildebrand

William Francis Dixon (1847-c.1928) was one of the most talented pupils of Clayton & Bell. He work as an independent artist included a brief partnerships as Dixon, Frampton & Hean, 1877, and Dixon & Vesey, 1879-80. He also designed for the London studio of Mayer of Munich, before moving to Munich in 1894. According to Martin Harrison “he took  the mannerisms of the ‘spikey’ drawing style of Clayton & Bell’s glass of the 1870s to their logical conclusion, making a virtue out of what became a travesty in lesser hands, and evolved an almost rococo linearity which most nearly anticipates the nervy intricacy of Aubrey Beardsley.”

Sources:
Victorian Stained Glass by Martin Harrison (London : Barrie & Jenkins, 1980)
Stained Glass Marks & Monograms, complied by Joyce Little, and edited by Angela Goedicke & Margaret Washbourn (NADFAS, 2002)

This artist's work is mentioned at the following locations