William Etty

William Etty was born in York, served an apprenticeship as a printer in Hull and then studied in London under Thomas Lawrence. He became the first important British painter to specialise in the nude, painting history and mythological scenes such as The Sirens and Ulysses, now in Manchester Art Gallery, which some critics attacked as indecent. He worked for decades at the Royal Academy life class, even after he became a full Academician. In his later years he campaigned to save the medieval walls of York, and a statue of him stands outside York Art Gallery.