William John Wainwright left the Royal Academy of Antwerp in 1880, furnished with the artistic traditions of northern Europe and indebted to the director Charles Verlat for his “insistence upon technical competence.” The city proved an ideal setting for ambitious painters in this period, not least because it was easily affordable (especially for British artists), but also because the academy offered a diverse and meritocratic forms of study: drawing from life and antique casts, evening workshops devoted to painting animals in the open air, all leading to a “concours” examination at the end of each year. Wainwright’s entry in 1880 was limited to second place because of his choice of medium, but he seems to listened to Verlat’s advice to stick with watercolours, as he would be better off being “first class in that than second in oil painting.”

My Water Colour drawing has gained second place in the Competition at the Antwerp Academy. If I had done it in oil I should have had the gold medal, as it is considered by far the best drawing this year. But I am not sorry, as it has brought me into notice, and I am considered to have won it. It was the first water-colour ever painted for the Concours, and showed what could be done. It is stronger than the oil paintings. This seems like a jolly boast, but I shouldn’t tell anyone else, and I thought you should know that I have fully sustained the honour of the English students.

William John Wainwright Letter to his Mother, 1880