WILLIAM JAMES LAIDLAY | SEA AND CLOUDS

William James Laidlay was born in Calcutta and educated in Scotland before going up to Peterhouse, Cambridge. After graduating in 1872 he was set on a path in the legal profession and became a student of the Middle Temple. He was called to the bar in April 1875 in the same year he played cricket at Chelsea, playing for the North against the South, among his opponents were the famous James Lillywhite and W.G. Grace. He made no further appearances in first-class cricket but his legal career continued through the 1870s until 1879 when he went to Paris to study painting, remaining there until 1885. In 1885 Laidlay was a founder member of the New English Art Club and he regularly exhibited his works at the Royal Academy, the Paris Salon, and the New Gallery.