Edward Charles Williams in later years when he had grown a beard.
A photo of Edward Charles Williams from a family album.

Edward Charles Williams was born in 1807 in London, as the oldest son of the English landscape painter Edward "Old" Williams. He had five brothers, all of whom became landscape painters also. He received his early training from his father, which is evident from the similarity of their works, with both father and son often painting in a woodland style reminiscent of early Dutch landscape artists.

Edward Charles lived in and around London most of his life, and many of his paintings feature scenes from the surrounding countryside, including Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and Essex. He died "in respectable poverty" on July 25, 1881 in Shepherds Bush, London.

He exhibited his first work at the Royal Academy in 1840 – "A Gypsy Encampment, Moon Rising" – only two years before his younger brother Sidney Richard also exhibited there. Edward turned out to be the least prolific exhibitor of the family, but he did display his works from 1839 to 1865 (52 paintings) at all the major exhibitions, including the Royal Academy (19 paintings), the Suffolk Street Gallery of the Royal Association of British Artists (10 paintings), and the British Institution (23 paintings). Wikipedia Article

signature from one of Edward Charles William's paintings

Today, examples of his work can be seen in several British museums and galleries, most of which are on the Art UK website.

• Anglesey Abbey (National Trust), Lode, near Cambridge (three paintings)
• Atkinson Art Gallery (four paintings)
• Government Art Collection (two paintings)
• Hastings Public Museum and Art Gallery (5 paintings)
• Holburne of Menestrie Museum, Bath
• Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire
• Landsdowne Collection, Bowood, Wiltshire
• Sheffield Museums
• Trinity College, University of Cambridge