The Billet Doux
William Oliver was a painter of charming genre scenes, including titles such as A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever and The Billet Doux, and was one of the more popular Victorian artists of his time. Oliver was particularly fond of the Pyrenean area of France and Spain and completed many small studies of the towns and villages in this area. Many of these small works were then purchased by the young travellers as souvenirs of their Grand Tour. While he favoured painting plein air works, he did complete a number of large and important works during his career – most of which were either created for specific exhibitions or commissions.
