| BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTISTS |
He came to Victoria in 1913, and became one of the founders of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, and the Victoria Sketch Club, which was a continuation of the Island Arts and Crafts Society. He was a teacher and art supervisor at Oak Bay, and a teacher at the University School, Victoria, B.C.
He exhibited his work with the Island Arts and Crafts Society starting in 1912 and up until 1940. He also exhibited at the Seattle Art Museum.
He exhibited his work in the 1924, 1929, and in the 1930 Spring Exhibition held by the B.C. Society of Fine Arts. Menelaws also exhibited in the 1945 British Columbia At Work exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
He exhibited in the Seattle Art Museum's annual Northwest Artists exhibition in 1930.
He exhibited a painting at the Canadian National Exhibition in 1930.
In 1932 he was a signatory to an agreement to boycott the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa for their exhibition and purchase policies related to Canadian artists. He was noted as being a Victoria artist.
Menelaws moved to Port Angeles, Washington in 1964.
B.C. Vital Statistics on-line has no information on this artist as of June 2021.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
| DATE | EXHIBITION | ARTWORK |
| 1924 May 3 - 17 | BCSFA 16th Annual Exhibition | Old Wharf, Victoria, B.C. |
| Smoke Clouds, Victoria Harbour | ||
| Flemish Giant | ||
| 1929 May 18 - June 8 | BCSFA 21st Annual Exhibition | A Summer Night |
| Arbutus and Fir | ||
| Portrait | ||
| 1930 May 31 - June 14 | BCSFA Spring Exhibition | A Sketch Club Study |
| 1930 Aug. 22 - Sept. 6 | CNE Fine Art | A Sketch |
| 1933 Mar. 3 - 15 | VAG IACS Vancouver Island Exhibition | The Old Barn |
| Portrait | ||
| Oil Sketch | ||
| 1939 Mar. 14 - 26 | VAG IACS Vancouver Island Exhibition | An Old Shack |
| Old Lumber Mill | ||
| 1945 Nov. 13 - Dec. 2 | Labour Arts Guild B.C. At Work | Brick Clay, Victoria |
| Victoria Brick Works |
SEATTLE ART MUSEUM - NORTHWEST ARTISTS EXHIBITIONS 1914 - 1975
Refer to NWA BC artists by exhibition
Refer to NWAA BC artists alphabetically
WHO'S WHO IN NORTHWEST ART (refer to WWNA41)
THE FINE ARTS IN VANCOUVER, 1886 - 1930 (refer to THOM69)
ISLAND ARTS AND CRAFTS SOCIETY - List of Exhibitors
ARTISTS IN CANADA 1982 - UNION LIST OF ARTISTS' FILES (refer to AIC82)
A DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN ARTISTS (refer to M)
Short biography with three references.
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX OF ARTISTS IN CANADA (refer to BIAC03)
2 references cited for Menelaws: M and WWNA above.
CITY & PROVINCIAL DIRECTORIES 1919/21/23-32/33/45 (refer to DIR)
https://aggv.ca/emuseum/people/3610/william-will-menelaws;jsessionid=2BBC42314B2C01376E71ADFCD0AED7B1
http://oakbayartists.com/WillMenelaws.html
""Old Wharf, Victoria," by W. Menelaws, shows a boat at
the wharf. The reflections of white, purple and green and the wavering reflections
of the wharf piles are wonderfully full of life. A misty blue sky adds to the
glamorous beauty of the picture."
From "Exhibition of the B.C. Society of Fine Art" by
Alice M. Winlow
British Columbia magazine, June 1924
" ... the 118 artists who have signed the agreement to date ... include ... Will Menelaws ... "
From "Canadian Artists Unite to Boycott
National Gallery" by The Canadian Press
Montreal Gazette, December 8 1932